TRSM HTM students on hand for Federal Tourism Minister’s tourism development speech
Students from the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality & Tourism Management were front and centre for Federal Tourism Minister Mélanie Joly’s speech on tourism development at the Economic Club of Canada on December 10, 2018.
Prior to her speech, Minister Joly released a report prepared for the federal government, called “Unlocking the Potential of Canada’s Visitor Economy,” that explained how a stronger focus on tourism could add between $15- and $25-billion a year to the Canadian economy and create up to 180,000 new jobs.
The report, by the McKinsey & Company advisory firm, outlined some of the issues holding Canada back in tourism. One of which is the demand is concentrated – most visitors tend to visit in the summer months. As a result, hotels and other tourism-reliant employers have difficulty finding and retaining staff.
One solution is convincing travelers to come in the winter to embrace some of Canada’s unique activities and experiences, such as downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing.
Some of the other key issues affecting Canada’s tourism sector detailed in the report include the lack of investment – Canada spends about 20% less on tourism marketing than similar countries – and the high cost of air travel, both to and around Canada.
This report is expected to be used by a Federal Advisory Council on Jobs and the Visitor Economy and the government as Ottawa prepares a new tourism strategy that will be released by summer 2019. TRSM HTM Professor Dr. Rachel Dodds is a member of the Advisory Council.