Mr. Speaker, tourism is an industry on the move, with more people than ever before travelling both domestically and internationally. In Canada, tourism spending contributed over $50 billion to our economy in 1999 and 70% of that figure was spent by Canadians. Our international travel deficit fell to $1.9 billion, which is the lowest since 1987.
Tourism is important to Canadians because of the jobs. Tourism has a high level of employment. Five hundred thousand people are employed annually in 80 tourism related industries throughout the country. Moreover, tourism related jobs are a major source of economic activity not only in urban areas, but increasingly in rural areas and with our first nations people.
The federal government, in association with the Canadian Tourism Commission and the industry itself, will maintain and improve Canada's place in the world tourism market.