NDP Leader Greg Selinger said the party will invest in the province’s tourism industry and new attractions, adding $20 million to upgrade our provincial parks.

“The tourism industry generates over 24,000 jobs here in Manitoba and this sustainable funding model will help the industry grow to over $2 billion dollars by 2020,” said Selinger. “By making strategic investments now, we can keep growing our economy and create even more good jobs here at home.”

Selinger said the NDP will adopt the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce’s 96/4 funding model for our tourism industry. He said this commitment will reinvest at least 4 per cent of all tourism tax dollars back into the industry.

Selinger said the low Canadian dollar means investing in tourism marketing will bring more tourists to the province and grow the economy.

The $20 million promise to make provincial parks even better for families to spend time together inludes:

- new yurts at Paint Lake, Nopiming and Duck Mountain Provincial Parks

- building a signature playground, more water stations, shade trees and picnic tables at Bird’s Hill Provincial Park

- expanding wi-fi access and improving country camp sites by building more accessible washrooms

- developing new maps for canoe routes and hiking trails with the help of Indigenous communities

“The Chamber of Commerce gave us a business case on how that will grow our economy, create good green sustainable jobs and we’ve decided to support it because we think it’s an excellent partnership to grow this province at a time when we need sustainable economic growth,” said Selinger.