ARCHIVED - Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership (ACTP)

ACOA

April 1, 2006

March 31, 2009

$9.95 million

Tourism offers significant opportunities for economic growth and social development in Atlantic Canada. The sector is far more important to the economic prosperity of Atlantic Canada than it is in other Canadian jurisdictions. Visitor spending injects $3.24 billion into the regional economy. Tourism employs over 110,000 Atlantic Canadians and represents 5.5% of the region’s GDP, compared with 2.5% nationally. For the past 15 years, ACOA has worked with provincial and industry partners to maximize the economic benefits of this sector.

The Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership (ACTP) was established in 1991 to promote the entire Atlantic region as a tourism destination in targeted markets. The ACTP is a nine‑member, pan‑Atlantic partnership comprising ACOA, the four provincial tourism industry associations and the Atlantic provincial government departments responsible for tourism.

To continue making inroads in key markets, and to continue to bolster the region’s tourism industry, the ACTP launched its fourth consecutive international tourism marketing initiative. This three‑year project (fiscal years 2006‑2007 to 2008‑2009), valued at $19.95 million, supports integrated, research‑driven consumer, trade and media relations campaigns to attract more visitors to Atlantic Canada from key markets in the United States, Europe and Japan.

The ACTP initiatives are:
•          United States Marketing Initiative – to effect greater tourism returns from the New England market; and
•          Overseas Marketing Initiative – to pursue the United Kingdom, German and Japanese markets through integrated marketing techniques.

The cost‑sharing for this partnership is 50% ($9.975 million) from ACOA, 30% ($5.985 million) from the Provinces, and 20% ($3.99 million) from the provincial industry associations. Contributions from ACOA and the Provinces are in the form of cash; contributions from industry associations include cash, in‑kind and other cash investments in relation to partnership‑related activities (e.g. trade registrations and trade partnerships).  See the ACTP website at http://www.actp-ptca.ca/.

The goal of the ACTP exemplifies the strategic outcomes for ACOA's priority of increasing revenues, profits, investment and wages.

The ACTP’s outcomes aim to:
•          increase Atlantic Canada’s competitiveness in targeted markets;
•          promote regional co‑operation (federal/provincial/industry);
•          promote incremental marketing activities;
•          achieve economies of scale in marketing;
•          raise awareness of Atlantic Canada as a “top‑of‑mind” destination; and
•          increase tourism arrivals and tourism revenues for the four Atlantic Provinces.

The activities of the ACTP are managed by a management committee comprising the presidents of the four tourism industry associations, the four provincial deputy ministers responsible for tourism, and two representatives of ACOA. The management committee is responsible for the administration and management of the partnership agreement, approving work plans and budgets, program evaluation, and overseeing the work of its marketing committee. The marketing committee undertakes activities that are coordinated by federal, provincial and industry representatives, and is responsible for implementing ACTP initiatives. A secretariat (annual budget $300,000) oversees the day‑to‑day operations of the ACTP and is responsible for implementing a communications strategy, as well as annual and end‑of‑agreement evaluations of the partnership.

ACOA is the sole federal funding department. The ACTP partners with the Canadian Tourism Commission on international research and marketing initiatives, on an ad‑hoc basis.

Federal Departments/Agencies:
•          Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (50% of funding)
•          Canadian Tourism Commission (may partner on marketing initiatives on an ad‑hoc basis)

Provincial Governments: (30% of funding)
•          Province of New Brunswick – Business New Brunswick and the Department of Tourism and Parks
•          Province of Nova Scotia – Department of Tourism and Culture
•          Province of Prince Edward Island – Department of Tourism and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
•          Province of Newfoundland and Labrador – Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation

Private Sector Organizations: (20% of funding)
•          Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador
•          Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia
•          Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick
•          Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island

United States Marketing Initiative

$8.30 million

$2.77 million

$2.76 million

Overseas Marketing Initiative

$1.2 million

$0.4 million

$0.4 million

N/A

Rob McCloskey, Director General,
Tourism Atlantic
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Telephone:  902-626-2479
E-mail: rob.mccloskey@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

International Business Development Program
(also/formerly known as International Business Development Agreement)

ACOA

April 11, 2005

March 31, 2010

$7.0 million

The International Business Development Program (IBDP) involves four Atlantic provincial governments and three federal departments: ACOA, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada. The previous International Business Development Agreement (IBDA) was first signed in May 1994 for three years and $3 million, and was extended in March 1997 for a further three years and $2 million. A second extension, for $8 million, involved the seven partners in international business development for a further four years from 2000 to 2004.

The new $10‑million IBDP will continue the work of the partners until 2010. Funding for the agreement is shared 70/30 by the federal and provincial governments. The IBDP’s mandate is: to undertake specific measures to optimize regional coordination on a pan‑Atlantic scale and combine limited resources to coordinate trade‑related activities. The commitment to this IBDP, with the increased funding allocation, attests to both the IBDA’s positive results and its significance for the future of the region’s international business development (see http://www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca/e/ibda/index.shtml).

The shared outcomes for the IBDP partners are as follows, and support ACOA’s priority for trade:
•       increased number of new exporters;
•       existing exporters reporting sales to new markets; and
•       existing exporters reporting increased sales to existing markets.

Since the original IBDA commenced in 1994, the Agency and its partners have administered over 200 projects involving some 3,500 Atlantic Canadian companies. The IBDA assisted 182 companies to begin exporting, 380 exporters to increase their export sales, and 259 exporters to expand into new markets.

ACOA is the lead organization for this initiative and houses the secretariat responsible for administering the agreement. A management committee, comprising a representative from each of the partners, is responsible for the planning and management of the agreement’s programs and the evaluation of projects.

Federal departments and agencies (70% funding)
•          ACOA (lead department)
•          Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada – non‑funding partner
•          Industry Canada – non‑funding partner

Provincial governments (30% funding)
•          Business New Brunswick
•          Nova Scotia Business Inc.
•          Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
•          Prince Edward Island Business Development Inc.

International Business Development Program (IBDP)

$7.0 million

$1.8 million

$2.1 million

5

N/A

Michel Têtu, Director General,
Trade and Investment
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Telephone: 506-851-6496
E-mail: michel.tetu@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

Team Canada Atlantic

ACOA

April 1999

March 31, 2010

$11.14 million

Team Canada Atlantic (TCA) is a partnership of ACOA and the four Atlantic Provinces, with support from Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada, Industry Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. TCA is committed to strengthening the trade and investment relationship between Atlantic Canada and the United States. From 1999 to 2008, approximately $6.5 million was spent on TCA missions; as of June 2008, mission participants reported actual sales of nearly $45 million.

The core of the TCA approach is the trade mission, which enables small and medium‑sized businesses from across Atlantic Canada to meet with potential buyers, agents, distributors and strategic partners in the United States. The mission format features a comprehensive program that equips private sector participants with the knowledge, contacts and advice they require to make the best of their international opportunities before, during and after their ventures abroad. Missions also provide the Government of Canada and the Atlantic provincial governments with crucial opportunities to promote the region as a tremendous location for foreign investment. See the TCA website at http://www.teamcanadaatlantic.ca/.

The TCA trade missions are focused on small to medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) in Atlantic Canada and are intended to assist SMEs to increase exports and attract investments in key markets.  The mission objectives are to:
•          increase export‑readiness for Atlantic Canadian SMEs;
•          develop new partnerships/alliances between Atlantic Canadian SMEs and companies in target markets; and
•          increase Atlantic Canadian SME export sales to new and established markets, as well as raise awareness of Atlantic Canada in these markets.

As of June 2008, Team Canada Atlantic had completed 14 missions to United States markets, involving 531 companies and more than 3,665 business meetings, and resulting in more than $44 million in actual sales.

A management committee, comprising senior officials of ACOA, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and provincial governments is the decision‑making body that directs and oversees the coordination and implementation of the TCA missions.  The TCA organizing committee is responsible for organizing the missions, and includes representation from the four provincial trade departments in Atlantic Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada, and the Team Canada Atlantic Secretariat.  The secretariat, housed at ACOA, is responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the TCA missions.

•          ACOA
•          Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada – non‑funding partner
•          Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada (AAFC) – $7,000/mission

Team Canada Atlantic

ACOA    $11.14 million

AAFC     $132,000

ACOA    $356,000 (G&C)
            $  75,000 (O&M)
AAFC     $    7,000

ACOA $337,829 (G&C)
ACOA $73,000 (O&M)
AAFC $7,000

N/A

Michel Têtu, Director General,
Trade and Investment
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Telephone: 506-851-6496
E-mail: michel.tetu@acoa-apeca.gc.ca