Sights of countries around the world being destroyed by a long-running lack of respect for the environment leave us gobsmacked, wondering how we can make peace with mother nature again.
CEO of Destination Canada, David Goldstein told delegates at this year’s Rendez Vous in Toronto that one of Canada’s major drawcards was its pristine natural spaces and connectivity to national and provincial parks.
David even informed us that Canada boasts the largest number of hectares of protected space on the planet. Impressive.
“I think a lot of countries have felt they needed to have a specific sustainability initiative,” he said.
“Sustainability is already part of our DNA so it’s not a specific initiative but it is part of many or most of the experiences that you’ll see on the floor (at Rendez Vous 2019).”
CEO of Destination Canada, David Goldstein
He explained that Canada is proud to have very stringent regulatory and business practices in each of its parks.
“These parks are really our national treasure and are part of the gift that we give to our kids and grandkids and their generation after that,” he said.
“And in many ways, other parks organisations around the world look to Canada as to what we’re doing in the space of natural and provincial parks”.
David says overtourism hasn’t affected Canada.
“Receiving 20 million visitors in Canada is not flooding Canada and all the analysis says that we should be receiving 25 or 30 million visitors,” he said.
“There are pockets of Canada that in certain seasons of the year are full. Banff is one of them and our major city centres but we are working with our partners to focus our marketing on regional and seasonal experiences to try and disperse some of that travel,” he said.
David said the even though overtourism isn’t a problem in Canada – it’s still something the country should be mindful of.
“I wouldn’t sound the alarm off for Canada right now but we do have a strategy to convince people to try different parts of Canada at different times of the year,” he said.
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