Appendix A:
Concepts and definitions

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The aim of this study is to estimate the revenue to government that can be attributed to tourism in Canada. Government revenue includes both tax and non-tax sources. To the extent that tourism demand supports the production and sale of goods and services, which in turn generates jobs, employment income and profits, it also generates revenue to government through taxes and other non-tax sources. As such, some government revenue is attributable to tourism.

Only those revenues that are directly attributable to tourism are identified. These revenues stem from taxes either on sales of goods and services to visitors or taxes on the income generated by the production of these goods and services and from government sale of goods and services to tourists. Revenues that are indirectly attributable to tourism; for instance through taxes generated by suppliers of tourism industries, are included with those that are not directly attributable to tourism. These revenues are not separately identified. Table A1 below details the various sources of revenue included in the study.

This study follows the concepts and definitions of tourism in the Canadian Tourism Satellite Account (CTSA). The CTSA in turn follows the internationally recognized System of National Accounts (SNA) and the recommended methodological framework for Tourism Satellite Accounts adopted by the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Statistical Commission.

Tourism, as defined internationally, is "the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one year for leisure, business and other purposes." In Canada, usual environment has been defined as less than 80 kilometres one way away from home. Crossing an international boundary is considered tourism regardless of distance travelled. Exclusions are commuting, travel for education, travel by armed forces or diplomats, and migration.¹⁰

Tourism demand, defined as total spending by tourists on domestically produced commodities, includes all spending by same-day and overnight visitors, Canadian and non-resident. Tourism demand can be split into two components domestic demand, and international demand. Tourism domestic demand includes the expenditures associated with tourism activity in Canada by its residents. International demand, also called tourism exports, consists of the expenditures by non-residents in Canada on tourism. Several other key definitions related to tourism, among others, can be found in the glossary.

Table A1
Sources of government revenue

Federal	Provincial/territorial	Municipal
Income taxes
Personal income tax	Personal income tax
Corporate pro?ts tax	Corporate pro?ts tax
Other taxes on production
Softwood lumber fees	Real property taxes	Real property taxes
Fishing licences	Grants in lieu of taxes	Developer's fees (lot levies)
Mining leases and royalties	Capital taxes	Special assessments
GST penalties	Business taxes	Other property and related
Canadian dairy commission, levy	Miscellaneous property related taxes	Poll
Canadian television fund-lic.fees	Payroll taxes	Grants in lieu of taxes
Other miscellaneous taxes	Commercial motor vehicle licence	Licences and permits
	Natural resource taxes	Business
	Natural resource licences	Other miscellaneous taxes
	Agricultural insurance premium
	Insurance premium taxes
	Liquor licenses
	Other licences  and permits
	Business ?nes and penalties
	Business donations
	Other miscellaneous taxes
Taxes on products
Excise duties	Provincial trading pro?ts	Local amusement tax
Excise taxes	Gasoline taxes	Sales taxes
Federal sales tax / GST	Provincial amusement tax	Deed transfer tax
Gasoline taxes	Liquor gallonage tax
Air transportation tax	Retail sales (PST/HST and other) tax
Customs import duties	Land transfer tax
Federal-provincial lottery agreement
Pari-mutuel supervision
Contributions to social insurance plans (by employers and employees)
Employment insurance	Quebec pension plan
Canada pension plan	Worker's compensation
Government sales of goods and services

10. This is the definition used in the CTSA 2000 and 2002 which, in turn, follow the definition used on the Canadian Travel Survey (CTS). A new operational definition of tourism however was implemented in Canada in 2005 when the Travel Survey of Residents of Canada (TSRC) replaced the CTS. Now, tourism is defined as same-day trips exceeding forty kilometers one way from home and all overnight trips that are "out of town". Exceptions concerning travel to work for education, for military purposes and migration remain. Routine trips are now excluded from tourism, in order to better reflect the notion of usual environment. A more detailed explanation of the differences between the CTS and the TSRC is available at Statistics Canada's website.