Canadian Federal Immigration (CIC) Minister Chris Alexander announced that in the period between January and September this year over 272,000 visas had been issued to Chinese tourists. This has set a new record with the number of tourist visas being issued to Chinese tourists already increased 225% from the number in 2006.
A press release issued by CIC shows statistics compiled after the summer peak tourism season. It shows that China leads other nations in the number of tourist visas issued. China is followed by countries such as India, Mexico, and Brazil. From January to August this year Canada issued 251,547 Multiple Entry Visas (MEV) to Chinese tourists which is a 245% increase from the same period in 2013.
90% of the tourist visas issued are MEV with a ten year validity. This visa allows eligible foreign nationals to enter and exit Canada every six months for the purpose of tourism or to visit relatives. Just last month Canada has issued close to 89,000 of these Multiple Entry Visas.(Translation by David)
