The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation:
Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to celebrate the ongoing success of the province’s tourism industry.
I was pleased last week to attend the Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador Conference and Trade Show in St. John’s where the Premier provided the results of our 2016 Exit Survey, the most detailed exit survey our province has ever produced.
Mr. Speaker, tourism has become a pillar in our province’s economy – growing to support over 2,600 businesses and nearly 20,000 jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador. That is why we continue to build, strengthen and foster our connections with the Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism Board partners, including Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador and Destination Management Organizations. Working together, we are realizing the full potential of the tourism opportunities that exist throughout our province.
In 2016, non-resident visitors spent $562 million in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our own residents made nearly four million trips within the province and spent more than $560 million. As a result, total tourism spending was over $1.13 billion.
Our estimates show that our success with attracting non-resident visitors continued last year when we achieved the highest level of non-resident visitation and tourism spending in the history of the province. Last year, we welcomed over 553,000 visitors for the first time – an increase of three per cent over 2016.
Non-resident visitor spending reached an estimated $575 million in 2017, an increase of two per cent over the previous year. This is the highest non-resident spending the province has ever seen. Compared to 2015, non-resident visitation increased eight per cent and spending 11 per cent. That success highlights the incredible product that exists in our province and the tremendous effort of tourism operators.
Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to working together with industry to reach $1.6 billion in visitor spending by 2020, and to make sure that Newfoundland and Labrador remains the high demand destination it has become.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.