Friendlier visa processes needed for tourism, report finds

Stringent travel requirements reduce ‘travel demand’ to Canada at least 30 per cent

As Canada’s tourism industry continues its decline, a new study recommends friendlier visa processes to encourage travel to the country.

The air transportation industry employs 400,000 people and generates $35 billion annually to the Canadian economy, but it is still far from realizing its full potential, said a Con- ference Board of Canada study released Monday.

“Visa requirements for travel to Canada have a major impact on air travel,” said Vijay Gill, who, along with Neil Raynor, co-authored the report, titled, “Growing Canada’s Economy: A New National Air Transportation Policy.”

“While they play an important security role, visa requirements are also a major impediment to air travel because of the direct cost, time required and general inconvenience involved,” the report states.

According to the 54-page study, stringent visa requirements “dampen travel demand” to Canada by 30 per cent or more, and particularly affect the growth of emerging markets in Latin America and Asia. Currently, Ottawa requires visitors’ visas from almost 150 countries, the majority of them in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Researchers examined changes in travelling patterns from more than a dozen countries such as the Czech Republic, Croatia, Mexico and Poland before and after Canada imposed visa requirements. The number of Mexican visitors, for instance, dropped significantly from 271,000 in 2008 to 123,000 in 2010, after Ottawa required visas from Mexico in the summer of 2009. Tourism in Canada has declined significantly in the past decade, falling from eighth place to 18th place in global rankings, the study said, resulting in a glaring $16 billion international travel deficit. It suggests that Canada should market itself as a viable transit point for long-distance travellers. “Canadian airports are well posi- tioned to be connecting points for traffic between China/India/Japan/ Korea and Latin America (Mexico and Central and South America). Generally, flight distances are too long to be flown non-stop on most of these routes,” the study said.

“The keys to realizing these opportunities are supportive of air access agreements and a more competitive environment in terms of the expansion of the Transit Without Visa Program, less onerous visa requirements, more efficient transfer/transit procedures and lower costs of operations.”