Travel Alberta temporarily halts promotion in China amid diplomatic spat
Decision made in light of tension between Canada and China following series of arrests
Travel Alberta has taken the rare step of asking its partners in China to stop promoting travel to the province.
The decision was made in light of the tension building between the two countries following the detention of Canadians in China.
Most recently, Alberta teacher Sarah McIver was detained and sentenced to administrative punishment for illegally working in China, according to Chinese authorities.
Her family has said she had been working for months in China without issue when Chinese authorities suddenly reached out to question her about her visa. She was then arrested, leaving her family deeply concerned.
She's the third Canadian to be detained since Meng Wanzhou, a top executive with China-based telecom giant Huawei, was arrested in Vancouver earlier this month.
Meng was arrested at the request of U.S. officials — who accuse her of violating trade sanctions on Iran — and released on bail pending extradition proceedings.
Two other Canadians — Michael Kovrig, who served as a diplomat with Global Affairs Canada, but was on leave to work with the International Crisis Group, a non-governmental organization; and Michael Spavor, a businessman who arranges tours of North Korea — have also been detained by Chinese authorities for what they said are national security issues.
Brendan Sutton, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said officials "have no reason to believe there is any connection between [Sarah McIver's] case and other recent cases of Canadians detained in China for alleged reasons of national security."
Not unprecedented
Royce Chwyn, the president and CEO of Travel Alberta, said the halting of marketing activities isn't unprecedented.
"This is not unlike when some other major event happens, whether it's weather-related, or some other significant event. We make a conscious decision: Is a tourism marketing message appropriate?" he said.
"So we are just sensitive to what's going on at the national level between the countries, but not discouraging travel in any way, shape or form."
Chwyn said Chinese travellers can still book trips and come to Alberta and he said according to his sources in China, many are.
"What we do know is that whenever a significant event happens and tourism is paused for messaging for all the right reasons, tourism is one of the quickest sectors to rebound, always."
Travel Alberta's decision was made in conjunction with Destination Canada, said Chwyn.
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