Why Canada wants more overseas tourists to visit

Canada has launched a new drive to get more overseas tourists to visit the country. Yet staffing shortages, wildfires and a spat with China will not make the task easy.

“You can learn about nature, indigenous culture and our history,” says tour guide Jack Rivers.

These are three reasons why he thinks more people should take a chance on holidaying in Canada.

Mr Rivers, who is indigenous, leads organised walks around Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, in Ontario.

It’s an unspoiled area, where dense forests line the shore of Lake Huron.

The walking tours are part of Wiikwemkoong Tourism, an indigenous tourism organisation that teaches visitors about native history and the land.

Mr Rivers says his job is “great”, but he admits that it is not for everyone. “It’s not an 8-4 job,” he says, adding that “it relies on people working weekends and being away from their family”.

Aa a result, Wikwemikong Tourism has struggled to retain staff, a problem that’s reflected across a Canada-wide tourism sector still said to be short of hundreds of thousands of workers.