Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/725964
E very indicator shows we are currently welcoming dollar-spending visitors in higher numbers than expected with travellers from the United States up almost 17 per cent as of May 2016 and increases from Europe up 6.8 per cent and Asia-Pacific up 7.8 per cent. And that's just for starters. These increases are happening well before the 2017 invitations go out for Canada's 150 th birthday. Such growth demon- strates a solid base for the goal 20/20/2020 set by the tourism marketing organization, Des- tination Canada. That goal is for our country to receive 20 million visitors, spending $20 billion dollars, by the year 2020. WHY THE INTEREST IN CANADA? So what is Canada doing differently, you might ask? For a full decade, after all, we've lagged far behind other countries when it comes to dividing up the world's trillion- dollar tourism pie. Canada's growth has been only 1.5 per cent per annum when interna- tionally the tourism sector was growing by five per cent each year. Now, however, the Canadian slice is noticeably larger. A focus on this news was delivered ear- lier in the year at the 11 th Annual Leisure Travel Summit held in Toronto. Tourism specialists pointed out that it is not just one thing sparking Canada's popularity. Instead, we are currently in one of those rare, steady periods when many long-pursued Canadian travel developments—plus pure luck—are aligning to deliver tangible results. Hosted by Best Western Hotels & Resorts, the summit featured the insights of five pan- elists: David Goldstein, president and CEO of Destination Canada; Tony Pollard, president, Hotel Association of Canada (HAC); Brian Payea, head of industry relations for TripAd- visor; Charlotte Bell, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC); and Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Best Western Hotels & Resorts. These offi- cials explained our newfound international magnetism in a few ways. Canada, for instance, has long been a peace-loving, ethnically rich country with plenty of urban sophistication just steps away from the Great Outdoors. Competi- tively, however, certain lackluster aspects (such as costs, visa delays and direct air access) had been discouraging enough to send travellers elsewhere. While solutions DREAMSCAPES FALL 2016 48 TRAVEL SLEUTH >> BY JANE STOKES DS RIGHT NOW, GLOBALLY, OUR COUNTRY AND ITS CHARMS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND. ARE YOU READY TO RECEIVE CANADA'S FAIR SHARE OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS? ABOVE: Lured by Anne of Green Gables fame, fans from far and wide soon discover the splendour of Prince Edward Island. Tourism PEI/John Sylvester OPPOSITE LEFT: Polar bears draw tourists from around the world to Nunavut. Canadian Tourism Commission OPPOSITE RIGHT: Paddling enthusiasts may visit B.C.'s Cariboo region to take in the amazing views in Bowron Lake Provincial Park. Destination BC/Chris Harris WELCOME TO OUR WORLD