Ottawa says Canada’s new rules for visiting Mexican nationals will spark a nearly $1 billion drop in Canadian tourism revenue, but save taxpayers more than six times that much.
Quoting from a Canadian government regulatory analysis, the Toronto Star says the requirement for Mexican visitors to have a visa for visiting Canada, which took effect 29FEB, will cost $997 million in tourism dollars in the next 10 years. But it also claims the rule will save Ottawa $6.6 billion in asylum processing costs, health care, shelter and other required spending.
Canadian government statistics say more than 25,000 Mexico residents applied for asylum in Canada last year. In 2023 alone, asylum claims from Mexican citizens accounted for 17% of all claims made that year from all nationalities around the world.
The new visa requirement is expected to affect roughly 40% of all Mexican travellers to Canada.
Beth Potter, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, said tourism businesses are already feeling the effect of the new visa rules.
“Certainly, we’ve already seen cancellations of Mexicans that had planned to travel to Canada,” she told Global News.
TIAC says Mexican tourists contributed more than $750 million to the Canadian economy last year.
The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) this week said the new visa rules “have already wiped out April-May for many tourism businesses and caused financial hardship for those now facing cancellation fees and losses.”
“To save the summer season, TIAO, Motor Coach Canada (MCC), the Ontario Motor Coach Association (OMCA), and industry partners are urging the federal government to implement an expedited visa processing time for those with pre-booked (i.e., prior to the announcement) departures to Canada,” TIAO said. “To promote visitor economy growth, they are also calling on the federal government to consider future measures to expedite visa processing for key international visitor markets.
“Mexico is one of Ontario’s top five international markets, accounting for $236 million in visitor spending and 230,600 visits annually. With visitors staying in Ontario for an average of sixteen days, the resulting spending at accommodations, restaurants, attractions, and retail is a direct generator of revenue for multiple destinations and substantial tax dollars for provincial and federal governments,” TIAO stated.
“As other international markets continue to recover, Mexico is currently Ontario’s top-performing visitor market. For many tour operators and motor coaches, for instance, Mexican visitors represent 24% of their total charter revenues for March to December 2024.
“The negative financial impact of the visa requirement changes comes at a time when tourism businesses are still recovering,” said Andrew Siegwart, President and CEO of TIAO. “As tourism operators continue to shoulder the burden of debt repayments, labour shortages, inflation, and rising commercial costs, we need policy measures that make it easier—not more difficult—for visitors to come to Canada.”
