The federal government signed a tourism funding agreement with the Atlantic provinces worth $30 million.

The federal press release stated, "The Atlantic Canada Tourism Agreement aims to expand year-round tourism to the region from local and international visitors."

The agreement includes an investment of $18 million from Ottawa through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency over the next four and a half years, along with a collective investment of $12 million from the four Atlantic provinces during the same period.

Federal Tourism Minister Thérèse Martinez Védrade is in St. John's today, Wednesday, alongside Jody Hutchings, the federal Minister of Rural Development, and Steve Crocker, the Minister of Tourism of Newfoundland and Labrador, to announce this.

In the press release, Hutchings described the agreement as a "pioneering partnership," adding that tourism has long been an important part of the region's economic success.

The statement noted that tourism contributed 3.5 percent to the region's GDP in 2022 and employed more than 111,000 full-time and part-time workers.