The smiles say it all.
Canada’s not all the way back and U.S. tourism reps at this year’s IPW conference in Los Angeles are pleased with how Canadians are returning to key states south of the border.
Visit California statistics show Canada last year eclipsed pre-pandemic visitation levels, rising from 1.732 million visits in 2019 to 1.799 last year.
Canadian visits to Florida last year were at 93% of pre-pandemic levels. Orlando says it attracted 1.256 million Canadians last year, a new, single-year record.
For New York City, visitors from Canada were achingly close to 2019 numbers (995,000, compared to a million four years prior).
WestJet told Open Jaw it’s pleased with the demand on its transborder network.
“While specific statistics are not publicly available for competitive reasons, we can share that demand for our transborder service continues to grow across our network, exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” said spokesperson Madison Kruger. “Furthermore, we see the exceptionally strong demand amongst guests looking to connect to Delta Airlines hubs and sunny transborder destinations.
“We keep growing our footprint in the U.S.,” Audrey Tanguay-Beaudette of Air Canada said in an interview with Open Jaw last weekend at IPW in Los Angeles.
Dana Young, President and CEO of Visit Florida, said flight capacity between Canada and Florida was up 15% from May to October, 2023, with 994,000.
“That’s a lot of Canadians,” she said with a grin.
But Visit Florida isn’t sitting back waiting for numbers to grow even more.
“We’re looking to expand our efforts really across the board in Canada,” she told Open Jaw in a one-on-one chat on the busy IPW floor. “We’ve increased our budget for Canada and we’re looking to do some activations, potentially. We just talked about that today.”
“We’re not worried about Canada” but they’d still like to increase visitation numbers from north of the border, she said.
“We’re going to increase our efforts next year but we’re always training agents in Canada. We work very closely with VoX International in Canada, and we have a very very robust presence with the Canadian trade.”
Young said Visit Florida is working on boosting pre- and post-cruise tourism in the Sunshine State and that Canada will, of course, be part of that program.
“We want people to stay on after their cruise or come early and stay in Florida before they go to the Bahamas.”
Young said Canadian advisors should log on at www.floridatravelpro.com to learn more about the state’s travel agent training program.
Universal Orlando Resort’s new Dreamworks Land opens June 14 and features Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Trolls. Evermore Orlando resort opened in January and features an 8-acre lagoon and a 20-acre sandy beach, along with 2 to 11-bedroom villas. The Conrad Orlando, the city’s first Hilton luxury brand, opened in January.
Visit Orlando officials say they’ll soon have a new portal in place for travel advisors.
New York City said it had 62.2 million visitors in 2023, which is 93% of pre-pandemic levels.
Of those 62.2 million visitors, 13.3 were international. The UK led the way with 1.030 million visits, but Canada was right behind at 995,000.
NYC tourism officials said they’re expecting to get to 97% of 2019 visitation levels this year and to surpass pre-pandemic numbers in 2025.
NYC Tourism and Conventions President and CEO Fred Dixon (the next President and CEO of Brand USA) said JFK airport is getting a multi-billion-dollar facelift, while LGA recently underwent its own major improvement.
Upcoming events for NYC include the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding next year, and the 250th anniversary of the formation of the United States in 2026. New York also will host the finals of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the Ryder Cup in 2025 and the U.S. Open golf tourney in 2026. Tickets will go on sale for the World Cup next year, he said.
NYC Tourism and Vocnetnion President and CEO Fred Dixon (the next president and CEO of Brand USA) said JFK airport is getting a multi-billion dollar facelift, while LGA recently underwent its own major improvement.
Top new hotels include the Aman New York in Midtown, the Warren Street Hotel in Tribeca, and The Surrey, a Corinthia hotel on the Upper East Side. The Waldorf-Astoria has been going a massive renovation for a few years and is expected to re-open later this year.
Hubertus Funke, EVP & Chief Tourism Officer, San Francisco Travel, told Open Jaw it’s a great time for Canadians to visit.
“We have a lot going on in San Francisco this summer,” he said. “New hotels, new attractions., always new restaurants coming on line, so it’s a really exciting time for Canadians to visit.”
“With increased flight connectivity, it’s probably never been easier for Canadians to visit San Francisco.”
This year’s IPW featured a bevy of top names. Diana Ross sang at the Los Angeles Coliseum at the official opening night affair, while Keanu Reeves and his band, Dogstar, took to the stage during one of the lunches. Ziggy Marley performed at the final lunch, sponsored by Kissimmee, Florida.
The opening reception was held outdoors at the stunning Getty Museum, while two night events were staged at the Santa Monica Pier. The final night was held at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Visit California built a temporary facility called California Plaza just outside the downtown Los Angeles Convention Center, with excellent food and California wine and beer from up and down the state, as well as celebrity chefs and giveaways.
The U.S. Travel Association sad IPW 2024 hosted more than 5,700 delegates, including 2,000 buyers and media from nearly 70 countries.
Next year’s IPW will be held in Chicago from 14JUN to 18JUN.
