Canada tourism.

Canada has a large domestic and foreign tourism industry. The second largest country in the world, Canada's incredible geographical variety is a significant tourist attractor. Much of the country's tourism is centered on Canada's four largest metropolitan areas, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa, well known for their culture, diversity, as well as the many national parks and historic sites.

In 2012, over 16 million tourists arrived in Canada, bringing US$17.4 billion in international tourism receipts to the economy. Domestic and international tourism combined directly contributes 1% of Canada's total GDP and supports 309,000 jobs in the country.

World Heritage Sites in Canada

Main article: List of World Heritage Sites in Canada
There are 17 World Heritage sites in Canada, including one of the oldest, Nahanni National Park, Northwest Territories, and one of the newest, the Red Bay Basque Whaling Station, Newfoundland and Labrador.Of these 17 sites, 8 of them are Cultural Heritages and 9 are Natural Heritages.

Canada's provinces and territories

British Columbia

Canada Place and the Burrard Inlet.
British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province and touches the Pacific Ocean. The winters in the coastal areas are relatively warm in comparison to the rest of Canada. British Columbia is divided into 6 regions:

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
Thompson Okanagan
Cariboo Coast Chilcotin
Northern British Columbia
Kootenay Rockies
Vancouver Island
British Columbia (BC) is Canada's most mountainous province and has some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world. Alpine skiing is a major draw for the province. The province has about 33 large ski resorts spread out from Vancouver Island to the Alberta border. Whistler, British Columbia, nestled in the rugged Coast Mountains, is consistently ranked as the ski resort destination in North America and co-hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Vancouver, the largest Canadian metropolitan area west of Toronto, is one of Canada's most multi-cultural cities. There is a large community of people of Asian origin Vancouver is a harbour city and provides beautiful landscapes of mountains and ocean.

Sites of interest in Vancouver

Capilano Suspension Bridge, a 136m long bridge 70m above the Capilano River
Stanley Park, a large forested park near downtown, the largest city owned park in Canada. 8 million visitors each year.
Granville Island, a small island near downtown with a public market, marina, shopping and theaters.
Chinatown, Vancouver, one of the largest in North America.
Robson Street, a bustling upscale shopping district with a good selection of restaurants.
Gastown, a mix of tourist-oriented businesses, restaurants and nightclubs.
Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Maritime Museum
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Vancouver Museum
Science World at Telus World of Science
Vancouver is home to the

BC Lions, Canadian Football League
Vancouver Canucks, National Hockey League
Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Major League Soccer
Victoria, British Columbia, located on scenic Vancouver Island, is a major Canadian tourist destination attracting millions of visitors each year. Popular activities for tourists are whale watching, enjoying the busking in the inner harbour area and visiting world famous Butchart Gardens.

Long Beach(Pacific Rim National Park) and the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet are popular tourist areas. Tofino, a town of only a few thousand, hosts more than one million visitors each year. Many new resorts are being built in the area to accommodate surfers, beach lovers, storm watchers and golfers.

Whale watching is common along the coastal areas of BC as is Pacific storm watching along the west coast of Vancouver Island during the winter months.

Wine tours are common in the Okanagan Valley, BC's wine and orchard country. The Okanagan valley area has some of the best beaches and warmest summer temperatures in Canada, as well as Canada's only.