Three is the magic number: Canada is again named the country with the world's best reputation.

Canada's global stature gives it the competitive edge to attract tourists, talents and investment from around the world.

For the third year in a row, Canada has been ranked No. 1 as the country with the best overall reputation in the world. The ranking, derived from the Reputation Institute's annual Country RepTrak (TM) report , saw Canada keep top spot ahead of Sweden in second place and Switzerland in third.

The Reputation Institute, a global private  consulting firm based in New York and Copenhagen, evaluates reputations of 50 countries based on online interviews with 27,000 people from G8 countries. The Country RepTrak (TM) measures the  trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings the public hold towards these countries, as well as perceptions of peoples' quality of life, safety and attention to the environment.

According to Nicolas Trad, the Reputation Institute's executive partner, there is a strong correlation between a country's reputation and the intention to visit, and that intention to visit alongside a country's income from tourism. "The perception held by stakeholders determine their decision to visit or live and work in a country, buy national debt, or purchase its products and services," says Trad. " Without a doubt, good reputation will always mean great national income for a country." The report underscores the link between country reputation and economic outcomes. Tourism has a vital role to play as a lever to drive trade and investment in ideas, education and business.

" A country's reputation is its personal calling card and Canada's tourism brand is expanding into all corners of the  globe," says Michele McKenzie, CTC President and CEO. "We're not just inviting the world to visit us, we're capitalising on our positive reputation to open new doors and create new opportunities for Canada, such as the impact of the business events travel sector on our economy".

Tourism generated revenue of $81.9billion for Canada in 2012. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism industry directly contributed $2.1 trillion in FDP and 101 million jobs to the global economy in 2012. This year, global tourism's contribution to direct GDP is forecast to grow by 3.1%, outpacing the growth of the total global economy  (2.4%). The future is even brighter: annual growth forecast is 4.4% per year  up to 2022.

About the Canadian Tourism Commission

The CTC is Canada's national tourism marketing organisation. A federal crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada, we lead the Canadian Tourism industry in marketing Canada as a premier four seasons destination. Our vision is to inspire the world to explore Canada. With our partners in the travel industry and the governments of Canada, the provinces and territories, we promote Canada's extraordinary experiences in 11 countries around the world, conduct original market research, offer stunning visuals through our Brand Canada Library and provide resources and tool kits to help industry leverage Canada's succesful tourism brand - "Canada, Keep Exploring". For regular updates on CTC initiatives subscribe via our website www.keepexploring.ca to newsletters. Follow us on twitter @ExploreCanada, Facebook.com/ExploreCanada, share images on Instagram.com/ExploreCanada or subscribe to your YouTube/canadiantourism channel.     

For further media  information please contact :
Nim Singh
Canadian Tourism Commission
singh.nim@ctc-cct.ca  
0207 389 9983 (not for publication)