The Canadian tourism industry saw slump in visitors in July 2008 as high oil prices made traveling expensive, and new custom and border regulations made carrying ID proof mandatory.
According to the Canadian tourism industry officials, all major tourist spots in Canada recorded a significant fall in tourist arrivals in July 2008, as reported by MednewsExpress.
The industry expected nearly 7.8 Million visitors, bringing $2.7 Billion worth of foreign exchange in the country, lower compared to previous year. Vancouver, a well-known tourist spot in Canada, usually sees arrivals of 8.7 Million tourists every year and earns nearly $3.7 Billion from tourist expenditure but by mid-year, its arrivals have already declined by 6%. The industry witnessed 10% fall to one million tourists in the first five months of 2008 from the same period last year.
The low inflow of tourists in Canada is mainly attributed to soaring oil prices that made traveling expensive. Besides, appreciation in the Canadian dollar and global economic slowdown has contributed to dampen the industry growth. Extended delays on part of the authorities to allow visitors come to the country also negatively affected the tourism industry.
Another important factor for slump in the industry is enactment of new custom and passport regulations in the US that has a major share in overall tourist arrivals to Canada. Now the US citizens need to show the passport if they are re-entering the country by air as per the US Customs and Border Protection regulation which was originally lined-up to cover both land and sea routes. However, these regulations are delayed for sometime but still the US citizens need to furnish any document such as driving license or ID proof issued by the government for re-entering.
The industry experts believe that the Canadian tourism industry is heading towards crisis with declining tourists arrivals. The downfall in the tourism industry is not a good sign for the country’s economy as it contributes to the GDP significantly.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The Canadian tourism industry witnessed a drop in visitor number as business conditions are not supporting growth. So the government should introduce changes in its marketing strategies to boost the tourist arrivals.”
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