Quebec urges Ottawa to help reverse tourism decline

Major Lazer performs at the 45th Festival d'ete de Quebec on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec city Wednesday July 11, 2012. The Festival d'ete de Quebec is Canada's largest music festival with more than 1000 artists and close to 300 shows over 11 days. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Festival d'ete de Quebec.

Quebec has kicked off its tourist season with the unveiling of the QuebecFest platform, a resource for information about 23 major tourist events taking place this summer, ranging from the Saint-Tite Western Festival to the Grand Rire in Quebec City to the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

About 10 percent of the five million visitors expected at the events will be from out of province.

Longtime former PQ cabinet Minister Louise Beaudoin is overseeing the initiative and described it as a method of helping making Quebec and Canada major tourist destinations.

Beaudoin said that she hoped that the federal government would invest $35 million more in tourism, as it is one of five countries which has seen a decline in tourism over the last decade.

According to Tourism Quebec, Canada went from seventh to 18th place as a tourist destination in that time.