Five Industries
There are five industry groups in the tourism sector, including:
Accommodation
Food and Beverage Services
Recreation and Entertainment
Transportation
Travel Services
In 2005, for consistency of communication and in order to be compatible with international statistical standards, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC), the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, and the Canadian Tourism Commission all agreed to use the same terminology and classifications when describing the organization of tourism services. Based on the Canadian Tourism Satellite Account (CTSA), the CTHRC and the other tourism authorities recognize five tourism industry groups within the tourism sector: accommodation, food and beverage services, recreation and entertainment, transportation, and travel services. Within these five groups, the CTSA recognizes 20 individual industry sub-groups.
In the 1990s, Canada was a pioneer in developing the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), a statistical instrument for defining and describing tourism as a multi-industry sector consisting of various components of five established industry groups that provide services directly to visitors. The TSA has since become an established international standard, used by more than 70 countries, for providing credible information on tourism as an economic activity. For consistency and credibility in communications, it is important that all Canadian tourism professionals and businesses continue to endorse and work with the accepted terminology and classifications for describing the economic aspects of tourism. 
Scott Meis
Special Advisor, Program Evaluation and Research
Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council
Special Advisor, Program Evaluation and Research
Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council
