The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) Tuesday officially introduced the Canada-China Inbound Tour Operator Registration Program into the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame at its annual convention which kicked off Tuesday in Ottawa.

　　Canada and China have shared deep ties in tourism for many year. TIAC President and CEO Charlotte Bell told Xinhua that since Canada was granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) in 2010, the ADS program has grown significantly, and now includes 83 registered Canadian receptive tour operators across the country.

　　Building on the momentum of the ADS program, in 2016, TIAC launched the Canada-China Tourism Advancement program to further help the Canadian tourism industry be more China-ready. A strategic partnership with China UnionPay began three years ago is still going strong, including our Town Hall series and robust China readiness training.

　　Since the ADS program was implemented, inbound Chinese arrivals to Canada have grown from 200,000 travellers a year, to more than 694,000 in 2017, making China the second largest inbound market to Canada. The program has been one of the catalysts for the success of this market segment.

　　Belle said it is necessary to recognize contribution made by the program and the tour operators across Canada and formally pay tribute to the program at the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame.

　　The ADS program will be the first large-scale programming initiative ever inducted into the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame by TIAC.

　　Celebrating these milestones is even more important before approaching the close of the 2018 Canada-China tourism year, Bell added.

　　She said this year has been very exciting for the tourism industry, and TIAC has led more businesses through China readiness training than ever before. " But we do not consider this to be an ending but rather a continuation of the great work we've accomplished together between both countries."

　　Zhao Haisheng, minister-counselor of Culture of the Chinese Embassy in Canada spoke highly of the Canada-China Inbound Tour Operator Registration Program. He told Xinhua that the program has helped attract more and more Chinese tourists to Canada, boosting the cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries.

　　Created in 2006 by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame publicly recognizes those individuals or groups that have made tourism an important part of their life's work and whose actions have had a positive impact on the industry they serve.