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NACC airlines welcome Federal tourism strategy

Oct. 6, 2011, Ottawa - Canada's four largest airlines welcome the new Federal Tourism Strategy announced today by the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism).


October 6, 2011  By Carey Fredericks

The strategy emphasizes the need for coordinated and integrated travel and tourism policy-making by all relevant departments and agencies, something the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) members – Air Canada, Air Transat, Jazz Aviation LP and WestJet – strongly supports.

"I was pleased to note that the Federal Tourism Strategy recognizes the importance of tourism to the national economy," said NACC President George Petsikas.  "When the tourism industry succeeds, we all succeed."

The strategy's objective is to implement a whole-of-government approach that will enhance the federal government's role as an effective partner with industry and other levels of government in support of an internationally competitive tourism sector.

It will help coordinate the government's tourism-related efforts by, for instance, fostering an open and cooperative partnership with tourism industry members and bringing policies and programs into greater alignment across departments and agencies.

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"We look forward to playing an active role in this new spirit of openness and government-industry cooperation, and to working with our tourism, hospitality and airport industry partners within the National Travel and Tourism Roundtable to address continuing challenges, including global cost-competitiveness of Canada's commercial aviation system," said Petsikas.

Aviation is a major facilitator of tourism, which supports entrepreneurship and provides jobs across the country. In 2010, tourism accounted for approximately 2 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product and $73 billion in revenues and it directly employed nearly 600,000 people in all regions of Canada.

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