For an introduction to careers in tourism and hospitality, as well as a tourism school finder, videos, quizzes, and self-assessment tools to help you apply your skills to tourism, visit Discover Tourism.

Also, the Hotel Association of Canada is a member-driven organization, and as such, our members are our first priority. If you are a student or non-member business/organization, we will do our best to respond to your request but you must provide us with sufficient time (at least 5 – 10 business days) and understand that we will not always be able to provide you with all the information you are requesting.

We encourage you to review the FAQs and the News & Resource section of this site for basic information/statistics on the Canadian lodging sector. The HAC Hotel Industry Fact Sheet follows the stats generated by hospitality in Canada over a number of years. The HAC’s Hotel Econonimic Impact Report provides the most recently collected stats. Continue to check this site for updated information as it becomes available.

The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) conducts extensive research into the tourism and hospitality sector in Canada. Free downloadable reports are available covering a wide range of subjects including workforce demographics, labour supply and demand, tourism sector compensation and more.

In 2004 hotels in Ottawa, Toronto and Kingston introduced a 3% Destination Marketing Fee (DMF) to generate funds for the local tourism promotion agency to allow cities to market themselves to potential visitors, tour operators and convention planners. Since the introduction of the DMF in these cities, the tourism industry in a number of other Ontario cities have introduced or are studying the introduction of a DMF.

The fee is 3% of the room only portion of the guest bill. This amount is remitted by the participating hotel to be used by the local tourism promotion agency to promote the city as destination. It is not used for hotel marketing.

This mechanism is very common in Canada as well as internationally. In Canada, a supplementary hotel tax is in place in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

For non-members, we are pleased to provide you with this overview of the most current statistics available.

The most recent tourism and hospitality labour market information is available from the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC). Free downloadable reports cover a wide range of subjects including workforce demographics, labour supply and demand, tourism sector compensation and more.

Situation 1

The rental of a residential unit (for example, a hotel room, suite, or apartment) is exempt if it is rented for $20 or less per day of occupancy, regardless of the rental period. (Low-cost hotels and rooming and boarding houses are examples of premises that may offer this type of accommodation.)

Situation 2

The rental of a residential unit is exempt if the unit:

• Qualifies as a residential complex, or is a residential unit (for example, a hotel room, suite, or apartment) in a residential complex; and
• Is rented as a place of residence or lodging by the same individual for a continuous period of one month or more.

Is an establishment a residential complex?

Whether a hotel, motel, inn, or similar premises is a residential complex is determined as follows:

• If more than 10% of all of the residential units (hotel rooms, suites, apartments) in the establishment are rented for continuous possession or use for 60 days or more, the establishment is considered to be a residential complex.
• If 10% or less of all of the residential units in the establishment are rented for continuous use or possession for periods of 60 days or more, the establishment is not considered to be a residential complex.

Part of a building may qualify as a residential complex while another part may not. If specific rooms in part of a building (Part A) are used consistently for rental periods of 60 days or more, Part A is considered to be a residential complex. This means that rentals of rooms in Part A are exempt from GST/HST when rented to individuals for continuous periods of one month or more, regardless of the rental period for rooms in the other part (Part B) of the building. Unless Part B also qualifies as a residential complex, rentals of rooms in Part B are generally GST/HST taxable. However, if any room in Part B were rented at a rate of $20 or less per day, it would be exempt.

Calculation methods to determine the status of an establishment as a residential complex can be found in guide RC4036, GST/HST Information for the Travel and Convention Industry. This guide is available on the CRA website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/gp/rc4036/README.html.

Nationally recognized, industry validated training and professional certification programs for dozens of tourism and hospitality occupations are available through the emerit tourism training brand.

For employers, the Employers of Choice website contains resources to assist with navigating the various programs and agencies used to recruit foreign trained workers, as well as profiles of hospitality employers who’ve successfully retained international staff members.

The Copyright Act (the “Act”) requires that the Board certify tariffs in the following fields: the public performance or communication of musical works and of sound recordings of musical works, the retransmission of distant television and radio signals, the reproduction of television and radio programs by educational institutions and private copying. In other fields where rights are administered collectively, the Board can be asked by a collective society to set a tariff; if not, the Board can act as an arbitrator if the collective society and a user cannot agree on the terms and conditions of a licence. « more »