Interview: Canada's leading tourism destination ready to tap Chinese market
By Emma Huang, Shi Rong
TORONTO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Boasting world-famous Niagara Falls, various art and outdoor activities, and a large number of Chinese communities, Canada's leading tourism destination Ontario Province now is eyeing for fast-growing tourism market in China, said a senior tourism official of Canada.
Michael Chan, the newly appointed Ontario Tourism and Culture Minister, said the province would use its resources to tailor tourism products especially for Chinese tourists to maximize the benefit of Approved Destination Status (ADS) granted to Canada by China two months ago.
"We want all Chinese tourists to feel at home here," Chan said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.
Chan was named Minister of Tourism and Culture on January 18 this year when Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty shuffled his cabinet. Chan has held Ontario's revenue and immigration and citizenship portfolios since 2007. Canadian observers have described the appointment of the Chinese-born minister as an effort in "wooing the Chinese market."
Knowing What Chinese Tourists Like
replica breitling While claiming that ADS is still in negotiation between the two governments, Chan revealed he has been consulting many people, including Chinese officials and the President of the Canadian Tourism Commission in Vancouver, to maximum ADS benefits for Ontario.
"First of all, we should know what Chinese tourists are looking for," asserted Chan, who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, China, 40 years ago. He owned an insurance company in Markham, Ontario before getting into politics.
"Certainly, Chinese people won't enjoy lying on the beach, doing nothing," quipped the Minister, who visits China regularly and is up- to-date on Chinese political and economic development.
"For example, Ontario has the world-renowned Niagara Falls, the Thousand Islands, as well as the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. We also have so many authentic Chinese restaurants in Ontario," Chan said.
Ontario-made products like ice wine and ginseng would also be popular with Chinese tourists, Chan added.
From the culture perspective, Chan pointed out that in addition to the well-known museums such as Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), visitors to Ontario from China would also be interested in the province's symphonies, orchestras, ballet performances and film industry. All these will be intriguing to Chinese tourists who want to learn more about western culture, he said.
Canada's outdoor activities are sure to attract visitors as well, Chan said. "In Ontario, visitors can go fishing, hunting, and golfing in a clean environment, and under a blue sky."
All of these examples cited by Chan are likely to appeal to China's emerging middle class, including in particular the symphony performances and opportunities to play golf.
replica rolex Tourism industry sources told Xinhua that another way for Canadian destinations to boost their profile in China is to team up with famous Chinese tourism attractions.
A good example of this would be the links between Canada's Thousand Islands with China's Thousand Islands Lake, located in Zhejiang Province. The two have established ties last year through the Sino-Canadian Thousand Isl
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