VANCOUVER — U.S. tourism marketing powerhouses are successful in attracting Canadian travel south of the border, according to the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s Global Tourism Watch 2012 Canada report.
In 2011, Canadians made 21 million visits to the U.S., spending US$33.1 billion on travel. Since the 2012 launch of Brand USA, a Washington-based marketing organization that promotes travel to the U.S., there is an added threat of drawing more Canadians south.
While 58 per cent of Canadians’ recent trips outside their home province were to the U.S., Canucks were also travelling to the Caribbean (16 per cent), and domestic destinations (nine per cent) in 2012.
The report cites affordability as a major hurdle as to why some Canadians choose not to travel, as almost half of the respondents in the study stated they cannot afford a trip, while 20 per cent of respondents indicated the economy as a limitation. [en-corporate.canada.travel]
