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• This study provides estimates of the government revenue directly attributable to tourism updated to 2011 and revised for 2008 to 2009. Tourism in Canada generated $21.4 billion for governments in 2011, up 6.6% from 2010. For every $100 of tourism spending in Canada in 2011, $27.17 went to governments.

• About 3.8% of total government revenue stemmed from tourism, a sector which accounts for 1.9% of the economic activity in Canada. The larger share of revenue versus economic activity is due to the fact that tourism goods and services such as fuel, accommodation services and recreation and entertainment services are more highly taxed than other goods and services.

• 78% of government revenue attributable to tourism stemmed from domestic tourism spending. The rest resulted from spending by international visitors. The study indicates that for every $100 spent by international visitors in Canada, $30.85 went to federal, provincial/territorial and municipal governments.

• The contribution of international visitors to government revenues from tourism has declined over the last decade, going from 36% in 2001 to 22% in recent years. The decline in travel from the United States to Canada over that period was an important contributing factor.

• The federal government collected 45% of the revenue attributable to tourism while the provincial/territorial governments collected 49%. Municipal governments received the remainder.

• For every $100 of tourism spending in 2011, the federal government raised $12.24, the provincial/territorial governments took in $13.29 and municipal governments received $1.65.

• Just over one half of the government revenue from tourism came from taxes on products sold to final consumers, like the Goods and Services Tax and provincial sales taxes. Taxes on employment income and business profits and contributions of employees and businesses to employment insurance and pension plans accounted for a third of the total. The remainder came from sales of goods and services by governments and from various taxes on production and intermediate output.

• Previously published estimates of the government revenue attributable to tourism for 2008 and 2009 were revised in this study as a result of new information on government revenues and tourism spending. The  estimates were reduced by $71 million in 2008 and by $171 million in 2009, less than 1% of the previously published estimates.