Canada's Brand Takes the Gold – Olympic Bump Moves Canada to Top of Country Brand Index
Ottawa, November 5, 2010 — After several years near the top, Canada’s brand has reached the number one spot the Country Brand Index, according to the annual study conducted by FutureBrand.
“Canadians should feel proud of the world’s positive impression of us,” said Tourism Industry Association of Canada President and CEO David Goldstein. “Canada’s success in hosting the Winter Olympic Games, and the extraordinary efforts of the Canadian Tourism Commission in supporting and leveraging that event have clearly had a positive impact. But if we are to convert this upbeat opinion of our country into tourism business, we need a travel and tourism policy that does not create impediments for those valued potential visitors”
As outlined in the recently published whitepaper by TIAC and its partners in the National Travel and Tourism Coalition (Looking to 2020 — The Future of Travel and Tourism in Canada), Canada has fallen from the 8th most visited country in the world in 2002 to 15th in 2009, dropping behind competitors such as Turkey and the Ukraine. A return to the top 10 in international arrivals would mean 5.7 million more visitors spending $5.2 billion and generating 46,900 more jobs for Canadians.
The Country Brand Index is a survey of more than 3,000 international leisure and business travelers, who this year assessed 102 countries over a number of categories. The full report will be made public on November 11th.
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About the Tourism Industry Association of Canada:
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada is the voice of Canadian tourism. Founded in 1930 to encourage the development of tourism in Canada, TIAC serves today as the national private-sector advocate for this $74 billion industry, promoting positive measures that help the industry grow and prosper.
For more information, please contact:
Kevin Desjardins
Director, Communications
Tourism Industry Association of Canada
Tel.: 613.238.6251
Mobile: 613.240.7225
