Harper Government seeks to build on record number of Indians travelling to Canada
Ottawa, February 28, 2013—Today, the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), concluded a successful tourism mission to New Delhi and Jaipur, India. He led a tourism delegation to promote Canada as a destination of choice for Indian travellers while highlighting Canada's bilateral relations with India.
"Indian travellers represent a significantly growing market for Canada," said Minister of State Bernier. "Our government is working with industry to welcome even more Indian travellers, creating jobs and growth in Canada while strengthening our relationship with our Indian visitors."
In 2012, Canada received a record number of Indian travellers. In recent years, Indian travellers have been among the top 10 international travellers to visit Canada, ranked 8th last year. International travel and tourism research predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound travellers by 2020.
During his visit, the Minister of State attended Focus Canada–India 2013, hosted by the Canadian Tourism Commission. This annual business-to-business marketplace showcases Canadian tourism operators and attractions to Indian tourism buyers.
Minister of State Bernier also met with his counterpart, Dr. K. Chiranjeevi, Minister of State (Independent charge) of India's Ministry of Tourism, to discuss ways India and Canada can work together to facilitate travel and trade between the two countries. He visited a Canadian visa application centre and participated in meetings with key Canadian and Indian tourism operators to better understand the opportunities and challenges facing the industry.
"We will continue to build momentum in promoting Canada as a destination of choice to the Indian market," said Minister of State Bernier. "As part of Canada's Federal Tourism Strategy, our government will continue to work toward positioning the Canadian tourism industry to become more competitive and seize new opportunities in emerging travel markets like India."
Photos of the Minister of State's tourism mission to New Delhi and Jaipur will be available in the Photo Gallery on the Industry Canada website.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Scott French
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Maxime Bernier
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-943-6183
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
