| Canadian tourism is setting an ambitious goal to move up the tourism ladder. Whether it can be achieved is something nobody will know for several years.
Destination Canada on Thursday May 16 launched its new tourism strategy, ‘A World of Opportunity‘ which sets a firm focus on transforming the Canadian tourism sector and catapulting Canada back into the top seven global destinations by 2030.
Destination Canada President and CEO, Marsha Walden, and Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism, officially presented the tourism roadmap designed to increase Canada’s global competitiveness and bring in up to $160 billion in annual revenue by 2030, “transcending the traditional constraints that currently cap the tourism industry’s potential at $140 billion.”
Canada’s global competitiveness has continued to slip since 2009. The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index recently ranked Canada as 13th – a drop of three places and marking the first time Canada has fallen out of the top ten. Canada was ninth in 2019.
One of the keys to success will be attracting more visitors during the cooler shoulder seasons. Tourism reps also want people to stay longer and to attract more locals, foreign visitors and business people to a wider range of Canadian destinations.
“We would love to retain our workforce longer into the season,” Walden told Canadian Press. “And normally the product doesn’t need to be hugely adapted to take in a new season like fall and approaching into winter.
“We really need to lean heavily on expanding further into the shoulders.”
 You’ll find a stylized Canadian flag at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario; the southernmost point of Canada at around 42 degrees of latitude. JIM BYERS PHOTO Building out attractions into year-round vacation spots is also an option, with resorts from Quebec’s Mont Tremblant to Ontario’s Blue Mountain showcasing how summer activities can lure visitors beyond the traditional ski crowd.
The report also seven “levers for improved competitiveness.” That list includes an increased labour supply, “investing in Canada’s global brand,” and streamlining border processes.
The final lever is one I find odd: “Deepen Canadians’ pride in their home and love for hosting visitors. Share expert advice and insights that create a policy environment where tourism thrives.”
How on earth would that happen? Do you run commercials pleading with Canadians to be proud of our country and be nice to visitors? Didn’t we do pretty good on 9-11 with the stranded passengers in Gander, Newfoundland?
I asked officials about this, and Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. was kind enough to respond.
“This lever emphasizes the importance of fostering a deeper connection and pride among Canadians for our country. By doing so, we can enhance the experience of hosting visitors. Our aim is to inspire Canadians to share their love for our diverse landscapes, cultures, and communities. It is also aimed at helping Canadians, and politicians, understand the value, both economic and social, that tourism brings to communities.
“To lead this effort, Destination Canada has launched an advisory committee on public and policy support. Nik Nanos chairs this committee, and I serve as vice chair. TIAC is exploring tactics to change Canadians’ perception of the value of tourism for the better. This includes sharing expert advice and insights to create a policy environment where tourism thrives. TIAC, along with the Provincial and Territorial Tourism Industry Associations (PTTIA), will play a crucial role in this initiative. Our collective efforts will focus on investing in infrastructure, marketing, and training programs to equip hosts with the tools they need to offer.”
Still not sure how this will be done, but Potter’s has a lot of experience and has always seemed sensible to me. So we’ll see.
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The report also said that transformative growth for the tourism sector will be achieved through four strategic drivers, each backed by coordinated initiatives and actions.
Sector Advancement | A Competitive Canada
None of the ambitious goals can be reached unless Canada is more competitive. Destination Canada has consulted with industry to identify seven levers that can boost the sectors competitiveness. Those include
Brand Leadership | Driving the Brand
Creating a more sustainable and balanced tourism landscape through strategically targeting and geographically dispersing guests to expand seasonality and provide local opportunities.
Destination Development | Propelling Investment and Supply
Working with communities and corridors to create long-term destination development strategies, and identify needed tourism infrastructure as well as the products, services, workforce and access required to meet the expectations of our guests and the needs of local communities.
Collective Intelligence | Leading with Data
Expanding the accessibility of data and insights, empowering businesses large and small, to compete with the world.
“Canada is a tourism superpower – because we have what the world wants,” said Ferrada.
(Well, maybe we were, but 13th in the world doesn’t sound like a superpower to me.)
“Destination Canada’s ‘A World of Opportunity’ strategy will help our tourism sector reach its full potential, bringing more visitors to our country and creating jobs & opportunities in communities nationwide,” Ferrada said. “It also aligns perfectly with our Federal Tourism Growth Strategy. In a world where nations are investing in tourism, we’re ensuring that Canada can compete with the best.”
 Blue Rocks is a quintessential Nova Scotia fishing village, located just a few minutes from Lunenburg. JIM BYERS PHOTO NOTE: I don’t see any dollar figures in the news release or in the report. This is a strategy, but it seems that they’ll be using existing dollars at this point. Maybe more funding will come later for some of their key markets, such as Japan and China.
NOTE TWO: I don’t know what Destination Canada will be pushing the most in the next couple years, but if I was in charge I’d push hard on the Maritimes and Newfoundland & Labrador. There’s really no place else on earth like Atlantic Canada. The U.S. has New England, and it’s quite pretty. But the people there aren’t known for being overly emotional or raucous. I’ve never heard of a New Hampshire kitchen party, but they’re common in Newfoundland and maybe in Cape Breton,which has a fabulous music scene you won’t find (to my knowledge) in Maine or Massachusetts.
“Tourism operators can innovate their offerings and align with the goals outlined in the 2030 Strategy, such as enhancing sustainability, promoting local experiences, and expanding seasonality,” said Beth Potter, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. “By differentiating themselves through unique and authentic offerings, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) can attract more visitors and contribute to the diversification of Canada’s tourism offerings.”
“We have an amazing opportunity ahead of us to reach 160 billion dollars by 2030. This is especially exciting as we can triple Indigenous tourism in this country, create thousands of new jobs and support hundreds of new businesses. It’s time to work together to market, develop and grow tourism in this country. That is true economic reconciliation in action,” said Keith Henry, President and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. |
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AIR CANADA BOOSTS OTTAWA FLIGHTS
The Rideau Canal in Ottawa. PHOTO COURTESY VISIT 1000 ISLANDS
Air Canada is making a big push in the nation’s capital.
Canada’s largest airline on 17MAY announced it’s boosting capacity at YOW by almost 60%, with added domestic flights and routes to sun destinations in Florida and the Caribbean.
Air Canada said flights from Ottawa to YYC and YWG will now operate year-round. It’s also increasing capacity to YHZ and YQB, and adding widebody service to YVR.
Additional schedule improvements include more flights to popular leisure destinations Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Cancun and Punta Cana this winter.
“Ottawa is an important part of Air Canada’s network and in response to demand, we are growing our capacity to our nation’s capital city by almost 60 per cent compared to 2023,” said Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning, at Air Canada. “We are very excited to add more flights to the rest of the country with the extension of key non-stop routes to year-round and additional capacity to other cities.
“We are also adding capacity to popular sun destinations and, in conjunction with our joint venture partner United Airlines, increasing options for travel to and from the U.S.”
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From Ottawa
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Schedule resumptions and service improvements
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Ottawa (YOW) – Calgary (YYC)
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Daily service resumed May 1 now extended to year-round
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Ottawa (YOW) – Winnipeg (YWG)
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Daily service resumed April 30 now extended to year-
round
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Ottawa (YOW) – Halifax (YHZ)
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Increases to three times daily from once daily as of July 1
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Ottawa (YOW) – Quebec (YQB)
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Increased to daily service as of May 1
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Ottawa (YOW) – Vancouver (YVR)
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Two times daily, with one flight on a Boeing 787-9
Dreamliner
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Transborder schedule improvements:
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From Ottawa
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Winter 2024 service improvements
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Ottawa (YOW) – Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
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Increases from four to six times weekly – seasonal
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Ottawa (YOW) – Orlando (MCO)
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Increases from two to four times weekly – seasonal
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Ottawa (YOW) – Tampa (TPA)
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Increases from one to two times weekly – seasonal
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Sun Destinations:
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From Ottawa
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Winter 2024 service improvements
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Ottawa (YOW) – Cancun (CUN)
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Increase from three to four times weekly – seasonal
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Ottawa (YOW) – Punta Cana (PUJ)
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Increase from three to four times weekly – seasonal
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PORTER AIRLINES ADDS PEARSON-QUEBEC CITY and TORONTO-SASKATOON
Quebec City. Rich Martello – Unsplash Photo
Porter Airlines today (May 17) began service from Toronto Pearson to Quebec City, adding another route to its growing YYZ network.
The flights to Quebec City are seasonal and will operate daily until Oct, 26, 2024.
The new service more than doubles Porter’s capacity between the two cities, complementing existing flights between YQB and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), which are operated by the 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft.
Service will be operated by the new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, with fast and free Wi-Fi and a two-by-two configuration that eliminates middle seats.
Connections are available through Toronto-Pearson to Western Canada destinations Vancouver and Edmonton.
PorterReserve fares offer passengers an all-inclusive economy experience, with fresh and healthy meals, extra legroom seats, premium pre-mixed cocktails, priority check-in, and ticketing flexibility as standard. These options are available à la carte with PorterClassic fares.
“Québec City is a popular destination for travellers, with its rich history and culture,” said Kevin Jackson, president, Porter Airlines. “Porter’s new service adds more capacity on a busy seasonal route, and more opportunities for passengers to enjoy the elevated economy experience they deserve.”
Porter also is beginning service to Saskatoon, with daily nonstop roundtrip service between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Saskatoon International Airport (YXE).
The new service marks the airline’s presence in all 10 Canadian provinces for the first time in its history.
The route connects to Porter’s Eastern Canada network out of Toronto-Pearson, including Halifax, Montréal, Ottawa and St. John’s.
Flights between Toronto-Pearson and Saskatoon are operated by the state-of-the-art Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. Priority check-in, ticketing flexibility, extra legroom seats, premium pre-mixed cocktails, and fresh, healthy meals are also available with the all-inclusive PorterReserve fares or may be purchased à la carte with PorterClassic fares.
Detailed schedules can be found on flyporter.com.
FLAIR EXPANDS SERVICE TO ORLANDO, ALASKA ADDS TORONTO-SEATTLE
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Flair is making it easier for Canadians to catch a few rays in Orlando this winter.
The discount airline today announced it’s adding direct routes to Orlando International Airport from Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto Pearson, London and Saint John, NB.
Beginning this fall, travellers can fly to Orlando with fares starting as low as $44 one-way. Nonstop service between Orlando International Airport and Kitchener-Waterloo (YKF) will begin on October 29; between MCO and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) on December 16; between MCO and London (YXU) on December 20th; and between MCO and Saint John (YSJ) on December 22.
“This is another step in fulfilling our commitment to provide more sun, for less. Whether it’s families planning a magical vacation or sun-seeking snowbirds escaping the great Canadian winter, Flair’s mission is to make affordable air travel possible for all.” said Garth Lund, CCO of Flair Airlines.
Alaska Airlines began flying daily non-stop flights between Seattle and Toronto Pearson airport on Thursday (May 16).
The new route to Toronto YYZ provides convenient departure and arrival times, and represent the sixth Canadian city the airline flies to, in addition to Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria.
TOP WORLD HOTELS FROM HOTELS.COM: Dozens in Canada and the U.S.
The Clockwork Bar at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Hotels.com recently unveiled
“Perfect Somewheres” 2024, a first-of-its-kind program celebrating a selection of the top 1% of hotels on the Hotels.com app. This year,
more than 60 Canadian hotels made the list, including Le Germain Maple Leaf Square in Toronto, Wedgewood Hotel and Spa in Vancouver, and W Montréal. I’ve stayed at Le Germain and at the W in Montreal and thought they were both superb.
Also making the list for Canada were the relatively new Muir in Halifax, The Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, Auberge Saint Antoine in Quebec City, the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Hotel Le Germain in Montreal, 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake, The Magnolia Hotel in Victoria and the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto. I was surprised not to see anything listed for Alberta.
Some of my fave U.S. hotels also made the list, including Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica, California, Halekulani in Honolulu, Hawaii, The Bespoke Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Park MGM in Las Vegas, The Alfond Inn in Winter Park, Florida, the Beach Terrace in Carlsbad, California, Hotel Figueroa in Los Angeles, The Fairmont Century Gold Experience in Los Angeles, The new Luma Hotel in San Francisco and The Westin Moana Surfrider in Honolulu.
In Europe, I was happy to see The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland on the Perfect Somewheres list, as well as The Dolder Grand in Zurich.
