Canada's summer tourism

The Canadian Tourism Commission encourages tourism to Canada and tracks travel trends in the country. Greg Klassen, senior vice president of marketing strategy and communications for the CTC, explained in a phone interview, "Expectations are that the first three months of 2010 will see a strong turning point. We expect to see 10-year highs in some of the mature markets (of visitors to Canada)."

"2009 was a lousy year, in which there was some leveling off of tourism to Canada, but we did not see a decline," Klassen said.

The CTC has teamed up with Environics, a marketing research firm that applies social values to marketing strategies. The result was a three-segment system to define potential travelers called the "Explorer Quotient."

"The Explorer Quotient represents roughly 35 percent of global travelers," explained Klassen. "The three main segments consist of; cultural explorers, those seeking an authentic experience, and the free spirit. All are signified by a desire to learn while they travel."

It is on these travelers that the CTC focuses its marketing strategy. Four U.S. cities in particular - Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and New York - are targeted with significant promotion of Canadian travel, as they "exhibit a higher than proportional outbound travel in general," said Klassen. The CTC markets heavily to these cities in an effort to draw travelers into Canada.

"Visitors from India and Brazil are at all-time highs for 2010," concluded Klassen. "The CTC is always looking at new markets for exciting opportunities. Tourism figures for 2010 are performing better than expected at this point, despite the strong Canadian dollar. There may be some stabilization in the number of visitors from the U.K. and Europe for the rest of 2010; however, there has been a great turnaround in interest from travelers out of Asia."

Small village maintains high tourism figures

Tofino, British Columbia, is a small, intimate village of about 2,000 year-round residents, with a strong First Nations heritage. Long Beach, perched on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is a surfer's paradise. Sprinkled along the beach are resorts, bed-and-breakfasts, cabins for rent, and campsites. At the northern tip of Long Beach is Tofino, while the southern position is taken up by its smaller cousin, Ucluelet.

"Tofino is unique; it draws people despite its remoteness. Visitors can fly in directly or come by boat, ferry or sea plane from Vancouver," explained Sharon Lingenfelter, executive director of Tourism Tofino. "Getting to Tofino becomes part of the travel experience, especially for those arriving by ferry to Nanaimo, Comox or Victoria and coming by bus or car."

"With all the craziness in this world, Tofino offers a sense of remoteness that allows one to step out of stress. There is no traffic, no chain stores, but there are high-end resorts, fine dining and a world-class golf course. The tag line of our local newspaper, the Tofino Times, is 'Half the speed, twice the pleasure,' and I think that is a very fitting description," laughed Lingenfelter.

Given its glorious natural setting, Tofino is committed to sustainability and authenticity, qualities that are becoming more and more important for the modern consumer.

"Amenities in Tofino are both rustic and luxurious. We have five major resorts, camping, B&B's, miles of beaches. We have lots for every budget, every interest. Spring in Canada comes first to Tofino, and we can prove it with the whale migration passing right by us," said Lingenfelter.

"The economy is rebounding a bit," Lingenfelter continued. "Vancouver Island in general, British Columbia and Canada experienced a 20- to 40-percent drop in tourism during the economic downturn, while Tofino tourism only dropped by 3 percent. We can tell by the additional hotel tax collected that visitors are up 14 percent in January and 20 percent in February compared to last year."

"Expectations are that the tourism will keep going up until August. We are planning for a 5-percent increase per month, but I expect the number of visitors to outperform this projection. Tofino's tourism base is global, so there may be some impact from the high Canadian dollar, but it won't be enough to reduce the overall numbers."

The economics of travel

Some American travelers may consider the current high Canadian dollar a deterrent; however, total travel costs in coming from the U.S. to Canada are lower than almost every other destination - particularly for those choosing to drive north. And given the wide variety of things to see and do, it is clear that Canada offers something for all visitors at a good value.