Canadians Drawn to Allure of Asia
Although American and European cities remained the most popular spots among Canadian travellers heading abroad in the first half of 2015, Asian cities showed the largest growth.
Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bangkok had an increase in hotel demand climbing two, five and 12 spots, respectively in the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
“Historically Asian countries have offered great value for accommodation, making them popular among travellers looking to explore a unique, new culture,” says Taylor L. Cole, travel expert for Hotels.com. “With Canada’s strong Asian economic ties, naturally business travel remains strong too, especially with the Canadian government’s support of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) business travel card.”
Outside of Asia, Rome experienced the largest growth climbing four spots in 2015, followed by Amsterdam which was a new addition to the top 20 list.
Most popular international cities for Canadian travellers: New York; Las Vegas; London; Paris; Orlando; Rome; San Francisco; Chicago; Los Angeles; Seattle; San Diego; Boston; Barcelona; Hong Kong; Tokyo; Miami; Newark; Amsterdam; Bangkok; Anaheim.
Within Canada, the top eight most visited cities by Canadians remained the same. Winnipeg, which celebrated the opening of its long-awaited Canadian Museum for Human Rights in fall of 2014, climbed two spots to ninth place. Prairie cities, Saskatoon and Regina also recorded growth of two and three spots respectively. Cities in British Columbia didn’t fare as well in 2015 with Victoria, Kelowna and Whistler dropping in popularity, perhaps due to mass wildfires that plagued much of the summer months.
Most popular domestic cities for Canadian travellers: Toronto; Montreal; Vancouver; Edmonton; Calgary; Ottawa; Niagara Falls; Quebec City; Winnipeg; Victoria; Banff; Saskatoon; London; Halifax; Regina; Kelowna; Whistler; Canmore; Kamloops; Windsor.
