28-Jun-2010 11:09 AM

GTAA commends governments of Canada and China on granting of Approved Destination status

Direct News Source

25-Jun-2010 The GTAA commends the Governments of Canada and China on the announcement that China has granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) to Canada, which will allow for significant growth of the Canadian tourism industry.

With ADS now in place, Chinese citizens can now more easily obtain tourist visas to travel to Canada for leisure purposes, will allow Chinese travel agencies to market leisure group tours in Canada and would allow Canada and the Greater Toronto Area to actively market its tourism products in China.

This is particularly important in that China is expected to become one of the top three outbound tourism markets in the world by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization.

"We're very pleased with this announcement and what it will mean for Toronto's tourism industry," said Toby Lennox, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications for the GTAA. "We particularly appreciate the efforts of the Government of Canada regarding this initiative, which will be a great benefit for Toronto Pearson's guests."

The GTAA, other Canadian airport authorities and tourism organizations across the country have long advocated for this designation and expect that this announcement will have substantial impacts on our tourism industry and the Canadian economy in general.

The GTAA is the non‐share, not for profit authority that operates Toronto Pearson. All revenue generated by the GTAA is reinvested back into the airport. In 2009, 30.4 million passengers travelled through Toronto Pearson.