Conservatives Support Workers and Businesses During National Tourism Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON – Tony Baldinelli, Member of Parliament representing the communities of Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Fort Erie, and Conservative Shadow Minister for Tourism, released the following statement on the 2023 National Tourism Week:
“Happy National Tourism Week! Canada is truly a nation powered by tourism.
“In Niagara, 2,800 tourism related businesses employ 40,000 Canadians, who rely on tourism for their paycheques. In 2019, Niagara welcomed more than 13 million visitors and generated $2.4 billion in receipts as Canada’s top leisure tourism destination. But Canadian tourism has not fully recovered, yet.
“After 8 years of Justin Trudeau, the future of Canada’s travel and tourism industry is at risk because of higher costs and taxes imposed by this reckless and expensive Liberal government.
“Before the pandemic, 1 out of every 11 jobs in our country was directly involved in assisting tourism visitors. Travel and tourism accounted for 2 per cent of Canada’s GDP as a $105 billion sector – an all-time high for tourism spending in our country. But Canadian tourism has not fully recovered.
“After 8 years of Justin Trudeau, out of control federal spending has driven up inflation, making everything in Canada more expensive for tourists and families wanting to visit Niagara and for those Niagara businesses, which look forward to welcoming visitors to our communities.
“Big Liberal tax hikes such as the carbon tax and the escalator clause on alcohol make visiting, travelling, and enjoying Canadian products more and more expensive. This puts Canada’s travel and tourism industry at a competitive disadvantage and limits the potential for a more speedy recovery and future growth all those in the tourism sector are looking forward to.
“The fact is, Justin Trudeau is out of touch with Canadians and the challenges facing our tourism sector. While he travelled to a luxury nine thousand-dollar-a-night villa at the expense of taxpayers, 6 in 10 Canadians are scaling back vacation plans due to Trudeau's inflation.
“A Poilievre government will take the steps needed to help our tourism sector by lowering the taxes and costs that prevent Canada from being a destination of choice. Under a Poilievre government there will be no new federal taxes applied to Canada’s travel and tourism industry.
“Let’s bring home more powerful paycheques for our tourism workers, let’s create the conditions where our tourism businesses flourish, so the world once again knows, Canada is open for business.”
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