Canada is a stunning destination to travel to and explore. From waterfalls to beaches and towering skyscrapers to castles, it’s a country that has it all. Despite having much appeal, Canada has not fully recovered from the travel restrictions put in place back in 2020. To help boost travel to the country, the government has launched “A World of Opportunity” plan, to make Canada a leading global destination by 2030.
This article will take you through some of the ways Canada plans on achieving this target.
Boosting employment
People are at the heart of tourism. From those working in hotels to tour guides and people running attractions. The experiences people have in Canada are likely to have been impacted by the people who work there. Those working behind the scenes to make sure travellers to Canada have the best experience keep tourism to the country ticking. Word of mouth can be one of the biggest advertisements and marketing campaigns. Ensuring travellers have a pleasant experience when they arrive means they could encourage others to visit.
Currently, tourism sector employment is still lower than it was pre-2020. This is where key partnerships are required.
Forming valuable partnerships
The Canadian government launched the Indigenous Tourism Fund back in 2022. This fund has allocated $20 million to help support growth in the indigenous Canadian tourism industry. Tour guide Jack Rivers revealed that due to the job having varied hours and requiring weekend work, it’s hard to retain staff. Tourism HR Canada is also launching the Ready to Work program. This is designed to help businesses recruit those looking for employment.
Online gaming boosts tourism
It’s not just land-based casinos that help tourism. Canada has some of the highest-paying online casinos, with plenty to choose from, locals and tourists can easily find the best online casinos in Canada 2025. Because of this, it attracts people to the country to try out the online casinos that are available. Canada’s legal framework, teamed with good infrastructure for technology means online casinos can operate successfully. In fact, Canada saw online gambling increase in popularity, with reported to amass almost 4.4 billion CAD a year as of 2024.
Entertainment to bring in tourism
Entertainment can be a real driving force for tourism, whether it’s in hotels or city centres. Having entertainment, such as casinos, can bring in local and international tourism. It can also open new career opportunities. There are some incredible casinos in Canada that blend with other iconic attractions. The Casino Niagara in Ontario, as the name suggests, sits on Niagara Falls. Or you have Casino De Montreal in Quebec, which is one of the largest casinos in the world.
New tariffs could hinder efforts
However, despite new ambitions and previous records, Canada could still have some challenges in its way when it comes to tourism. It had been announced that most goods from Canada could face a 25% import tariff under the Trump administration. Because of this, Canada had also announced retaliatory tariffs. These tariffs could cause a knock-on effect and indirectly hurt not only employees in Canada’s travel sector, something they’re trying to boost and encourage people into, but also domestic travellers.
Diplomatic tensions
The Trump administration’s potential tariffs aren’t the only diplomatic problems Canada faces. The country has also been affected by the reduced numbers in tourists from China. Following a diplomatic row back in 2018, Chinese visitor numbers fell. In 2023, China released a list of approved travel spots following the pandemic, leaving Canada off the list completely, slowing down travel to Canada from China.
Environmental impact on tourism
While the environment can’t simply be controlled, the Canadian government will need to think about how to support the travel sector when it’s impacted by factors beyond its control. July 2024 saw a wildfire, said be the biggest in the region for a century, destroy a third of the buildings in Jasper, in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. This includes hotels and restaurants. While most of these buildings will have insurance, it could take months or even years to receive payments to rebuild.
Previous attempts to boost tourism
The goal for 2030 isn’t the first time Canada set its sights on increasing tourist numbers. Canada has been trying to encourage tourism growth for many years now. Back in 2018, it opened new flight paths. Increasing the service to airports was one way it wanted to encourage visitors to the country. This was a simple and effective way that opened up an additional 2 million seats to bring in tourists. This was a record-breaking year for tourism into Canada.
Canada has a clear mission to boost its tourism. With a range of challenges in its way, from tariffs to environmental factors, the world will be watching as it tries to navigate its plan to become a leading global destination by 2030.
