Canada’s Push for International Tourists Faces Headwinds

Canada has initiated a new campaign aimed at drawing a greater number of international tourists. However, the effort is complicated by issues such as staffing deficits, widespread wildfires, and ongoing diplomatic tensions with China. Tour guide Jack Rivers states, “You can learn about nature, indigenous culture and our history,” identifying these as key incentives for individuals to consider Canada as a vacation destination. Mr. Rivers, an indigenous individual, conducts guided excursions within the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, located on Manitoulin Island in Ontario. This region is described as an untouched area, featuring thick forests along the coastline of Lake Huron. These walking tours are offered through Wiikwemkoong Tourism, an indigenous tourism organization dedicated to educating visitors about native history and the local environment. Mr. Rivers describes his profession as “great,” yet acknowledges its demanding nature, stating, “It’s not an 8-4 job,” and further explaining that “it relies on people working weekends and being away from their family.” Consequently, Wikwemikong Tourism has encountered difficulties in retaining personnel, a challenge indicative of the broader Canadian tourism industry, which reportedly faces a deficit of hundreds of thousands of employees. Overcoming these staffing deficiencies is crucial for the Canadian government’s success in its new initiative to boost the country’s visitor arrivals. This campaign, spearheaded by the government entity Destination Canada, is being launched as tourist arrivals in Canada have not rebounded to their pre-Covid 2019 high of 22 million individuals. Last year, the total stood at 18.3 million, representing a 17% reduction. The recently introduced strategy, titled A World Of Opportunity, seeks to elevate the Canadian tourism sector’s revenue to $CA160bn ($116bn; £89bn) by 2030, an increase from $CA109bn recorded last year. Additionally, it aims for Canada to achieve the status of the world’s seventh most-visited nation, improving from its present 13th ranking. Over 3,000km (1864 miles) to the west of Manitoulin Island lies Jasper, a well-known tourist destination situated in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. In July, a wildfire, described as “the biggest in the region for a century,” devastated one-third of the town’s structures. Among the affected properties was Maligne Lodge, a hotel that has accommodated visitors since the 1960s. Owner Karyn Decore characterized the fire as “devastating.” She remarked, “There is a lot to do, but I try and focus on what I have to do today, and leave tomorrow to tomorrow.” Fortunately for Ms. Decore, Maligne Lodge carried insurance, and she intends to reconstruct it prior to the upcoming summer. However, the timeframe for the reopening of all other hotels in the town remains uncertain. She clarified, “Jasper is an international tourist destination, and the hotels here are booked 100% between 1 June and the middle of October.” She added, “We’re already sold out for next summer. The challenge is that not as many people will be able to visit Jasper until all the hotels are rebuilt, and we don’t know how long that will take.” A further substantial challenge for Canada’s tourism industry is the decrease in the volume of Chinese tourists. Diplomatic relations between the two nations have been tense since a dispute in 2018. In 2018, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei was apprehended in Canada following a US warrant. China retaliated by detaining two Canadian citizens residing in China, accusing them of espionage. All three individuals were not released until 2021. According to some analysts, this diplomatic disagreement is a principal factor explaining why China has not yet reinstated Canada on its roster of approved travel destinations for Chinese nationals since the Covid pandemic. James Griffiths, the Asia correspondent for the Canadian newspaper Globe & Mail, observes that “the freeze in bilateral relations [between China and Canada] still hasn’t really recovered.” He additionally highlights the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prevents Western airlines from traversing Russian airspace. Griffiths explains, “A lot of North American and European carriers have really struggled with routes to China because they can’t fly through Russia or over Russia, and by avoiding Russia, you add about three hours to the flight time, which is more expensive for the airlines and onerous for passengers.” Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Canada’s Minister of Tourism, holds the responsibility for attracting an increased number of tourists to the nation. She informed the BBC of her desire for visitors “to stay longer” and “spend more money.” Addressing inquiries about the decrease in Chinese visitors, she indicated that Canada is concentrating on its primary markets, Europe and the US. Nevertheless, she appended, “with Chinese visitors, we see that Canada is still of interest to them.” Addressing climate change constitutes another governmental priority, which Ms. Martinez Ferrada acknowledges as an “existential threat to Canadian tourism.” However, she asserts that Canada is a vast nation, and “it’s not the whole country that’s on fire.” She further stated, “We have to make sure travellers understand that there might be threats around climate change, but there are so many other places to discover that aren’t impacted.” Regarding the staffing shortages that impede businesses such as Wiikwemkoong Tourism, she conceded, “I do think that we need to do a better job of promoting the sector and the career opportunities that we have.” She concluded, “Having the skills and having the training to do that, I think it’s important.”