[DIV class=headline]Industry braces for decline in U.S. tourists[/DIV][DIV class=subheadline]Influx of overseas visitors can't offset steep reduction in tourism from south of the border[/DIV][DIV class=pubdate]Mar. 12, 2006. 03:06 PM[/DIV][DIV class=byline]GREG BONNELL[/DIV][DIV class=byline]CANADIAN PRESS[/DIV]
[DIV class=articlebody][!-- icx_story_begin --]Visitors from overseas are coming to Canada in droves, but the influx won't compensate for the cost of a proposed new travel document requirement that's already keeping Americans away, a prominent tourism advocate warns.
New numbers indicate German visitors are enjoying the pristine wilderness of northern Ontario and the Yukon, while tourists from Asia are being drawn to the natural wonder of Niagara Falls. Urban centres like Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and St. John's are also luring plenty of overseas travellers.
"All of those markets are seeing growth from Asia and Europe," said Randy Williams, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
"We've seen great growth in China. We had 100,000 (in 2004), and we're anticipating it will be 120,000 for 2005. That's 20 per cent growth from China alone; that's good to see."
Only eight months after launching a new marketing campaign in the United Kingdom, Toronto recorded its best travel numbers from that region since 2000. The more than 300,000 U.K. residents drawn to the city last year came for an "edgy, energetic urban experience" and not for the "moose and mountains" image that has long defined Canada abroad, said Andrew Weir of Tourism Toronto.
"There are good business reasons to focus on those overseas markets," said Weir.
"At the same time, we can't neglect the largest global travelling market in the world that's right on our doorstep."
While the increase in overseas visitors is good news, the drop in U.S. travellers could mean a $2-billion shortfall for the tourism industry in 2005.
"Four out of every five visitors to Canada are coming in through the United States," said Williams.
"The actual numbers for last year aren't out yet on what the drop in the U.S. market is, but it will be certainly in the billion or $2-billion range."
Uncertainty over proposed U.S. regulations requiring citizens to produce a security card in order to return home is helping fuel that downward trend, said Williams.
Under U.S. law, the cards will be required by Jan. 1, 2008, by all Americans arriving in the United States over a land crossing — one year earlier for those travelling by air and sea.
Canadians will have to show a passport.
Last week, Williams told a panel of U.S. and Canadian officials that convention planners are hesitant to book events in the face of the new law.
"That uncertainty is killing us right now," Williams said at the meeting in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
When the softwood lumber dispute, political friction over the war in Iraq, and less-than-flattering comments about U.S. President George Bush made by Canadian politicians and bureaucrats are thrown into the mix, the overall result is "a negative impression of Canada," said Williams.
"All of those things have contributed, each in their own way."
Because Canada's $57.5-billion tourism industry depends so heavily on U.S. visitors, a market that has declined some 30 per cent in the last five years, the good news from overseas is often overshadowed.
After all, Williams noted, 20 per cent growth in Chinese visitors only represents some 20,000 tourists.
"The Americans represent 35 million visitors a year," he said. ``You get 20,000 more from China. That's a drop in the bucket compared to what the American market means to us."
Still, foreign visitors are more apt to plan longer visits to Canada than Americans taking day trips across the border.
"It's important to keep in mind when overseas visitors come, they stay longer and spend more, so it's not a one-to-one ratio," said Weir.
The key to capitalizing on the surge in overseas visitors while reserving the downward American trend is better marketing, and more federal money to implement those strategies, said Williams.
"We've got to invest in those markets and put ourselves back on top of mind awareness, otherwise people just won't consider us when they're travelling."[/DIV]
