Boosting tourism would benefit entire country

Investing in major events pays off, writes Martin Roy.

There’s every reason for optimism about the tourist season getting underway in Canada with Tourism Week from May 28 to June 3 and the first major events and festivals being rolled out across the country, in this year of the 150th anniversary of Confederation and Montreal’s 375th birthday.

This is the most propitious opportunity in a long time for our destination — which has topped the New York Times and Lonely Planet’s annual lists — to attract more international tourists than ever.

Each year, there are more than a billion international tourists who travel the world in search of a change of scenery and new experiences. The World Tourism Organization predicts that this will increase to 1.8 billion in 2030, representing an average annual growth of 3.3 per cent. In 2016, Canada welcomed nearly 20 million foreign visitors, the most in the past 14 years, and this could see it climb a few rungs up the list of the Top 20 international destinations, after ranking 18th in 2015.

As the festival and events season gears up, Festivals and Major Events (FAME) asks that the federal government take a step further in promoting the arrival of international tourists and generating benefits. What is needed is a program to help foster the growth of major events like the Ottawa Bluesfest, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Just For Laughs Festival, Fredericton Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival and Festival d’été de Québec. Such events are held in most provinces. To this end, FAME suggests using part of the 150th-anniversary budget allocation to start a permanent fund.

In addition to their positive social and cultural benefits, festivals and events act as very appealing products to help market destinations. They help turn vague intentions to travel to Canada into concrete plans to attend not-tobe-missed events.

Each dollar invested by the governments in festivals pays off two and a half times in terms of tax revenues and incidental taxes.

In 2009, we estimated that a group of 15 major events would alone generate more than a billion dollars of spending and $650 million in GDP for the country. It has also been established since then that each dollar invested by the governments in festivals pays off two and a half times in terms of tax revenues and incidental taxes. More than 10 per cent of the festivalgoers at many events come from outside the country. Osheaga, where more than two-thirds of participants come from outside of Quebec, shows what can be done.

Elsewhere, various jurisdictions have understood the importance of investing in festivals and events, which are increasingly becoming worldwide social phenomena as well as significant tourism opportunities, as evidenced by the success of Coachella in California, Tomorrowland in Belgium, and SXSW in Texas. The Lone Star State alone invests nearly $40 million annually in a fund for various events, while the city of Austin contributes more than $12 million annually.

In Canada, Quebec and Ontario recently announced reinvestments, each increasing their program budgets to more than $20 million, but the federal government has not moved forward since the end of the Marquee Tourism Events Program in 2010. Through Canadian Heritage and economic development agencies, Canada indirectly supports up to four per cent of a sector that in other countries — France, Sweden and Ireland, to name a few — is proportionally funded to a greater degree. In the U.K., the public revenue share in British Arts Festival Association members is as high as 28 per cent.

The Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers is already evaluating the possibility of collaborating with this significant, but fragile industry. To enable Canadian festivals and events to be more attractive and competitive on the international scene and offer a higher quality “product” and enhanced experience to their client base, FAME asks the federal government to do its part.