./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/CSS/W/54
14 March 2001
(01-1417)
Council for Trade in Services
Special SessionOriginal:  English/
French
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA
Initial Negotiating Proposal on Tourism and Travel-Related Services
The attached communication has been received from the delegation of Canada with the
request that it be circulated to Members of the Council for Trade in Services.
_______________
1. Canada reserves the right to modify this proposal at any time. This proposal does not prejudge
Canada’s position on other service sectors, nor any future offer on this or other sectors. This proposal
should be read in conjunction with the principles and objectives as outlined in Canada’s initial
negotiating proposal.
A. INTRODUCTION
2. As with nearly all Members, the economic benefits of tourism for Canada are vast. In 1999,
total tourism revenues for Canada surpassed the $50 billion mark, up almost 7 percent from the year
before. Of the total industry revenues, the Canadian domestic market accounted for 70 percent or
$34.8 billion. As a percentage of the total economy, tourism gross domestic product at factor cost
reached 2.5 percent or $20.3 billion in 1999. Tourism has been and continues to be seen as a leading
growth sector and job creator in the Canadian economy. Tourism revenues directly generated 524 300jobs in 1999, an increase of 1.2 percent over the previous year. However, overall employment in all
industries in the sector reached approximately 1.4 million jobs in 1999.
3. Tourism is an amalgam of parts of a number of separate industries. To varying degrees, it
includes transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, travel agency services and
recreation and entertainment industry groups. Thus, tourism is not just one industry, but across-cutting multi-industry sector. In 1999, the total number of tourism establishments in the tourism
industries’ aggregate was more than 158 000, the majority (98 percent) of which are small- and
medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
4. Aside from inbound tourism exports, other tourism expertise developed by Canada with the
potential for export includes leadership in the areas of sustainable development practices; resortdevelopment and design; hotel management services; parks and golf course development; and
ecotourism.
B. P
ROPOSAL
5. Despite the fact that the tourism sector attracted more commitments by Members than any
other sector at the end of the Uruguay Round, implementation of these commitment has sometimesfallen short and significant restrictions still remain.S/CSS/W/54
Page 2
6. While this list is not exhaustive, included among the most common restrictions appearing in
schedules are economic needs tests, citizenship requirements, size limitations for establishments,
restrictive licensing practices and fixed equity limits.
7. Canada would encourage other Members to focus negotiations on the W/120 classification of
Tourism and Travel related services with the objective of fully implementing existing commitmentsand liberalizing remaining restrictions to the extent possible. Canada would suggest that
individualized country checklists could be employed to deal with the more comprehensive nature of
tourism as an industry.
__________