OTTAWA, ON – Canada’s airports today applauded the signing of a formal agreement for Canada to be one of the approved destinations for tourist travel for nationals of the People’s Republic of China.

“Canada’s airports, in partnership with the travel and tourism sector, have sought Approved Destination Status for many years,” said CAC Air Policy & Facilitation Committee Chair Keith Medenblik, who also works in public affairs for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. “We will work with our communities and partners in the tourism industry to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

With a growing middle class and an increased propensity to travel, China is an ideal source of tourists for Canada. According to estimates from the World Tourism Organization, China will become one of the top three outbound tourism markets in the world in less than 20 years. Approved Destination Status allows Canada to actively promote Canada in China as an approved leisure destination. The Chinese now will be able to book leisure tours to Canada, where previously Canadian trips were limited to family, business or study visits.

Canada joins more than 130 countries with ADS, which allows Chinese travel agents to promote Canada as a destination for group leisure travel. The Conference Board of Canada projects that the move, long supported by Canada’s airports, is projected to grow the number of Chinese visiting Canada by 50 per cent by 2015. Last year, only 11,000 Chinese national overnight visits to Canada were recorded, making China a prime market for tourism growth.

The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) is the voice for Canada’s airports. Its 50 members represent more than 200 airports, including all of the National Airports System (NAS) airports and most significant municipal airports in every province and territory. Together, CAC members handle virtually all of the nation’s air cargo and international passenger traffic and 95% of domestic passenger traffic. They create in excess of $45 billion in economic activity in the communities they serve. And more than 200,000 jobs are directly associated with CAC member airports, generating a payroll of more than $8 billion annually.