Provincial-Territorial Meeting of Ministers responsible for Tourism
NEWS RELEASE – Provincial ministers of Tourism urge a meeting with their federal counterpart
Quebec City, October 8, 1998 - The Tourism ministers of the provinces and territories agree to increase co-operation in developing and promoting the tourism industry. They are asking to meet with their federal counterpart as soon as possible to discuss ways of improving co-ordination with the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) and the provinces and territories, as well as a better understanding of the role of the proposed Crown corporation of CTC.
This meeting, held in Quebec City (Quebec) on October 7 and 8, was hosted by Quebec Tourism Minister David Cliche and his Alberta counterpart, Patricia Nelson. According to Mr Cliche and Mrs Nelson, the conference co-chairs, "this meeting, not only allowed us to exchange relevant and useful information regarding our responsibilities, but also to strengthen co-operation among our governments and work toward joint initiatives in key areas vital to the development of the tourism industry".
"We also agreed on the importance of furthering government-industry partnerships to enable the industry to develop to its full potential," continued the ministers. Currently, the tourism industry directly employs more than one million Canadians and is the fastest growing industry in the world. Consequently, the ministers are asking for greater federal investment in basic tourism infrastructure, respecting the priorities and specific characteristics of each province and territory.
The ministers felt that, in planning the development of the tourism industry, it was of primary importance to have reliable instruments and indicators to measure the industry's performance. They reached an agreement in principle to look into improving current survey methods, working with the CTC and each other.
The ministers agreed to meet again next year, in Calgary, Alberta.
| Source:
Claude Beauchamp |
Tim Wade |