Olympic Memories Melt As Spring Fever for Canadian Travel Heats-up at Skyscanner
2010 has seen a big boost in travel-search to Canada: thanks to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Capturing 36% of the spring search-volumes for cheap flights to Canada are the British, with Toronto and Vancouver being the preferred destinations.
Coming in at 13% is the US, followed by 12% for Canadians (domestic travel), 7% from Germany and 5% from the Republic of Ireland. Though the remaining 27% is divided among several countries, world-wide, it is worth noting that China trails right behind the Republic of Ireland at 4%; where the country didn’t even show in the top-searches last year.
These numbers are probably attributed to the large amounts of Canadians who work and study in Britain and the Emerald Isle, as well as by tourists who ‘jump-the-puddle’ to enjoy some of Canada's famous ski resorts, beautiful cities, and unparalleled nature.
While English-speaking tourists go to anglophone Canada, flights to Quebec arrive daily from France, full of French-speaking tourists who take advantage of the ease of experiencing Canada in their own language. Montreal is the most popular destination for French travelers. Visitors from Asia also are traveling to Canada in significant numbers, with the number of flights to Vancouver from Tokyo, Shanghai, and other Japanese and Chinese cities showing a big increase in 2010.
But who amongst these groups of tourists will have the larger impact on the Canadian economy? According to a report by the World Trade Organization, it is German tourists, who rank third in their preference for Canada, the ones that tend to spend the most. While Germany's population is 80 million, the country's travelers spend the relatively high amount of 90 billion dollars per year. Not bad at all, and certainly a fact that will benefit the Canadian tourism industry.
Germans are followed closely by Americans, the next big spenders on the WTO's list. Known for tipping big in restaurants and bars, Americans certainly know how to spend. Third on the list are the British, followed by the French and, surprisingly, by the Chinese, the new ‘force to be reckoned with’ in international tourism.
Whether from Europe, the USA, or Asia, tourism to Canada is on the rise, and Canadians are proud to show their country to the world.
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