Canada halts China tourism campaigns as row intensifies
As ties become further strained with a third Canadian national detained in China, tourism could be the big loser.
National tourism marketing agency Destination Canada will halt marketing activities in China for the time being.
"Destination Canada, along with our co-invested partners, have decided to temporarily pause or postpone our current marketing efforts in China," the organization said.
"China continues to be our third largest inbound market and of significant strategic importance in the future."
It comes on the back of a successful Canada-China Year of Tourism campaign.
Tourism marketing agencies in the provinces are also halting activities.
"We really don’t want to be fueling the fire during a time when there’s other stressful conversations going on," said Cathie Bolstad, CEO of NWT Tourism.
"[We’re] just trying to quiet the conversation right now in terms of tourism."
It could have a more damaging affect in the Northwest Territories as China is the top inbound market for the region.
The dispute stems from the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver earlier this month at the behest of the US.
She is facing possible extradition to the US on suspicion the company circumnavigated US sanctions in Iran.
In the recent past China has directly and indirectly used tourism as a political weapon to punish nations.
Restive province Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand have all been hit hard with a big drop in inbound tourist numbers fueled by nationalist boycotts.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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