NTA Members Sign Petition Opposing GST Elimination

November 16, 2006

NTA Members Sign Petition Opposing GST Elimination
Nov. 16, 2006 – Last week at its Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, more than 100 members of the National Tour Association signed a petition urging the Canadian government to reverse the suspension of the Visitor Rebate Program. The government announced earlier this fall that it will eliminate the program by April 1, 2007, which reimburses international travelers for the Canadian Goods and Services Tax and the Harmonized Sales Tax.

 

NTA has forwarded the petition to Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Among the list of signatures, three other associations attending NTA’s Annual Convention signed on – the American Bus Association, the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the United Motorcoach Association.

 

"NTA, its dedicated members, and our Canadian colleagues continue to press for the reinstatement of the Visitor Rebate Program," said NTA Chairman and CEO Randy Julian. "We are hopeful that the Canadian government will reconsider this arbitrary decision."

 

In an earlier news release, NTA Legislative Counsel Jim Santini stated that the elimination of the rebate would impede packaged tour commerce to and from Canada and hamper Canada’s visitor-friendly image.

 

The National Tour Association was established in 1951 as a unified voice to fight legislation in the newly formed packaged travel industry. Today, NTA’s government relations activities include monitoring security issues, as well as state and federal legislation and regulatory issues affecting the travel and tourism industry. NTA maintains full-time representation in Washington, D.C., to serve as the association’s voice on Capitol Hill. Additionally, NTA empowers its members to be advocates for the association on the local level, as well as to provide support for NTA’s positions on national priority issues through its Grassroots Action Network. For more information on NTA’s government relations activities, please visit http://preseason.ntaonline.com/www.NTA.travel or call 800.682.8886.

 

– 30 –