Hotel Online Special Report
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Canadian Tourism Commission and MasterCard 
Align to Promote Canada
 
OTTAWA, Nov. 3, 1998 -  To capture a greater share of the US$2 trillion global travel entertainment (TE) market and further their commitment to provide travellers with value-added benefits, MasterCard and the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) today announced a strategic alliance that will grow the C$44 billion Canadian tourism industry and promote Canada as a top travel destination worldwide.

In a joint announcement at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada conference in Ottawa, MasterCard and the CTC signed an agreement to support the goals of both organizations. The alliance will provide support to Canadian tourism-related merchants to enhance the way they do business year-round while providing value-added products and services to MasterCard cardholders travelling to and within Canada.

``The agreement recognizes the opportunity that tourism represents to the Canadian economy and the reality of the competitive marketplace in which it operates today,'' explained CTC president Doug Fyfe. ``The association of MasterCard with travel to and within Canada, their assistance in developing professionalism standards and the broad acceptance of MasterCard cards in Canada will help CTC partners grow their businesses and increase profitability.''

``Through our alliance with the CTC, MasterCard will develop programs that help improve the merchant infrastructure within the Canadian travel community,'' said Craig Penney, vice-president operations of MasterCard Canada Inc. ``We are committed to provide emerging technology, professional development programs and promotional offerings that help advance and drive tourism in Canada.''

``This alliance with the CTC clearly demonstrates our commitment to the growing global TE market by focusing on one of the world's top travel destinations,'' said Alan Brown, vice-president of global TE marketing for MasterCard. ``Our member banks, Canadian merchants and MasterCard cardholders around the world will benefit from this alliance with exclusive deals and value-added products and services-further distinguishing us from the competition.''

The agreement between MasterCard and the CTC follows MasterCard's successful alliances with government tourist authorities including the French National Tourist Office (Maison de la France), China National Tourist Administration and Mexico's National Tourism Secretariat.

The main aim of the strategic alliance between MasterCard and the CTC will be to help small- and medium-sized merchants in the Canadian Tourism Industry become more successful by:
 

Creating professional development programs through in-market seminars, case studies, self-help guides and interactive CD-ROMs;
Engaging in joint research to identify market segments by developing business profiles and pre-testing marketing and promotional campaigns;
Developing and adopting technology related to commercial transactions in the tourism industry; and
Integrating Canada into existing and prospective MasterCard promotions.

The Canadian Tourism Commission is a private-public sector organization that promotes the growth and profitability of Canada's tourism industry by fostering partnerships between government and industry that lever their individual strengths.

Its partners include hotels, airlines, railways, travel agencies, attractions, tour operators, retailers, financial services and technology firms as well as local, regional and federal government agencies which have an interest in tourism. Its academic, econometric and research partners have also made the CTC the leading world supplier of tourism economic information and analysis. The Commission's web site is located at http://info.ic.gc.ca/tourism.

MasterCard International has the most comprehensive portfolio of payment brands in the world. With 23,000 member financial institutions, serving consumers in 220 countries and territories, MasterCard is the industry leader in quality and innovation. More than 600 million MasterCard, Maestro, Cirrus and Mondex cards are accepted at more than 15 million locations worldwide. In 1997, gross dollar volume approached the equivalent of C$1 trillion. MasterCard can be reached through its web site at http://www.mastercard.com.

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Contact:
John Olsthoorn 
(Canadian Tourism Commission), 
(613) 957-9220, 
Jennifer Reed 
(MasterCard Canada), 
(416) 365-6664, 
Jane Yedinak 
(Shandwick), 
(212) 309-1401
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