Ottawa is earmarking $70 million of dollars for the advancement of holiday travel within Canada as it aspires to help the tourism industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The earmarked amount was announced by Economic Development Minister, Melanie Joly and it includes $30 million that was initially earmarked to attract foreign visitors to Canada.
Instead, the initially earmarked fund will be used to help provinces and territories to motivate Canadians in discovering their “own backyard” as Canada’s international borders remain closed owing to COVID-19.
Also, the government is setting aside $40 million for tourism agencies in southern and northern Ontario and Western Canada can focus their attention on the pandemic.
The funding came at time when some tourism industry leaders are demanding that all levels of government co-ordinate their rules and regulations around travel as the summer season looms.
The tourism sector employs approximately one out of 11 Canadians and according to projections, the industry could lose around $47 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic.
