ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The federal government has signed a tourism funding agreement with the Atlantic provinces worth $30 million.
A federal news release says the Atlantic Canada Agreement on Tourism is aimed at expanding year-round tourism to the region from domestic and international visitors.
The agreement includes an $18-million investment from Ottawa through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency over the next four and a half years, alongside a $12-million collective investment from the four Atlantic provinces over the same period.
Federal Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada is in St. John's today alongside Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of rural development, and Steve Crocker, Newfoundland and Labrador's tourism minister, to make the announcement.
In the news release, Hutchings described the agreement as a "trailblazing partnership," adding that tourism has long been an important part of the region's economic success.
The release says tourism contributed to 3.5 per cent of the region's gross domestic product in 2022, and employed more than 111,000 full- and part-time workers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2024.
The Canadian Press
