Canada Tourism

Canada Launches Tourism Campaign to Attract US Visitors

A new campaign from Destination Canada is aimed at inspiring U.S. visitors to come to Canada. “Connecting America” will showcase exciting and unexpected Canadian destinations of interest to the U.S. audience.

“We want to inspire Americans to get past their historic perceptions and know the Canada we know: diverse, ambitious, cultured and cool,” said David F. Goldstein, president and CEO of Destination Canada. “We want to show them why the time to visit is now.”

It’s been more than five years since Canada has launched a new tourism initiative targeting the U.S. market, and the time seems right. U.S. travelers are traveling more than ever and the exchange rate for U.S. visitors is particularly favorable at the moment — plus there is a lot of interest in visiting (moving) to Canada at the moment.

Over the next three years, Destination Canada will use its innovative, research-driven marketing methods to create new advertising and engaging social media content for the U.S. market (it already has a hashtag: #ExploreCanada) and Canada’s charismatic prime minister, who is well-liked and well-known in the U.S., was enlisted to launch the campaign.

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“This three-year campaign is a personal invitation to our neighbors to explore Canada and be inspired firsthand by our great country and welcoming people,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who, in a recent interview with U.S. Top Chef Kristen Kish, discussed Canada’s rich culinary scene among other topics in a YouTube video that complements Canada’s efforts with the tourism campaign.

Destination Canada has aligned the promotion with government efforts, tourism industry partners and businesses around the country. It will use digital advertising, videos and social media activity to tell travelers what they will see and experience when visiting Canada, including vibrant cities, adventures, natural wonders, culinary and world-class festivals and events.

“Canada is among the most diverse and culturally rich countries in the world and offers tourists experiences like no other,” said the Honourable Bardish Chagger, canadian minister of small business and tourism. “We have a huge opportunity to reach out to US travellers and inspire them to visit Canada. I look forward to continuing our work to position Canada’s tourism sector to take advantage of growth opportunities.”

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U.S. tourism in the country is already up and the campaign is designed to keep the momentum going. Last year was one of the strongest years of tourism visitation from the U.S. since 2008, rising 8 percent over 2014 statistics and accounting for 70 percent of international arrivals in the country. Add to that that extensive research prior to the launch of the campaign indicated that Americans were eager to learn more about Canada’s diverse offerings and to connect with Canada’s authentic culture and people in a meaningful way and you have a very good reason to, once again, promote Canada within the U.S.