Thank you for inviting us to appear before you today.
As a crown corporation of the Government of Canada, the Canadian Tourism Commission is specifically legislated to sustain a vibrant and profitable Canadian tourism industry; to market Canada as a desirable tourism destination; to support a cooperative relationship between the private sector and the governments of Canada, the provinces, and territories with respect to Canadian tourism; and to provide information about Canadian tourism to the private sector and the Government of Canada, the provinces, and territories. We do this in collaboration with industry and all levels of government.
Through the CTC, the Government of Canada has been at the forefront of working nationally with the tourism sector to maintain its competitiveness and market Canada as a destination of choice for international travellers. Our ultimate goal is to grow tourism export revenues. The commission focuses on attracting visitors from nine international countries where we generate the most revenue. These markets represent 64% of international revenue and 91% of international visits to Canada.
Tourism is an export industry. Marketing messages transmitted abroad to come to explore Canada helped bring $17.5 billion in foreign exchange into Canada last year. The Canadian Tourism Commission drives new dollars into the Canadian economy, which is why Canada has invested in one of the most competitive and fastest-growing industries in the world. Global consumers spend $623 billion U.S. a year on their trips to other countries. Within our own borders, Canada's tourism industry generates $62.7 billion in revenues. The taxpayer is well served. Thirty cents out of every tourist dollar goes directly to government. The federal government's share alone amounted to $9.3 billion last year.
However, consumers have more destinations than ever to choose from. Thirty-five years ago, Canada was second in the world's ranking of tourism destinations. As air travel became more affordable and more countries started getting into the tourism business, Canada and many others started to lose market share. We are now ranked at twelfth place in the international tourism revenue our country is bringing in. Despite the slide Canada has shown some growth. Overseas travel, for example, was up by 7% last year.
Competition is fiercest for the American traveller. The U.S. continues to be our most important international market. It accounts for 57% of Canada's international tourism revenue. While U.S. plane arrivals into Canada are still doing better than what we've seen in the last couple of years, overnight automobile trips from the U.S. have seen the sharpest decline. As of July, overnight auto trips from the U.S. were down 7.3%, while plane arrivals from the U.S. were down 2.7% for the year as of July.
Our research shows that U.S. awareness of Canada as a travel destination is weak. In America, the CTC and partners have about a 4% share of voice. Our collective investment in the U.S. market makes up just a fraction of what our competitors are spending. As a result, U.S. consumers are much more aware of destinations in Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This uphill battle makes fostering tourism's growth all the more important.
It is within this context that the proposed cancellation of the visitor rebate program could impact the competitiveness of Canada's international convention, tour, and group business. This has the potential to make it 6% more expensive to do business in Canada. We believe the visitor rebate program has assisted in attracting meetings and conventions from the U.S. In 2005, we invested $4.6 million in the meetings, convention, and incentive travel market in the U.S. Our investment contributed to the American business traveller spending $1.5 billion in Canada last year.
Tours from other countries such as Japan and France will also be impacted by these changes. At this point, however, we are still assessing what potential impact this may have on our ability to attract tours, meetings, and conventions to Canada--a very important line of business for us. We continue to stress to international partners that Canada is still one of the world's top travel destinations, offering world-class facilities, services, and experiences.
The Canadian Tourism Commission's five-year strategy will reposition Canada and make it more relevant to the international consumer. Our objective is to see international tourism revenues climb by 10.9% to nearly $20 billion by 2011. To get there, we are attracting more high-yield customers from a wide range of lucrative markets. Our focus is on markets where we'll get the highest return on investment.
The consistent application of a brand that builds powerful personal relationships between international consumers and Canada is the heart of our strategic approach. With our brand as the base, industry partnerships, cutting-edge research, and the world's most advanced e-marketing techniques, we'll improve Canada's standings in the global tourism rankings by turning us into a must-see-now destination.
This concludes my opening remarks.