Tourism is one of the world’s fastest-growing businesses, yet the number of international travellers to Canada has declined 20 per cent since 2000, according to a report from Deloitte & Touche.

The reasons behind are various. First, more people ( especially middle-class) prefer travelling to emerging economies such as China, Korea,  Brazil and Mexico. Emerging economies are seeing the rise of middle-class people with enough income to travel. Secondly, the high Canadian dollar discourages large number of visitors from U.S. Thirdly, the high base fares in Canada’s air travel sector somehow blocks new demographic travellers.

In this case, I think Canadian government certainly should introduce structural reform in airy travelling sectors, to lower down the travelling cost. Meanwhile, more investment should be spent into travelling businesses, to retain good staff,  improve their technology and enhance competitiveness. Moreover, provide good and characteristc tourism products that are appealing to tourists.

 It’s clear that strengthening tourism would have a positive impact on Canadian companies and the overall economy. A boosting tourism acts as a means of boosting international trade, as travellers often become aware of business opportunities through meeting people face to face or acting on things they observe while on vacation. What’s more, an increase in travellers to Canada could encourage Canadian companies to enter new markets internationally and experience greater competitive intensity, which we know results in periods of high productivity growth positively impacting the economy.

External Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-tourism-declines-despite-world-travel-boom-1.2426675