The Toronto tourism economy is rebounding strongly, but there are plenty of cautionary flags flying in the June breeze. I had a chance to sit down (virtually) the other day with Andrew Weir, Executive Vice President Destination Development for Destination Toronto, to talk about where the city is headed. Nobody’s popping the champagne corks just yet, but they might be thinking of what they might want to order at the LCBO when the time comes. “There’s absolutely a sentiment in the community now that we’re on the on-ramp back to that state of a thriving visitor economy,” Weir said. “I Read more
Asia
Tourism continues to recover at a strong pace, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Globally, destinations welcomed almost three times as many international arrivals in the first quarter of 2022 as in the same period of 2021, with Europe leading the sector’s rebound. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, with destinations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117 million international arrivals compared to 41 million in Q1 2021. Of the extra 76 million international arrivals for the first three months, about 47 million were recorded in March, showing that the Read more
Today’s travel notebook looks at Hong Kong’s plan to reopen for tourism, an Air Canada event in Toronto, a Niagara Region Tourism help package, and an update on the status of Canadian discount airline Flair. HONG KONG READY AND WAITING One of the world’s most popular destinations has a tourism revival plan in place. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) held its annual Tourism Update event online today May 6 and announced a revival plan that highlights Hong Kong’s vibrant developments and new experiences, aiming to generate a positive ambience and make the city top-of-mind destination for worldwide travellers when Read more
Australia is open for international visitors, and Canadians are chomping at the bit. Canadian consumers recognize that Australia did a good job handling COVID-19, and that there’s a “huge demand” for visits amongst Canadian travelleres, Chris Allison, the North America acting general manager for Tourism Australia, said at a Tourism Australia “Australia On Tour” event in downtown Toronto on Tuesday. A study in December found that Canadian interest in visiting Australia was back to pre-pandemic levels. Tim Liu, Managing Director, Sales Planning & Effectiveness at Air Canada, said Air Canada recognizes the increased interest and is responding with more flights. Read more
Canadian searches for international flights are outweighing those for domestic trips, but flights within Canada remain very popular, a new study says. Kayak.com looked at flight searches for the week of April 10 and compared them three years ago, prior to the pandemic, and then to a month ago. For three year comparisons, they found Dubai led the way, with searches up 105% since April of 2019. Next was Halifax at 97%, followed by Istanbul at 90%. For month-over-month comparisons, searches for flights to Frankfurt were on top, with a gain of 17% from March to April of this year. Read more
