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Post by Pacer Pride on Jan 24, 2006 0:45:45 GMT -7
How does it feel? This is Canadian Government talk now Americans ,it's not about you guys so that's ok if you don't follow First time in my recent memory/life that the West owns the East now.The true dominance begins
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Post by Pacer Pride on Jan 24, 2006 16:54:57 GMT -7
Were getting $400 each in Alberta if you did not hear Ah la' like people get in Alaska and North West Territories There are good and bad signs to that though.Good for short term ,we'll see long term.
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Post by Pacer Pride on Feb 2, 2006 22:57:50 GMT -7
Canada known only for moose, mountains, Mounties, tourism officials complain 01/02/2006 5:54:00 PM
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TORONTO (CP) - Travellers from the United States would rather visit Mexico and the Caribbean than the Great White North, tourism officials complained Wednesday as they urged all levels of government to generate some badly needed buzz about Canada.
"Too many Americans are not considering Canada for vacation," said Rod Seiling, president of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association. "Unfortunately, when they think of our country, they only see the age-old stereotype of the three M's - moose, mountains and Mounties."
Without an NHL hockey season last year, Canada fell even further off the radar screen, said Seiling, a former defenceman with the league's New York Rangers.
"The only way to change that is through marketing."
Statistics from the Canadian Tourism Commission indicate Canada as a whole saw 4.6 per cent fewer U.S. travellers last year compared with 2004. Automobile traffic was down 6.7 per cent, the commission said.
The decline was acutely felt in Ontario, a province visited by roughly 33 per cent fewer U.S. citizens over the last five years, Seiling said. The city of Toronto bore the brunt of that impact, he added.
Still, he admitted the city is doing fairly well and has successfully rebounded from the devastating effects of two deadly SARS outbreaks in 2003. Not including visits from stateside, international travel to Toronto has risen 50 per cent in the past five years.
"But we are losing momentum and we need to get it back," Seiling said as he urged the Ontario government to spend $30 million on boosting tourism in the province and for Ottawa to dedicate an additional $100 million to the cause.
"Unless action is taken now, we not only risk losing the gains we have made, but we could slide backwards."
Seiling said tourism is down across the country, with a large chunk of the decline coming from travellers in border states who are discouraged by hassles crossing the border, the high dollar and the price of gas.
Bruce MacMillan of Tourism Toronto said the biggest problem is Canada's reputation as a dull place. He said the country needs a national strategy to rebrand its image and called on the newly elected Conservative government to make tourism a priority.
"Border security, currency rates, lingering perceptions of Canada that there's nothing to do - these are national issues," MacMillan said.
"As soon as a new federal minister is appointed, we'll be seeking to open a dialogue with him or her to ensure that tourism issues are at the top of their federal agenda."
Seiling complained that the Canadian Tourism Commission is underfunded by about $20 million. The agency currently gets about $78 million a year.
By comparison, MacMillan said Australia spends more than $200 million annually on its national tourism strategy.
MacMillan said the tourism industry brings $4 billion a year into Toronto alone and supports 100,000 jobs in the city, traditionally the destination of choice for most U.S. visitors.
"The pain here is more," said MacMillan. "Over 50 per cent of our business is U.S.-based, so when that starts to drop off, we hurt more than anyone else."
Finding out exactly why U.S. travellers are shunning Canada is the focus of a large-scale study by the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Aside from exchange rates and difficult border crossings, there are other factors that have emerged anecdotally, said commission president Michele McKenzie.
"It is becoming apparent that many neighbouring Americans are not sure Canadians still like them," she wrote in a recent article for Front Desk, an industry newsletter.
"This perception is fuelled by geopolitical issues (such as Canada declining to join the war in Iraq) and also by some of the commentary floating across the border."
The Comprehensive Study on U.S. Market Challenges is expected to be released later this month
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Post by mweir145 on Feb 2, 2006 23:32:54 GMT -7
I have absolutely no idea why you posted this article. What does it have to do with anything?
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Post by Pacer Pride on Feb 3, 2006 16:06:10 GMT -7
Relations between US. and Canada.I came across it. Not ness. to do with the thread but did not feel like creating a new one for it.That's why!
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Post by Pacer Pride on Feb 17, 2006 3:31:23 GMT -7
Speaking of the West: Sidenote: Enough to freeze your balls off -35 C. with wind chill.Finally Winter has arrived
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Post by Pacer Pride on Sept 1, 2010 14:14:29 GMT -7
From a recent survey piece...love the last sentence It's the city every other Canadian city loves to hate. It's dirty, rude and crime-ridden, decry her most hardened critics. But in the latest StatsCan survey, Toronto actually came out third to last in police-reported crime statistics. Topping the list were prairie towns Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. As for being dirty and rude, we like to call it grit and character. True, Torontonians walk with steady purpose and may mow you down should you dare to amble leisurely down Yonge Street during pedestrian rush hour. But they do, after all, work in the economic engine of the country and have a lot of work to do. And if you live in a mono-coloured city of cookie-cutter houses in the rolling hills of suburbia, then yes, you may be thrown by the traffic, the diversity and the colourful characters you may meet. But remember, you're not in Kansas anymore.
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