Strategic collaboration unites the Canada brand with leading global airline networks to reach target travellers in South India, turn inspiration into bookings, and drive export diversification for Canada.

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 19, 2026 /CNW/ -- Destination Canada, Air Canada, and Lufthansa Group announce a joint pilot aimed at attracting target travellers from South India to Canada. The intention is to influence prospective Indian travellers to choose Canada as their destination for spring and summer 2027 and years to come.

This new partnership brings together Destination Canada's Canada, naturally brand platform, destination storytelling, and target guest insights with Air Canada and Lufthansa Group's customer intelligence, international networks, marketing capabilities and commercial distribution.

The partnership was made official during a signing ceremony in Mumbai, as part of the Team Canada Trade Mission (TCTM) to India, led by the Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade. The mission aims to build on the growing economic partnership and expansion of bilateral trade between Canada and India and help Canadian businesses position themselves and expand in a high-growth market.Tourism is one of Canada's most immediate and scalable export opportunities and is projected to contribute up to 10% of Canada's goal to double non-US exports by 2030.

Connecting storytelling directly to airline search and reservation engines

The collaboration aims to create a more seamless path from travel intent to flight confirmation, reaching valuable travellers through platforms they already know and use, and will come to life through destination storytelling, creator-led content and targeted marketing

The initiative is aligned with a broader shift in how global travellers discover, plan, and book trips to Canada. By combining audience insights, shared resources, and commercial infrastructure, the partners aim to determine whether deeper airline integration and partnerships can expand international demand faster and more efficiently than individually led campaigns.

Quotes:

The Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
"Canada has what the world wants: unforgettable destinations, world-class experiences and tourism businesses ready to welcome more international visitors. This new partnership will help turn that global interest into more travellers choosing Canada, creating new opportunities for businesses and communities across the country. By attracting more visitors from key international markets like India, we are growing our tourism sector, diversifying our trade relationships and building a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy."

Destination Canada
"This first-ever collaboration is a testament to the power of partnership and reflects the scale of Canada's global tourism opportunity. This initiative is a practical, data-driven way to reach valuable travellers through networks they already know and trust," said Gloria Loree, Senior Vice-President, Marketing Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer, Destination Canada. "By combining each of our unique assets, resources and perspectives, we can test a more precise, scalable way to grow demand for Canada, and support Canada's broader economic priorities. By testing new commercial models in overseas corridors, the partnership helps drive high-yield visitor spending directly into Canadian businesses from coast to coast to coast, supporting stronger tourism businesses, more resilient growth, and greater efficiency for all partners."

Air Canada
"Air Canada connects travellers from around the world to Canada, not only through our own extensive international network, but also through our comprehensive partnership portfolio, especially our longstanding partnership with the Lufthansa Group," said Raymond Ludwin, Managing Director of Promotional Marketing at Air Canada. "Together, and in further partnership with Destination Canada, we can connect even more international travellers to the wondrous destinations across Canada, from coast to coast to coast. This co-marketing partnership will tie the world-class destination marketing done by Destination Canada together with the complementary insights and marketing capabilities of our two airlines, ultimately delivering measurable value to the Canadian tourism ecosystem."

Lufthansa Group
"The strongest partnerships connect local market knowledge with global reach," said Kevin Markette, Senior Director – Regional Sales South Asia, Lufthansa Group "Connecting people, cultures, and economies is at the heart of Lufthansa Group's mission. Lufthansa Group's extensive global network and unrivaled North Atlantic connectivity provide travelers in India with seamless access to Canada and destinations across North America. By combining our customer relationships, market insight, and distribution strength in India with Air Canada's network and Destination Canada's traveller intelligence and market expertise, this pilot creates a compelling opportunity to inspire travel, unlock new demand, and drive sustainable growth."

Quick Facts

• Service Export Impact: Tourism is one of Canada's leading service exports. Building new commercial partnerships and reaching a broader mix of international demand supports Canada's wider priorities to diversify exports, strengthen competitiveness, and build a resilient economy.
• Trade Diversification Strategy: The Government of Canada has set an objective to double exports to non-U.S. markets over the next decade, supported by new commercial partnerships and trade-enabling infrastructure.
• Economic Contribution: Destination Canada projects that tourism could contribute 9 to 10 per cent, or up to $30 billion, toward Canada's goal of securing an additional $300 billion in non-U.S. exports by 2035.
• Market Outlook: Destination Canada's outlook forecasts overseas tourism demand growing faster than demand from the U.S. through 2035, strengthening economic diversification across markets, seasons, and sources of demand.
• Operational Footprint: Destination Canada will not establish a new office or permanent in-market presence through this pilot.

About the Partner Organizations:

Destination Canada

Destination Canada's mission is to influence supply and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad.

We promote Canada as a premier four-season leisure and business tourism destination around the country and world in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States. Additionally, our Business Events team uses global insights to target and attract international events aligned with Canada's top economic sectors.

We believe that tourism enhances the wealth and wellbeing of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors

Destination Canada is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada. For more information, visit www.destinationcanada.com.

Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Headquartered in Montréal, Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada's Aeroplan program is Canada's premier travel loyalty program, with more than 10 million members worldwide. Members can earn or redeem points on the world's largest airline partner network of more than 50 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers a selection of vacation and Flight & Hotel packages, tours, cruises, car rentals, and experiences. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada's passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada's climate-related ambition includes a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For additional information, please see Air Canada's TCFD disclosure. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX (AC).

Lufthansa Group

The Lufthansa Group is an aviation group with operations worldwide. It plays a leading role in its European home market. With 101,709 employees, the Lufthansa Group generated revenue of EUR 37,581m in the financial year 2024.

The Lufthansa Group consists of the business segments Passenger Airlines, Logistics, MRO and Additional Businesses. The Passenger Airlines business segment includes, on the one hand, the network airlines Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways. As part of a multi-hub strategy, they offer their passengers a broad range of flights from their hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome. Lufthansa Airlines also has close relationships with the regional airlines Lufthansa City Airlines and Air Dolomiti as well as Discover Airlines, the Lufthansa Group's holiday airline. Edelweiss, the leading Swiss holiday airline, has a close relationship with SWISS.

Eurowings also belongs to the Passenger Airlines business segment. This airline provides a comprehensive range of point-to-point connections for short- and medium-haul destinations, in particular from German-speaking countries.

SOURCE Destination Canada