Summary
- Despite so many positives and unique features that continue to attract millions of visitors from all over the world, Canada is unable to break certain barriers.
- During the last two decades, a number of middle-income countries have also entered into this competition that was only limited to rich and developed countries.
- Canada received 16.22 million tourists in 2010, and this number has just increased by 13% to 18.34 million in 2023.
There was a time not long ago when Canada was among the top 10 global tourist destinations, but not anymore. In fact, the country has dropped to 19th place and might go further down the list in the future.
There are a variety of reasons why Canada is lagging behind in this competition, and we will discuss some of them in detail in this blog.
Despite so many positives and unique features that continue to attract millions of visitors from all over the world, Canada is unable to break certain barriers.
The reassuring point is that Canada can still rebound strongly, but it will take a lot of concerted efforts from the government and the private sector.
Top 10 Global Tourist Destinations: Canada Is Stuck In The Past While Others Grew Fast
The number of international tourist arrivals in Canada has been more or less the same for over two decades (despite some highs and lows), and this is the main reason why Canada is unable to compete on the global stage.
Meanwhile, other countries have become much more competitive and have learnt much faster than others as per the changing demands of the tourism industry.
During the last two decades, a number of middle-income countries have also entered into this competition that was only limited to rich and developed countries.
To better understand what has happened over the years, we can divide these countries into two categories.
One category is of those countries that were not even in the top 15 but are now regularly featured in the top 10 countries; these countries are Turkey and Thailand.
While the second category is based on those countries that have continuously improved their numbers and are very competitive in the tourism industry, due to which they have successfully stayed in the top 10.
This list is much longer, including France, Spain, the US, Italy, Mexico, China, Germany, Austria, Greece, Japan, the UK, etc.
Since the tourism industry suffered badly in all countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken post-pandemic numbers for all countries.
Let’s dive into numbers to better understand it. For instance, Canada received 16.22 million tourists in 2010, and this number has just increased by 13% to 18.34 million in 2023, according to UN Tourism — a United Nations specialised agency that tracks global tourism.
However, during this same period, international tourists’ arrivals in France increased from 78 million to 100 million, an increase of 28%. Germany jumped from 27 million to 35 million, a 30% increase.
Nevertheless, the most striking player is Turkey, which jumped from 31 million to 55 million, showing an increase of a whopping 77%.
Despite this gloomy picture, there is something encouraging. Canada has come in 11th place among those countries that are ‘enabling travel and tourism development’, according to the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024.
By now, you must have noticed that the competition to stay in the top 10 global tourist destinations has gotten really challenging.
What Does the Canadian Government Want To Do?
It is not that the Canadian government is not noticing that the country is lagging behind in the tourism sector; it is well aware of it, and that is why it does want to get back to the top 10 global tourist destinations.
But it does not seem to be easy. Experts say changing geopolitical problems; high costs of travel and long distances within Canada; extreme weather conditions; and now natural disasters owing to climate change are some of the top challenges that will make it difficult for Canada to achieve this target.
In 2001, Canada tasked ‘Destination Canada’ — a federal Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada — to market Canada as a desirable tourist destination and improving the tourism industry of the country.
Destination Canada is achieving some of its targets. The corporation used $106.4 million — a decent amount — in 2023 through parliamentary appropriations in total to market Canada globally, according to Destination Canada’s annual report 2023.
The arrival of tourists not only contributes to economic activity but also creates new jobs. For instance, the province of British Columbia has a big tourism industry, and any boost to tourism will provide jobs to hospitality and tourism management graduates.
This is just one example; there are several industries that are deeply interlinked with the tourism industry.
Major Hurdles In Attracting International Tourists For Canada
The friction in the bilateral relations of China and Canada has also impacted the arrival of Chinese tourists to Canada because China removed Canada from the list of approved countries where Chinese travelers are permitted to go.
This has caused a massive dent in the Canadian tourism industry because the country was earning millions of dollars every year from Chinese group tourists.
Moreover, the ongoing wars in the world have also impacted the availability and prices of many airlines that come to Canada.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) believes that the government can still do a lot to increase the arrivals of international tourists. “International travelers face too many hurdles even before setting foot in Canada for business, travel, or short-term study,” according to the TIAC.
TIAC says Canada is not a cheap destination to travel to, and it is also not easy to travel to remote areas inside Canada.
On top of that, Canada is one of the only countries in the world that charges tax to foreign visitors on buying tourism products, which makes tourism the only Canadian export that is not a zero-rated sector.
TIAC also expects the government to increase Destination Canada’s annual funding from the current $95.5 million to $135 million annually to better market Canada globally.
Since its inception, Destination Canada has successfully drawn a number of businesses to hold conferences and other such activities to boost tourism. But there is still room for improvement.
Conclusion
Canada is a large country and also one of the safest countries in the world. People want to travel to Canada to explore its beautiful national parks and its vast, unexplored territories.
Despite all the challenges, Canada can surely improve its numbers in the coming years by marketing it more in certain high-value markets, such as East Asia and Europe.
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