New Federal Tourism Strategy will support businesses and create jobs

Canadians who work in the tourism and hospitality sector will benefit from a federal tourism strategy that brings together the best ideas from the public and private sectors. Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a gathering of national tourism industry leaders.

“Tourism is an increasingly important industry that supports small businesses in every region of our country and keeps thousands of Canadians employed,” said the Prime Minister.  “Our Economic Action Plan makes several major investments to strengthen this vital sector.  The next step is to improve the coordination of our efforts and better sell Canada as a tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors.”

The Prime Minister and Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business Diane Ablonczy used their meeting with industry leaders to announce that the Federal Government is taking the next step towards a new Federal Tourism Strategy that seeks to broaden access to, and awareness of, Canadian tourist attractions.

 “Serving as Prime Minister has granted me the privilege of visiting every corner of our country and seeing, first hand, the incredible hospitality, cultural institutions and natural splendor that Canada has to offer,” said the Prime Minister.  “As Canadians, we must set aside our modesty and do all we can to sell the amazing tourist experiences that exist in our own backyard.  By working together, we will build a tourism industry that employs thousands more people and showcases the very best of Canada to the world.”

Tourism is an important economic driver in every region in Canada.  It directly employs 660,000 people and represents 2% of Canada’s overall GDP. Our Government recognizes that building on Canada’s numerous tourism advantages is a key factor in our country’s future economic growth. 

Travellers to Canada’s National Parks and Historic Sites will continue to enjoy low entry fee prices until 2011 thanks to a fee freeze from the Conservative government. This will allow more families to enjoy Canada’s natural splendor, and will provide a needed boost to our tourism industry.

More families from our community will be able to enjoy the pristine beauty of our National Parks and our Historic Sites and at the same time, this will provide a needed boost to our hospitality industry. Keeping the price of tourism in Canada low will encourage more Canadians to vacation here at home, rather than travelling abroad.

For individual travellers, the 2008 rates will stay in place until April 1, 2011. For tour groups and tour organizers that deal in group rates, the 2009 rates now in effect will be frozen until April 1, 2012.

At the same time, we are undertaking a new advertising campaign to promote Canada’s National Parks and Historic Sites on television and on the Internet.

Dear Friends,

The current situation with the H1N1 flu virus has people asking how they can best be prepared and protected.

The Public Health Agency of Canada advises Canadians to:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water, or use hand sanitizer
• Cough and sneeze in your arm or sleeve
• Keep doing what you normally do, but stay home if sick
• Check the www.flightflu.ca for more information
• Check www.voyage.gc.ca for travel notices and advisories
• Talk to a health professional if you experience flu-like symptoms

The www.fightflu.ca website is updated often so you will want to check it regularly.

Stay safe!

Diane Ablonczy, MP

Our Government is taking unprecedented action to stimulate the Canadian economy and combat the global recession. At the same time, Canadians want to see us taking this action on the economy in an accountable and transparent manner. Canadians are able to measure the progress of our actions by visiting www.ActionPlan.gc.ca.

TORONTO, April 6, 2009 — The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), today launched the Marquee Tourism Events Program, a program to help fund festivals and tourism events across Canada. This federal investment will help protect and create jobs across the country and stimulate the visitor economy. It will also help Canada to become an even more vigorous player in the competitive global tourism industry.

Scams are on the rise in these tougher economic times.  People may be looking for a short cut and are more susceptible to purported income or other benefit schemes.

Examples are the West African letter fraud, work-from-home schemes, the cheque scam where you receive a cheque in the mail, an internet date who wants to come visit but needs travel money, a late night "emergency" call from a "relative" needing money immediately to get out of a jam, etc.  The scams are getting better and better.

Please visit www.phonebusters.com, the website of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, for a list of current scams and ways to avoid them.