The Canadian Experiences Fund

The Canadian Experiences Fund 

The Canadian Experiences Fund, delivered by regional development agencies across the country, is a two-year $58.5-million-dollar national program to help Canada’s tourism sector innovate and grow.

Funding

• Tourism in rural and remote communities: Investments to help attract tourists to rural and remote destinations, such as destination development planning, adventure trails, improving public tourism facilities and community beautification.
• Indigenous tourism: Investments that increase Indigenous tourism revenue, such as market readiness training, festivals celebrating Indigenous heritage, culture and art, and interpretation guides and installations.
• Winter and shoulder season tourism: Investments to encourage tourism more evenly throughout the year, such as festivals, tours and excursions to see local attractions, wildlife and culture, and tourism facility improvements, such as signage, specialized accommodations, and facility planning and development.
• Inclusiveness: Investments to increase the number of participants in LGBTQ2+ tourism events, such as urban and/or local pride festivals, LGBTQ2+ market readiness and touristic art events.
• Farm-to-Table tourism/Culinary tourism: Investments to grow food and beverage spending by tourists, such as developing and marketing regional culinary tourism trails, developing and implementing food festivals and farmers’ markets, and developing new culinary products and services using local produce.

Eligible Activities

• Product and service planning, development and implementation: designing new or improved tourism services and products (e.g., attraction, festival, tour).
• Market readiness training: working with tourism associations to provide market readiness training to businesses.
• Creating or improving tourism facilities: physical assets used by tourists (e.g., trails, campgrounds, shelters).

Deadline

Priority will be given to applications received before May 31, 2019.