Promoting increased air access to Canadian destinations, strengthening existing international tourism markets, and taking advantage of emerging opportunities within the Chinese tourism market were among the issues discussed over the past two days as Canada's federal, provincial and territorial tourism ministers met in Vancouver, British Columbia, to share information and ideas on how to increase visitation to Canadian jurisdictions.

The Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, took the opportunity to update his colleagues on tourism developments in Newfoundland and Labrador, and to highlight the need for a federally-designated Cruise Ship Operation Facility in the northern region of the province, which would support Provincial Government and cruise industry efforts to attract more ships to provincial ports.

"The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) designates certain ports as Cruise Ship Operation Facilities and provides resources at these ports to appropriately process international travellers," said Minister French. "While we all recognize the importance of protecting our borders, in Newfoundland and Labrador we are limited to two CBSA-designated ports of entry — St. John's and Corner Brook — which have the ability to process international cruise passengers."

The minister noted there is a significant cost associated with sending CBSA personnel to provide the service to other locations, particularly in the northern regions of Newfoundland and Labrador. As these costs are recovered from cruise ship operators, the current situation is proving prohibitive to the further development of the province's cruise industry.

"We need a CBSA-designated Cruise Ship Operation Facility in northern Newfoundland and Labrador to meet the demand of our growing cruise ship industry," said Minister French.

A key topic of discussion during the meeting was the upcoming Canada Trade Mission to China, and opportunities for tourism growth as a result of the Chinese government's recent decision to grant Approved Destination Status (ADS) to Canada. ADS opens the doors to Chinese tour groups to visit Canada, and for Canadian jurisdictions and tour operators to directly target the Chinese market.

The meeting concluded with a commitment of Canada's tourism ministers to work together to build a tourism economy that provides jobs to more than 600,000 Canadians through rural and urban regions of the country.

- 30 -

Media contact:

Heather May
Director of Communications
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
709-729-0928, 697-5061
heathermay@gov.nl.ca