Canadian hotels are pretty much back to 2019 occupancy levels, and Google searches for Canada are higher than they were prior to the pandemic. Destination Canada’s quarterly report, issued today, finds that travel has strongly rebounded in the country. “Buoyed by hotel occupancy in regions exceeding their 2019 levels and lifts in urban areas closing in on their pre-pandemic performance, average hotel occupancy in June 2022 for Canada stood 1% below its 2019 level,” the report said. “Travel to Canada is in demand, with Google search from international markets exceeding 2019 levels.” Destination Canada said domestic air connectivity has improved Read more
staffing shortages
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
Airline staffing issues and weather problems continue to bedevil would-be travellers in Canada and the U.S. New York City and Boston have been hardest hit today. As of 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, January 7, the website flightaware.com reports 328 cancellations for Canadian airlines for the day. It also said nearly one-half of all flights for snowy Halifax, Nova Scotia have been cancelled today. According to the site, Air Canada Jazz alone has cancelled 150 flights, which represents 30% of their total for the day. WestJet Encore has cancelled 59 flights, or 31%, the site said. For Air Canada, Read more
Canada’s new federal tourism minister says Canadian tourism officials need to keep marketing Canadian domestic travel. It’s a nice thought. And he’s right. But domestic tourism can’t possibly take the place of international visitors. A recent story in the Globe and Mail noted that visitors to Ontario’s hip Prince Edward County spend an average of $74 per day. Visitors spend more than $400 per day, which is more than five times as much. This is an issue all around the world, and all across Canada. Locals who drive to a destination, say, from Calgary to Banff, might buy a family Read more
