Canada, the vast North American country known for a bevy of cool offerings, including poutine, polar bears and Northern Lights, is welcoming US visitors this year at a near-record rate.
Centrally located between New York City, Chicago and Montreal, the diverse metropolis is a 90-minute flight for much of the US and Canadian population.
Courtesy of Tourism Toronto
It was the Laviano kids’ first time out of the country, and a relatively easy one at that, explains Laviano since no passports are needed for children under 16.
Others take advantage of direct flight offerings that don’t just take visitors to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, the country’s biggest cities. Colorado residents, for example, can fly direct from Denver to Winnipeg, Manitoba, a province which many Canadians consider the country’s heart, because of both its location and friendly, low-key vibe.
But Manitoba isn’t the only welcoming province. “Canada,” says Kristen Learned, communications specialist with Destination British Columbia, “has long held the reputation as the friendly neighbor in the North.”
Learned also attributes increased air travel between the countries as adding to the increase in US tourism, saying “air capacity (availability of flights/seats) between US and BC continues to grow each year, providing opportunity for long-haul high-yield travelers to visit BC.”
“It’s expensive,” says Jen Allford, a Canadian freelance travel writer, who believes some of the decline is definitely political.
Fortunately, Canada is no one-trick pony.
“Canada is awesome,” says Allford. “We have anything and everything — rugged remote, downtown urban, food, great wine, super skiing, world class kayaking — whatever turns you on, we have it in spades.”
Canadian travel writer Jen Allford says Newfoundland is “so hot right now.”
