Elevate Tourism Initiative
Tourism is vital to Atlantic Canada’s economy and long-term prosperity. The sector generates economic benefits across the region, in communities large and small, in major centres, and in rural and remote areas.
Atlantic Canada’s tourism economy is broad, consisting of over 7,800 businesses with employees across food and beverage, accommodations, recreation and entertainment, transportation, and travel services subsectors. The region’s tourism sector creates approximately 111,000 full and part-time jobs each year, contributing 3.7% to the overall Atlantic Canadian GDP (2022).
The Elevate Tourism Initiative (Elevate) is a focused, time-limited effort aimed at enhancing tourism offerings in Atlantic Canada.
The goal is to boost investment in private sector (commercial) tourism businesses across the region that are ready – or preparing – to attract visitors from outside the four Atlantic provinces who seek meaningful, high-impact experiences and are willing to increase their spending during their stay.
Through Elevate, the Government of Canada will increase commercial tourism investments in Atlantic Canada to $25 million over 2 years (ending March 31, 2026). This repayable initiative, sourced from ACOA’s existing budget, further demonstrates the federal Government’s commitment to investing in the region’s visitor economy, backing up Canada’s Federal Tourism Growth Strategy with real action.
Targeted investments to elevate Atlantic Canada’s tourism offerings
New and returning visitors to Atlantic Canada are looking for authentic cultural and experiential offerings unique to the region. Tourism businesses across the four Atlantic provinces already offer world-class products and services. With this targeted support, more businesses can elevate their offerings to attract even more visitors.
Tourism drives economic development and diversification for Atlantic Canadian communities, and adapting for a growing visitor economy creates a transformational opportunity for the region.
Eligible applicants
Eligible applicants are private sector (commercial) tourism SMEs that want to increase yield and/or reach new visitor markets and want to make investments to achieve this goal.
Eligible activities
The goal of the Elevate initiative for Atlantic tourism SMEs is to ensure they:
- focus more on product development and quality, including local products and experiences reflective of Atlantic Canada’s unique character
- make strategic enhancements and improve operations to attract value-driven visitors and generate more revenues
- match Atlantic Canadian products and experiences to high-impact visitor profiles
Financial assistance
Elevate Tourism Initiative contributions will be provided through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program or Business Development Program (BDP) and will be repayable. In addition, tourism SMEs ready to invest in boosting yield and market reach could qualify for assessments and non-repayable support to elevate their business.
How to apply
To find out if the Elevate Tourism Initiative fits your needs, contact ACOA Business Information Services (BIS) at 1-888-576-4444 and then complete the relevant application form. The agents at BIS can help you submit your project or find other available solutions.
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