Evidence of meeting #49 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was travel.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
5:15 p.m.
Vice-President, Public Affairs, Tourism Industry Association of Canada
Perhaps I can add to that. If we can develop the right kind of environment in the cost structure of getting people to Canada, if we have enough customs and border clearance in enough airports, and if the cost equation makes sense, we think the private sector will step in to build new products and services and create new attractions.
Sometimes that takes government seed money. Perhaps we can make our transportation system a little more intermodal so that air, rail, and coach are linked. Travellers in some parts of the world take that for granted. I know the government is looking at high-speed rail here in Canada. That might provide an incentive to people. It would be a new tourism experience to see Canada by rail--see it whizzing by, anyway. If we can get the cost structure right, our entrepreneurs will step up and build the kinds of products we need.
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
Robert Vincent Bloc Shefford, QC
I would like to understand the reason for the difference between the evidence of the two previous witnesses. Ms. McKenzie, you said that, in the tourism industry, Canada rose from 12th to 6th place, then to 2nd place. Mr. Jones told us in his document that the World Tourism Organization fell from 7th to 14th place, and with regard to international tourism, from 10th to 13th place.
How do you explain this discrepancy? Here it's rising and there it's falling. Don't you have the same figures?
5:15 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tourism Commission
They're looking at different things. From twelfth to sixth to second is a measure of Canada's tourism brand reputation. From seventh to twelfth and then fourteenth is where we rank in the world in the number of visitors we receive and the amount of revenue. That is driven by the fact that the world of tourism destinations is really expanding rapidly.
There have been new destinations over the last ten years that travellers could not get to previously, and that will continue to be the case. So we expect that our share may continue to go down, even if our absolute numbers are increasing. So they're measuring different things. One is visitation and one is brand reputation.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Anthony Rota
Thank you very much, Mr. Vincent.
Now we'll continue with Mr. Masse.
5:20 p.m.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have one quick question about visitor visas. Are there certain countries that we should be targeting with vacation packages to access Canada? Sometimes there's a lack of tourism from certain countries because visitor visas are so difficult to get. Are there certain countries we should be focusing on and trying to push for greater accessibility?
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tourism Commission
We choose countries depending on their potential return on investment. That research is not sensitive enough to understand what the visa process looks like. In a country like India, for instance, we'd be very focused on working with immigration and DFAIT officials to make sure we are facilitating the application process as much as possible. We know that in some countries the response time and the refusal rate can vary.
Of course we'd like to see high acceptance rates because that means more visitors. When Canada refuses a visa, it's for other reasons. We need to be sensitive to that. The overall numbers in terms of response time are really improving in countries like China, where it was a much larger issue in the past. That's how we try to work with that. We don't pick countries because of the visa process; we pick countries based on return on investment.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Anthony Rota
Thank you.
We've done the third round and we had a request. If it's okay with the committee, we'll allow Mr. Warkentin and Mr. Wallace to ask two brief questions, and then we'll adjourn.
Mr. Warkentin.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Chris Warkentin Conservative Peace River, AB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
In terms of domestic tourism, I'm wondering if anybody has done any studies in terms of what percentage is work related. In my constituency, probably the majority is. Most of the hotels are filled with people who are travelling as a result of work.
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tourism Commission
Pure leisure travel would be 50% to 60% of the demand across Canada. Then you have other motivations, including business travel. Tourist numbers don't include all business travel, they specifically exclude some types. We can give you some detailed breakdowns on those numbers.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Chris Warkentin Conservative Peace River, AB
I'd be interested in just how much that has been reduced over the last year and a half to two years.
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tourism Commission
The declines we're seeing, especially in U.S. air travel for instance, are largely business travel. Leisure travel remains quite strong, but business travel has been hit the hardest, I would say, of all the sectors.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Chris Warkentin Conservative Peace River, AB
In terms of the hotel industry, that's what I would see anecdotally and locally.
5:20 p.m.
President, Hotel Association of Canada
In a hotel, we're typically at 65% for business travel, roughly, depending on how you define it. The other portion is obviously leisure. Where we've had the biggest fall-off, though, as Ms. McKenzie stated, is in group travel. In other words, business travel, particularly conventions, is off. It's the biggest for us across the country. If you want to take it one step further, your high-end full-service hotel—the four- or five-star hotel with seven or eight restaurants in it—is impacted the most.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Chris Warkentin Conservative Peace River, AB
Does your association follow the numbers in terms of people travelling on business?
5:20 p.m.
President, Hotel Association of Canada
We track more our occupancy rate and RevPAR. We're obviously very interested in knowing where people are coming from or what they're doing. Yes, we do.
5:20 p.m.
President, Hotel Association of Canada
I'm not allowed to talk about rate, either, just for the record.
Thank you.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Briefly, Ms. Reynolds, one thing that surprised me—and just for my education—you mentioned that restaurant sales lag the economy a little bit. The economy starts to go down, and sales can hold themselves for a while and then start to lag. I would have thought it might be the opposite, that as a discretionary purchase it might be one of the first things to get cut back.
Can you explain to me then the difference between...? When I was a kid, going out to a restaurant was an event, but not anymore, since I haven't made a meal in my apartment in four years.
5:20 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
5:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Government Affairs, Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association
We appreciate it. Keep it up.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Are there two different markets or has the marketplace completely changed, so people don't realize it is a discretionary purchase that they can slow down on? I don't know. It's surprising to explain.
5:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Government Affairs, Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association
What happens is that there is a trading-down effect, so those consumers who were frequenting high-end restaurants may go more to the mid-range restaurants. Some who were going to the mid-range restaurants will go to some of the more quick-service restaurants. They initially modify their behaviour. They still need to dine out.