The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) kicked off its first in-person Hill Days advocacy campaign in two years last week with a reception at the Wellington Building in downtown Ottawa. More than 60 TIAC Members gathered with 50 Parliamentarians and other government officials.
The event was part of the organization's annual lobbying campaign. This year, TIAC's goal is to raise awareness of the key challenges faced by a beleaguered industry as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Despite some improvement over the last few months, tourism businesses continue to struggle financially, face barriers to attracting investment, and have considerable challenges attracting and retaining the necessary workforce to run their operations," says Beth Potter, President and CEO of TIAC.
TICA says the challenges hampering tourism's recovery include supply chain disruptions, a worsening labour shortage, inflation at a 40-year high, and rising interest rates. "As the industry first hit and hardest hit (by the pandemic), these obstacles require strong public sector support to stimulate the most robust recovery of our suite of sectors," Potter says.
Prior to COVID-19, tourism was one of the fastest growing industries in the world. As one of Canada's largest sectors, tourism was responsible for $105 billion worth of total spending, supported 1 in 10 Canadian jobs, and was made up of 225,000 small- and medium-sized businesses across Canada.
With the removal of the last COVID-19 travel restrictions earlier this month, Canada's visitor economy is in a much better place to build forward, TIAC says, but the organization expects it will be the end of 2025 before recovery is complete.
However, the latest research indicates the road ahead will not be easy. While the labour force continues to grow from its unprecedented lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, the total tourism labour force is down more than 200,000 workers (or -9.2%) of the May 2019 level, according to Tourism HR Canada.
As well, the Conference Board of Canada's latest travel report forecasts that total overnight overseas visits are not expected to fully surpass pre-pandemic levels until 2026.
In its recent submission to guide the federal government in its development of a new Tourism Growth Strategy, TIAC outlined key priorities centred on four key pillars of action:
-- Attract and retain a sustainable tourism workforce.
-- Improve access for visitors to and within Canada.
-- Develop and promote tourism assets.
-- Build a regenerative and inclusive tourism industry.
During TIAC's Hill Days discussions last week, its Government Relations team and members from across the country met with Members of Parliament, Senators and other officials to discuss the way forward.
"We have a plan, but we need help," says Potter. "We're urging TIAC Members and the industry-at-large to help us amplify our message to the government."
They can do so by visiting the campaign's website and sharing the images and messages provided there on their own social media channels.
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