The Canadian Airports Council and National Airlines Council of Canada
encouraged by priority on travel and tourism competitiveness
OTTAWA, Feb. 12, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Airports Council and National
Airlines Council of Canada today applauded the Canadian Chamber of
Commerce's recognition of 'uncompetitive travel and tourism strategies'
as one of the Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness for 2013.
In its Top Ten Barriers to Competitiveness, the Canadian Chamber of
Commerce today notes that aviation enables all the other sectors of the
tourism community. High transportation costs, increasing fees, and
added taxes on consumers and industry, have helped contribute to a drop
in Canada's position among the world's tourism destinations from
seventh place to 18th in just a decade. The Chamber also calls for the development of a new
tourism competition strategy and renewed government support for
marketing.
"Canada's aviation sector supports initiatives that encourage more
travel by air to, from through and within Canada," said CAC president,
Daniel-Robert Gooch. "Improving the aviation industry cost structure is
part of this, and there are a host of additional areas in which changes
to government policy can greatly improve industry competitiveness, such
as improving visa access, resources for border services and renewed
government support for marketing of Canada overseas in ways that do not
add to the aviation cost burden."
"We applaud the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's initiative highlighting
the heavy toll high aviation taxes and fees exact from the Canadian
economy. While the economic benefits of air transportation are
significant and the sector supports over 400,000 Canadian jobs, the
benefits could be much greater if appropriate policies were enacted.
The present level of taxes, fees and charges is limiting the ability of
Canadian air carriers to compete in global markets and constraining
economic growth," said George Petsikas, President of the National
Airlines Council of Canada.
"Canada's large air carriers urge the government to adopt a new
strategic aviation policy that reflects the realities of the industry
today. This new strategy must stop treating the aviation sector simply
as a source of public revenue and recognize that it is an economic
engine that can drive our economy, trade and tourism," added Petsikas.
About the Canadian Airports Council
The Canadian Airports Council (CAC), a division of Airports Council
International-North America, is the voice for Canada's airports
community and the Canadian unit of Airports Council International-North
America. Its 45 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.
About the National Airlines Council of Canada
The National Airlines Council of Canada is a trade association founded
by Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Jazz Aviation LP in order to
ensure safe, sustainable and competitive air travel.
SOURCE: CANADIAN AIRPORTS COUNCIL
