An agreement that gives Canada approved destination status (ADS) for Chinese travellers was one of many memoranda of understanding that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese President Hu Jintao signed in Ottawa June 24.
But while the agreement will be a boon for B.C.’s tourism industry, it is far from a distinctive honour. More than 130 countries have already signed similar agreements with China.
“When we started the ADS process 10 years ago, we were one of a handful of destinations competing for getting ADS,” said Tourism Vancouver vice-president of leisure travel Stephen Pearce. “We saw it as a huge competitive advantage. Ten years later, it’s just about getting onto a level playing field with everybody else who is already there.”
The U.S., U.K., Australia, France and New Zealand already have approved destination status. But it’s not just western nations that China agrees to allow its citizens to visit more freely and for foreign travel operators to advertise in China to attract potential visitors. Even Albania got approved destination status before Canada.
Premier Gordon Campbell said ADS would increase tourism revenue and generate jobs B.C.
“It represents an important step forward in strengthening our role as Canada’s gateway to the Asia Pacific.”