The federal government has signed a tourism funding agreement with the Atlantic provinces worth $30 million. An iceberg is seen just outside of the Narrows of St. John's Harbour on Friday, June 13, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly
The federal government has inked a tourism funding deal with the Atlantic provinces valued at $30 million.
According to a federal press statement, the Atlantic Canada Agreement on Tourism aims to enhance year-round tourism in the region, catering to both domestic and international visitors.
Under the agreement, Ottawa will invest $18 million through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency over the next four and a half years, complemented by a $12 million combined contribution from the four Atlantic provinces during the same period.
Federal Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, accompanied by Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of rural development, and Steve Crocker, Newfoundland and Labrador's tourism minister, is currently in St. John's to announce the partnership.
Hutchings, in the press release, hailed the agreement as a groundbreaking collaboration, underscoring the longstanding significance of tourism to the region's economic prosperity.
According to the release, tourism accounted for 3.5 percent of the region's gross domestic product in 2022 and supported over 111,000 full- and part-time jobs.
