Tourism is rebounding strongly in cities across Canada. But most tourism officials say they’re not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, and that labour shortages could limit their ability to recover as quickly as they’d like. A review of tourism officials in several major Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, finds municipal leaders are generally in a positive mood as Tourism Week in Canada kicks off. “Right now … the occupancy is strong,” said Karen Soyka, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development at Destination Vancouver. “What we have (for figures) is really up to March, and what we’re seeing is Read more
hotel occupancy
Canadian cities are beginning to recover from more than two years of a terrible tourism drought. Destination Vancouver says March 2022 occupancy was 65% in the city, up substantially from 40% in March of 2021. “We’re definitely seeing pick-up,” a spokesperson told me. “Looking ahead to the next six months, hotel bookings are up over 300% compared to same time last year. “Tourism is coming back.” Scott Beck, president and CEO of Destination Toronto, tells me that Toronto was at 60% hotel occupancy last month. Toronto was around 40% for the first couple months of the year. Beck said it’s Read more
