Participants gather in Quebec City for annual show

Organizers of the show promoting this country to international travellers put out the welcome mat for foreign tourism buyers and they responded.

Rendez-vous Canada 2023 ended in Quebec City last week, with organizers of the 4-day show proudly noting that it had returned to a pre-pandemic format, with sellers and buyers alike actually making the journey to Quebec’s capital.

“As we return to a full in-person format there’s an energy and optimism,” Destination Canada’s Maureen Riley told some 1,500 participants. “Canada is back and we are ready…

“Give yourselves a round of applause for being here and not being on Zoom.”

Last year’s show was described as a “hybrid” event, with some people actually being on hand for the Toronto event and others participating virtually.

However, delegates were also told by Destination Canada president Marsha Walden that tourism still has to contend with a number of negative factors, including inflation and labor shortages, with many of those who worked in tourism prior to the pandemic now employed elsewhere.

Riley lated told Travel Courier that show organizers were “very pleased” with it. “The energy is amazing. The interest (in vacationing in Canada) is there. We’re focusing on it.”

Much of this year’s show revolved around Indigenous tourism, with a large contingent of Indigenous tourism operators on hand for an event that overlapped with the start of National Indigenous History Month, and Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada president Keith Henry telling Rendez-vous participants that globally “Canada is seen as an amazing Indigenous (tourism ) destination.”

The discovery of large numbers of unmarked graves at different  residential schools shocked people across the country but Henry said it did heighten awareness of Indigenous issues nationwide..

“The way we shape the next 3 or 5 years is really an opportunity for healing in this country,” Henry added.

Indigenous tourism had to contend with the same pandemic-related problems as other sectors of tourism but Henry said it continued with its work, citing the opening of the Indigenous-owned Dakota Dunes Resort in central Saskatchewan.

“I really think the future is amazing,” he added.

 Henry’s ITAC colleague  Ryan Rogers later said Indigenous tourism is “one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry” and is offered by “people who have been on that land for thousands of years.”

Rogers also said that interest in the country’s first inhabitants is on the upswing in this country. “They (Canadians) want to learn more and there’s no better way to learn more than through Indigenous tourism,” he stated.

There’s no shortage of family friendly Indigenous tourism experiences, he added.

But Rogers cautioned that those who want an Indigenous tourism experience should make sure the company they’re dealing with is in fact Indigenous, adding if it isn’t it won’t be generating money for the Indigenous community and its employees may not be familiar with what their employer is promising.

Meanwhile, Quebec tourism authorities welcomed a chance to showcase Quebec to the international community, with Robert Mercure, general manager of Destination Quebec, stating the show was a “wonderful showcase for our unique tourism offerings and our cultural and culinary attractions, all proof of the exceptional dynamism of the magnificent Quebec City region.”

Martin Soucy, president of the Tourist Industry Alliance of Quebec, said Quebec tourism has been quickly recovering.

“With 98% recovery in terms of international visitors, Quebec is poised to be the first Canadian province to surpass its 2019 numbers,” he said. “Rendez-vous Canada 2023 will help build on this momentum. In a complex, competitive global business environment, we are more driven than ever to deploy strong and distinctive marketing, win the hearts of travellers, and continue to take measures to improve the sustainable performance of the tourism industry.”