Event Spotlight: Rendez-vous Canada 2026

Sixty thousand meetings. More than 500 international buyers. Over $100 million in future tourism business.

Dan recorded live from Rendez-vous Canada 2026 in downtown Toronto to explore what is driving Canada’s visitor economy and why the country continues to stand out as a global destination for nature, culture, and meaningful travel.

In this special episode, Dan speaks with five leaders shaping Canadian tourism today: Meaghan Ferrigno, SVP, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Destination Canada; Sébastien Benedict, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada; Vincenza Ronaldi, President and CEO of Destination Ontario; Andrew Weir, President and CEO of Destination Toronto; and Marsha Walden, President and CEO of Destination Canada, as she prepares to retire.

Together, they discuss how tourism acts as export revenue, which markets are growing fastest, and why safety, welcome, and authentic community connection are becoming more important than ever.

The conversation also looks at the future of travel marketing, including Destination Canada’s Canadian Tourism Data Collective and Aurora AI, with its Traveler Twin concept helping tourism businesses test messaging, reach the right audiences, and make smarter decisions without needing a massive analytics team.

From Ontario itineraries beyond Toronto to Toronto’s event-driven demand and the runway to FIFA, one message comes through clearly: Canada’s tourism growth will be powered by partnerships, product, and data.

For more information to learn about these organizations, check out destinationcanada.com and destinationontario.com.

To learn more about Rendez-vous Canada, future host destinations and other opportunities to participate in upcoming events, visit rendezvouscanada.ca

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Transcript

Welcome To Rendezvous Canada 2026

SPEAKER_05 0:05

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Travel Trends Podcast and a special edition event Spotlight recorded live from the Rendezvous Conference in downtown Toronto, Canada, in May 2026. I'm, of course, your host, Dan Christian. And throughout this event, Spotlight, we're going to feature a series of five interviews that were recorded live at the event to take you inside Canada's premier international tourism marketplace, an event that I'm attending for the very first time and thrilled about that brings together tourism leaders, destinations, attractions, hotels, airlines, indigenous tourism operators, and international travel buyers from around the world. For nearly five decades, Rendezvous Canada, or RVC, as it's also known, has been where Canada's global tourism business gets done. This year, more than 1,400 delegates and over 500 international buyers have come together, representing more than 24 countries, and tourism businesses from every province and territory have gathered here in Toronto to build partnerships, create future travel programs, and drive international visitation to communities across Canada. How cool and important is that? And how thrilled am I to finally be here to be a part of the conversation and speak to these industry executives because the impact of this event is significant. It goes far beyond the Metro Toronto Convention Center that we're here in now. There's more than 60,000 business appointments that will take place over the course of the next few days and that will facilitate more than $100 million in future tourism opportunities and really help showcase the incredible experiences that make Canada one of the world's most desirable travel destinations. And yes, I get to say that. Finally, spend so much of my time traveling around the world. I love being based here in Canada and to be able to share the amazing tourism story that our country has to offer. And to help tell that story of RVC and the future of Canadian tourism, I have the honor and the privilege to bring together these five extraordinary individuals. We're going to begin this episode with Megan Farino, who is the chief financial officer as well as the chief data and analytics officer, who's going to provide some really valuable insights into the scale, performance, and strategic impact of RVC and Canada's tourism sector. And then we're going to hear from Sebastian Benedict, the president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, TIAC, as it's known. He's going to discuss the importance of tourism as an economic driver and the role of industry collaboration in Canada's continued growth. And then I'll have the privilege to bring in Vincenza Rinaldi, the president and CEO of Destination Ontario. And she's going to share how Ontario is leveraging the opportunity having RVC here in Toronto to showcase the province's diverse tourism experiences that attracts visitors from around the world. And then I get to bring in my friend Andrew Weir, who I've known for the last couple of years. We actually met at the Virtuoso Conference in Las Vegas, and he is the head of Destination Toronto, the CEO and the person that's probably most thrilled that the event is here. And he's going to discuss Toronto's role as the host city and how major international events like RVC really help elevate the city's global tourism profile. And then we're going to conclude with something really special. We're going to have the opportunity to sit down and speak to Marcia Walden, the president and CEO of Destination Canada, who's actually going to be retiring shortly. So this is a really special and meaningful conversation. And she's going to share her vision for Canada's future as a global tourism destination and the strategic importance of Rendezvous Canada in driving international visitation and economic growth. And I really hope throughout these conversations you'll see just how exciting Canada is as a destination for all of our global listeners as we explore the opportunities, the challenges, innovation, and the trends shaping the future of tourism in Canada, from destination development and global marketing to data, sustainability, partnerships, and international travel demand, including the Chinese contingent that has several booths lined up here that's really exciting to see Chinese travelers coming back to Canada again. So whether you're a tourism professional, a destination leader, a travel advisor, tour operator, or just simply interested in Canadian tourism, these conversations will offer a unique behind-the-scenes look at the people and organizations driving Canada's tourism success story. So

Data And Dollars Behind RVC

SPEAKER_05 4:35

on that note, let's start off with our very first interview, the CFO and Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Destination Canada, Megan Farino. Megan, welcome to Travel Trends. Thanks so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Thank you so much for having me. It's exciting for you to be here with us and talk more about what's going on in Toronto today.

SPEAKER_05 4:52

Oh, it's been wonderful working with your team to get this together. And I have had an amazing tour earlier today to kind of get an idea of what happens here at a rendezvous conference. It's my very first one, despite the fact that it's been this is the 49th, as I understand it.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

It is the 49th.

SPEAKER_05 5:12

Well, I like the 49th because obviously the 49th parallel. There's something special about Canada and 49th, even tragically hip and the connection to the fact that, you know, uh 90% of our population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border. Half of our listeners are in the U.S. And I just wanted to tell you all, it's not because we love you so much that we need to be that close to the border. It's not the only reason, but we actually have a completely different agriculture, and we need to make sure that we harvest early. This is always one of the interesting facts about Canada compared to the U.S. When our kids were going to school in California, the number of uh teachers that said to us that you don't have Thanksgiving, we have Thanksgiving. And I was like no, there's a Canadian Thanksgiving as well. We have a harvest as well, and it has to be earlier given the 49th parallel. So anyway, 49th is special. But tell everyone, uh Megan, what uh what's particularly special about Rendezvous this year and what you are most looking forward to for this year's event.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yeah, so I think, you know, the first thing you get when you get here into the building is just the energy. And so what is Rendezvous Canada? Well, it is Canada's biggest international tourism trade show. And over the next three days, we expect to do more than $100 million in business. And we have more than 1,400 attendees. So when we think about that, it has a number of buyers that we host from more than 24 international countries and uh 900 uh people, sellers that are here representing the great products, experiences, hotels that we have in Canada. And so all of them are here to do business over the next three days.

SPEAKER_05 6:49

It's fantastic. We're sitting right in the heart of the Metro Toronto Convention Center, and in the center, this is the Destination Canada booth. There's 400 booths around us. And as you mentioned, not only is there $100 million in business going to be done over the next three days, but there's also gonna be 60,000 meetings taking place. This is a place to get business deals done between international buyers who are coming in and the sellers, who are many great organizations that you know have even been on our podcast before, like John Gunter, who runs Frontiers North, or Jason Saranzini that runs Lansby. But it really is coast to coast to coast as I walked around the floor this morning to see everything from the East Coast to Alberta and British Columbia to Nunavut and the Yukon and of course Ontario and Quebec. I mean, it's great to see Canada represented here. Tell us a little bit more about the background on this event and the fact that, you know, this is the 49th year and what brought the event to Toronto this year.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

So I think, you know, Toronto is an amazing city. It is having a moment. We have FIFA on the horizon. Uh, it's a great host city, lots of business events as well. So it's a natural fit. And so uh with you know, Rendezvous Canada, you mentioned all of these international buyers. It is such a hub of export for us. We don't really think of tourism as export revenue, but that's really what it is. We're inviting all these international guests into Canada to spend their dollars here in our local communities. And so what's exciting about Rendezvous Canada here in Toronto, this this you know, next three days, is that amount of export revenue that's coming. And Canada has this massive ambition for $300 billion of non-US export revenue. And travel and tourism has that opportunity to deliver 10% of that. And so we're gonna see that momentum start today and travel over the next 10 years.

SPEAKER_05 8:44

Well, that's the thing that's unique about your role that you also you're the CFO, so you understand the financial impact, but you also know data. And we're gonna talk about AI as well, because not only are we in the birthplace of generative AI being in Toronto, there's obviously, and whenever I give keynotes on this topic, I'm reminding people about the University of Toronto um and the great work that was done there by, you know, now the um world famous professor who has now uh come back to us, and um, he is uh the godfather of AI, and it's one of the things that Toronto is known for as the technology and AI in this city. So tell us a little bit about that specifically, because AI is obviously one of the most important topics. The sooner we get into it, the more people are gonna uh pay attention and take notice. So tell everyone about the fact that in your role, you're also leading a charge on AI.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

Yeah, so uh, you know, why we're here today at Rendezvous Canada is to talk a little bit more about AI with all of the sellers that are here. So we're using it as an activation opportunity to talk about the Canadian Tourism Data Collective, which is our uh central brain of tourism information for Canada, and to launch our Aurora AI, which is a suite of AI-based products that can really help the tourism industry in Canada.

SPEAKER_05 10:03

So I love the name Aurora, because obviously Aurora Borealis, as other people know, with the Northern Lights. So very fitting. And uh but tell us everyone, tell everyone about Aurora AI and what it actually does.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

Yeah, before I get into Aurora AI, I want to go and talk about the Canadian Tourism Data Collective because that's what it's grounded on. So when we think about uh tourism data, we uh started in the pandemic. We're gonna go back and think about where we were kind of in that pandemic and don't like to go back there, but it really exposed that we didn't have the information we needed to make those fast decisions as we were coming out of uh the pandemic and into recovery. And so we used it as an opportunity to build a central brain. So we brought all of this rich supply and demand side data together, um, more than 240 data sources, 49 billion rows of data. And so all of that is there, and we've wrapped a number of fit-for-purpose products based on our AI around that. And so that's available publicly to all businesses, 280,000 businesses in Canada.

SPEAKER_05 11:12

Well, and just on that, because I actually want to do want to take a step back, because given your role in the organization and the fact you're now also taking a lead on AI and how important it is, um tell everyone a bit about your background. And obviously, you've got a very important role within the organization, and we wanted to lead off this special with Destination Canada, since obviously you're a key uh partner in bringing this event together, but it's not just yourself. There's so many other partners you work with in the ecosystem in Canada and several people we're gonna be speaking to over the course of this event spotlight. But tell everyone a little bit about your background, how you got into tourism and took on this particular role.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

Yeah, so I've always kind of played in this intersection of technology and finance and data. Uh, I like to say I grew up in IT. So that's where my background is. And I had the opportunity to work in the energy sector. Uh, I was in healthcare for a number of years, doing big data transformation there. And then um most recently in the insurance sector. And so these are very data-rich sectors where kind of cut my teeth there around data, and a massive opportunity came with Destination Canada. They were trying to build out their data practice. Uh, amazing uh CEO that we have, Marshall Walden, who saw this opportunity working with our board and was able to bring on this new role. So I'm the first uh Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Destination Canada. And uh we saw the opportunity to use data and insights, really become this data-driven organization to help us navigate through into our growth. And so when we think about that, we're focused on collective intelligence to power the entire industry. And so we've had that opportunity to build that out over the last kind of four to five years.

SPEAKER_05 12:56

Well, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with you, and I've got so many questions for you. And uh, I know we'll need to be mindful of time overall, but there's a number of things I'm really keen to ask you that will really set the stage for our global listeners about Rendezvous Canada and also Destination Canada. And so I specifically wanted to talk about Destination Canada for a moment. Our listeners would have heard of uh Gloria Gloria Laurie, who's the chief marketing officer. She's been on our podcast before. We did a special episode on Canada, and we had John Gunter from Frontiers North and Jason Sarasini on that episode, and it got a lot of interest and attention because we talked about a lot of things that are not well known about Canadian tourism and some of the misperceptions of our industry. And Gloria illuminated a number of valid, uh very valuable points on that conversation. One of them was the number of German travelers coming to Canada and specifically looking for indigenous tourism experiences, and they were choosing Canada, even though they could go other places for the Northern Lights, they could go to Iceland, uh, they could go to Alaska, but they were choosing Canada because of the experience they could have here connecting with local culture. And so there were so many valuable insights that she shared. Tell us a little bit about Destination Canada. I know your team's based in Vancouver. Give our listeners a bit of an overview of that organization, and then we'll come back to this conference and how important this is to bring this together each year.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

For sure. So Destination Canada is the national tourism organization in Canada. Uh, we're responsible for promoting Canada to our international markets. And we do that, of course, through uh, you know, marketing. So Gloria would have spoken to all the marketing that we do. We do it through industry support and big events like Rendezvous Canada. We do it through destination development and investment attraction. So we are hosting a number of uh investors today from Hotels Canada. So you're seeing that on the floor as well. And then, of course, we provide as part of our mandate data and insights to inform the sector. And so that's where the AI has really come in and helped lead that charge to build out that intelligence layer.

SPEAKER_05 14:55

And the other thing I wanted to ask you, then so now that our listeners have a better understanding of Destination Canada and then the need for a chief data officer, um, because uh even actually have an understanding of the tourism numbers and the growth potential of this market, and obviously we're having a moment, which is really wonderful for many reasons. Canada is on the world stage, and some of that is political and geopolitical, but the reality is that Canadians are traveling more domestically. That's obviously one of the big trends that I'm keen to ask you about. More international travelers are discovering Canada or choosing Canada, and that's really exciting for us as well. And so as we kind of come back to rendezvous and this event, tell us a little bit about the international, the international visitors and who comes to an event like this.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Yeah, so I think you know, you nailed it there that Canada is definitely having a moment and we have what the world wants. Uh, we're seeing that, you know, when we look at our forecasts, we just published our tourism outlook uh to 2035. So we

What Travelers Want From Canada

SPEAKER_02 15:54

have a really robust trajectory ahead of us that uh we're looking forward to, but there's this momentum, and we're seeing this momentum in our international uh audiences. Uh what we've seen is of course uh Canadians are exploring a little bit more of their own backyard, and and we can talk about that. Uh you know, the US is still a big cornerstone market for us, and it has a strong growth of 5%. But we're seeing, you know, over the next uh 10 years a compounded annual growth rate of close to 10% for these international markets.

SPEAKER_06 16:28

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

You know, when you talk about the you know the opportunities and experience that somewhere Frontiers North has, yeah, it is really attracting and hitting um those targeted customers that we have in those highly engaged guests that want to have more responsible travel, that want to go slower, deeper experience uh, you know, with the indigenous experiences as well. And so we're finding that match right now in that moment where Canada has the welcomeness and the legendary experiences, and it's meeting uh, you know, where the customers want to spend their share of wallet.

SPEAKER_05 17:06

Yeah. Well, you mentioned several really interesting points there. The US being up 5%, international travelers being up 10%, compounded, you know, looking over the next 10 years, more Canadians traveling domestically. So all of these signs. What are you seeing in terms of the travelers and their preferred experiences in coming to Canada? Because I'm sure that you're looking at all these different partners that are here. Obviously, we have adventure travel, we've got nature, we've got hiking, we've got so much to offer. Is there any kind of big trends that stand out to you about why people are choosing Canada?

SPEAKER_02 17:37

I think, you know, there's there's a number of things. It's the welcoming nature of Canada when they see it. Uh, we see that there's two kind of big segments that are interested in us, and we call them refined glow trotters and outdoor explorers. And so both of them have this responsible travel aspect to them. They want to experience local culture. They want to get deeper with the communities that they are engaging with when they're on travel. But of course, they want those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, these legendary experiences, and Canada has that in spades, whether it's the Northern Lights or seeing a polar bear or having a lobster dinner on the East Coast. You know, we have it all. Yeah. So those experiences that you know the international travelers are so attracted to are right here in our backyard.

SPEAKER_05 18:30

Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. We have culture, we have history, we have cuisine, we have certainly uh an abundance of outdoor activities that many active travelers, and especially the older generation that are looking to do more active trips, like cycling trips and certainly hiking. But there are, you know, what's really unique about our country, and obviously you know this even better than me, you know, it's coast to coast to coast. And so, you know, we do have um the Arctic to consider as well. And that is also when I'm looking around at the Yukon and Northwest Territories, uh, Nunavut. Um, tell a little, tell all of our listeners maybe a little bit about how the North is evolving and some of those opportunities because I'm sure more people are familiar with Ontario uh and Quebec and British Columbia, but it's really exciting to see the presence here of some of the Northern Territories.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Yeah, so I mean there's amazing uh experiences that you can have in the North. Uh I had the opportunity to go to Northwest Territories and see the Northern Lights. And I think if anybody's high up on my list, I can't wait for the experience. Uh that is something that'll stay with you for the rest of your life. And so we're seeing within those experiences more and more international travelers. They have a greater uh opportunity to see the Northern Lights when they do come to Canada than some of the other markets and competition that we're up against. So uh there's these opportunities, amazing hosts and experiences once you're there. And so you get that uh feeling of the community when you're in there and the hosts that are there. So uh amazing experiences across the north, whether it's the Yukon or Nunavut, um, you know, always welcoming.

SPEAKER_05 20:04

That's fantastic. Now, obviously, that's only I mean, there's 400 booths around us, and so many of these, they're all organized. You'll see some of the pictures I've shared on social media, and there'll be a nice blog post about this event as well, because I really do want to highlight the fact that Canada is having this incredible moment because it's obviously special to me being a Canadian. And the number of times I have to say, Megan, over the years, having lived in Australia and the UK and the US and being surrounded by international travelers, I worked at Lonely Planet, for example. And the reason I mentioned that is that I would speak to people, and I still do, that have never been to Canada. And it still shocks me how few people have been here and how little how limited their understanding is of our country. And so it's always an opportunity. And this episode, I really hope that for those of you who are still considering coming to Canada for the first time, this will inspire you to. And for those of you who are in uh the travel industry, especially travel advisors, which is a big uh live uh audience for us, um, that will not only travel here themselves, but also encourage their their guests because it is welcoming. We say sorry a lot, as you know. And so, you know, it uh Canada has has a lot to offer. And so, Omega, one of the things I'm really keen to ask you as we sit here on day one of the conference, knowing that you've got this you know incredible three-day event and that AI is going to be a continuous part of the conversations that people are having. Tell us a little bit about what the plans are here with Aurora AI and rolling out some of this new technology for all the partners here and what the overall plans are with the AI strategy for Destination Canada.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Yeah, so you know, we're using AI and collective intelligence to increase the competitiveness of the 280,000 tourism businesses from coast to coast to coast. And so we had a massive opportunity in front of us using the data collected, then generative. AI hit the scene. No, no, this is a good idea. And that allowed us to fundamentally disrupt the way that we could engage with data. And so by doing that, we were able to not worry about dashboards anymore, not worried about these big reports, and allow our users to just have a conversation with the data. So all you need to know is how to ask a really good question. You don't have to have a big data team in the back or an analyst sitting beside you. And so we're using AI to create that accessibility.

SPEAKER_05 22:34

So I want to go on a little deeper on this because I know our listeners will be finding this so interesting because we've done an AI summit for the last two years. All of our listeners are familiar with the Travel Trends AI Summit. We have our next one coming up in October where we're going beyond AI because the idea that AI is now getting incorporated into all of these businesses. And as we move past agentic into this next phase, that the reality is most AI today is being utilized by companies to become more efficient. And obviously, as you mentioned, 280,000 providers, how do you create opportunities for all of them to better position themselves and get access to the knowledge they need to advance their businesses? There's so much potential with AI. And I then this is where I always want to make sure of our listeners that the B2B application of AI is really where the momentum is at the moment to better uh empower the community that you serve and also uh to focus on business benefit. So tell everyone a little bit more about what the overall plans are for Aurora AI and where it's going to be headed in the next, like even let's just say 12 to 18 months.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Yeah, so I mean, when you think about it, it's about efficiencies, and we're definitely getting efficiencies by using AI, but that's not really where we needed to focus. We needed to focus on breakthroughs. Right. And so as we thought about that, we had to answer the biggest questions that our businesses in Canada had. And that's around targeting audiences, that's around marketing, that's around investment and traction, that's around securing uh grants and further investment. And so we built out Aurora AI to answer those questions. And

Aurora AI And The Traveler Twin

SPEAKER_02 24:12

so one of our flagship products, which is Aurora AI Traveler Twin, and that is essentially a digital twin of our best guest. And so we're using that to allow all of these businesses access to enterprise grade AI that is usually kind of gated, right? You usually have to have a big data team or big investment, or you're a Fortune 500 company and you can build all of this. But we've now shared the ability to interact with a digital twin of our best guests that represent all of our international markets. Um, and so we're providing that uh through Aurora AI, and we'll continue that product roadmap out, um, always focusing on answering those biggest questions.

SPEAKER_05 24:58

Well, and I just want you to clarify that digital twin, because that's one of the things I found fascinating, was I'm meeting with your team beforehand. I was looking at some of the tools that you have rolled out and the digital twin concept, just explain that a little bit more to our listeners because I think that is really meaningful for them to understand what that is, how it works, because it's it's very clear there's there's so much benefit if you understand that if you understand better understand why it was conceived and what that name actually means.

SPEAKER_02 25:23

So the digital twin is essentially taking all of our rich segmentation information that we have on our customers, as well as additional surveys from all of our international markets and landing it all in one place, supported by the additional data that we have in the central brain. And by grounding it on our customer and the Canadian data, uh, we're able to have a very rich conversation. So think about it as having your best customer sitting right beside you the next time you come up with a media campaign. Right. Or think about a new product design, or if you want to put together an investment prospectus, that's exactly what you have. And so you can uh rift back and forth uh with the AI, and it's really mimicking what the answers would be from your customer in that specific segment or specific market.

SPEAKER_05 26:17

Interesting. Okay. And one thing I wanted to call out on this topic, and this is where, you know, when you're listening to experts talk about the Canadian market and opportunities for growth, one of the things that I know that has held us back is accommodation. And um, you know, especially living in the US and when Canada has had moments of increased tourism, we also have been somewhat limited by the availability of hotels because certain cities get overwhelmed. But the reality is more hotels are being built. There's obviously the Rim Rock, which is one of the big developments that's happening out in Banff. I'll call them out. I know you guys should be careful about who you mentioned, but I'm I you know when I hear these different organizations and what and what they're doing to invest in Canada and to bring more uh travelers to Canada. I was at a conference in January in New York City and the Rim Rock was what was all the talk and the buzz. And it was really cool to be a Canadian on stage, and they gave out a compass and it had the exact uh coordinates of the Rim Rock, and I held it up on stage and just told everybody um to meet me there in June of 2026 when it opens, because now you know how to get there, um, if all of all other technology fails. But yeah, tell us a little if you would mind um about some of the insights that you've been able to glean from this. So I share one example if people are looking to invest in this market or advance their business, so that's a challenge that we had that we're overcoming now by building out more accommodation and creating more opportunities. What are some other things that have stood out to you and how people are using this tool or some interesting insights of how you and the team have been looking at the data and all of a sudden getting some valuable new insights about what Canadian tourism actually looks like?

SPEAKER_02 27:44

Yeah, I think the best way to let the audience know about how the tools work is give you a couple examples.

SPEAKER_05 27:50

Please, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:51

And so uh, you know, one around audience targeting. Uh there's uh a great company that is here, Bayo Fundy Adventures. Oh, yeah, of course, yeah. Uh 12-person kayak uh tour company, and they used our segmentation data, they used the data collective and the traveler twin, and were able to identify uh adventure-driven segment, uh, the US Outdoor Explorer.

SPEAKER_06 28:16

Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

And with their investment in marketing, they were able to direct their messaging specifically to Target. They were able to direct their media based on what's available in the Traveler Twin directly to that market. And over one season, they think about kayak seat occupancy, and they went from a 54% kayak seat occupancy to a 98% kayak seat occupancy. So you're using that data and insights uh to craft what really differentiates your business and bring it right to that relevant uh customer. So they were able to do that. Uh, another really great example of how it's being used on more of a marketing front is uh our friends at Explore Edmonton used it. They were promoting a professional women's hockey event. They had a target of 20% out-of-town visitors to come to this event. They actually loaded their marketing uh taglines into the Traveler Twin to see how you know the guest would respond. And so it didn't just give feedback on that, it actually gave a strategy. They use this tagline to uh, you know, look after your out-of-town guests, use this tagline for more of the community engagement down the road. Uh, they were able to actually double the out-of-town visitation that they were expecting for that event. So, you know, they're passing back and forth. You're you're able to have a conversation with the customer, you're actually able to pull it back and use it in your own, let's say if you have Claude or Chat GPT, and you're able to push back and forth between the two kind of instances and test with that uh digital twin out of your customer.

SPEAKER_05 29:56

Well, let's make sure while we're having this conversation that we ensure all of our listeners know where to find these tools.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

Yeah, so if you're looking for us, uh destinationcanada.com. Uh, but uh the the Canadian Tourism Data Collective uh is where you're going to find it.

SPEAKER_05 30:12

Fantastic. And I two last questions for you. Um and one of the things I just wanted to highlight, I referenced uh Jeffrey Hinton when I was talking about the godfather of AI. Of course, he's English, but he's based back in in Toronto now, and you know, he was in California for many years. And I think this is one of the things that's special about the city is the talent, uh especially around AI and technology. I was just curious, when you guys are building this out, I know you're based in Vancouver. Um, is it Canadian engineers? How are you guys putting this all together?

SPEAKER_02 30:40

I love this question. Yes, and yes, and yes. Um proud of the team that we worked with. So, you know, when we think about our data, we started with a relationship with our statistical organization in Canada, StatsCAN. And so that provides a lot of the core data that we have on tourism. We layer a lot of Destination Canada's data that we're collecting on our own into that, and of course, a number of commercial data sources. When we think about development, uh, we have developers from coast to coast, uh both in Vancouver and Halifax that are actively working since day one on the data collective. And so it's all Canadian developed. And then the best part is we uh do a lot of design thinking, and so we get to work with all the businesses that have the questions about tourism. And they're in our process from day one, um, accepting what we're going to build all the way to testing it. So this is really Canadian through and through when you look at it. So super proud of not only, you know, the teams that we've had, but the talent that we absolutely have and the talent that we have within Destination Canada that they've really excelled to bring this. We get to pace beside some of the biggest companies, Spotify, uh, Marriott, uh, Amex, and we've have Enterprise Grade AI that's pacing right alongside them. So so proud of the team.

SPEAKER_05 32:07

As you should be. It's a terrific success story, and I'm so happy that this is you know part of the overall success of Destination Canada is that you know, we are a technology powerhouse. You're leveraging both the talented resources that we have available, and obviously they're excited to be able to showcase their country. And and uh so uh the stars are all aligning. I but I've got two other questions I just wanted to ask you. Uh given that you are across the data, you're obviously you know a senior executive at Destination Canada, and you have access to all kind of the knowledge, and whenever I have someone of um uh your significance on the podcast that has access to that perspective, I'm always keen for them to share like an insight or two with us about the overall trends you're seeing in Canadian travel, the overall trends you're seeing in the industry, and obviously yourself specifically to Canadian travel. So um, and two final questions, any big insights on what's with the happening in Canadian travel and where things are headed, and then I'm keen to ask you where you're traveling to next.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Oh, okay. So, oh, there's so much to lean on. But where I like to go is, you know, from trends international is is really growing. We're seeing a lot a lot of growth out of China. So we're seeing that that was a really a long tail market for us. And so we're seeing that come back online now uh in a much more meaningful way. And so uh that's an exciting, and you'll see a lot of, I think we have uh more than double the amount of buyers here in at Rendezvous Canada than we did last year. So uh that's uh an amazing kind of accomplishment for that team. And so we're seeing a lot of international growth. And so I would say, you know, we're leaning into Canada having a moment. We're leaning into really resonating with our brand and Canada naturally, and you're gonna see that everywhere. Uh, that we go.

SPEAKER_05 34:02

Oh, that's awesome. And obviously, speaking of where you're going or where things are headed, where are you going? What's next on your travel list for Canadian tourism?

SPEAKER_02 34:11

Well, uh, I am going to Halifax next. So we get to have our board meetings in Halifax. So that's in a couple of weeks. But I actually took a vacation just last week and I got to spend time in a Soyuz BC.

SPEAKER_05 34:26

Oh, amazing.

SPEAKER_02 34:27

Uh, you know, test out all the wineries there, go for some nice golf. Um, so it was an amazing uh opportunity to kind of go a couple hours out of Vancouver and uh really dig in.

SPEAKER_05 34:39

Yeah, and El Soyos is actually right near the only desert that we have here in Canada.

SPEAKER_02 34:43

It was very desert-like with great weather, um, super warm and uh no rain.

SPEAKER_05 34:48

No, it's amazing. When you even think of a province like British Columbia, the number of, and even their tagline here is from rainforest to Rockies. And I thought that was interesting because obviously they're having to go at Alberta by leaning into the Rockies as well. Like we have the coastal mountains, we go into the Rockies. And I mean, one of the most beautiful parts to see of our country is to travel from Calgary to Vancouver. And there is a border to cross there, but no, you don't actually have to pass one. I mean, it's just it's two different provinces. Um, but there's so many beautiful parts of British Columbia, like there's uh just in and of itself, but there's so much to see of our country, and I feel like I know I've been to all the provinces, but I haven't been to any of the territories yet, so that's next uh for me. I really wanted to get to the Yukon. And so um that's why I was asking about the Arctic because I know there's so much uh tourism being developed there and um uh and new uh developments, so it's anyway, it's very exciting time. Um, I can't thank you enough for bringing us in and making us a part of Rendezvous this year. It's a real honor to be here. So a special thank you to you and the Destination Canada team. Um, but just to finish off, I know you mentioned the website, but if people want to reach out to you directly, Megan, after this, what would be the best way for them to do that?

SPEAKER_02 35:52

Just uh check me out, Megan Farrigno on LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_05 35:55

Perfect. I'm sure many people will. But yes, thank you, Megan. Thanks for sharing your insights, and we'll be sure to continue to track your progress. Have a great couple of days here at the conference. Wish you and the team every success, and thanks again for making the time to speak to us.

SPEAKER_02 36:07

Thank you so much for having us.

TIAC Advocacy And Industry Collaboration

SPEAKER_05 36:10

I'm delighted that my next guest here is Sebastian Benedict, who is the president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, and they are key to putting on this event. So, Sebastian, welcome to Travel Trends. Great to have you with us. Thank you for having me. Fantastic. And I know you're based in Ottawa. Actually, Gatno is home for you, but the office is in Ottawa. Tell us a little bit about your role and specifically about the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

So we're basically an advocacy uh organization for tourism operators. So our job on every day is to go on Parliament Hill and convince politicians to put programs in place or change regulation that can help tourism operators in Canada. People don't realize, but there's uh over 280,000 tourism businesses in Canada. So our role is really to represent them on Hill.

SPEAKER_05 36:53

Fantastic. And now, so the organization itself, you put this event on in partnership with, and you want to give us a little bit of an overview about how Rendezvous comes together with Destination Canada and all these partners, including yourself.

SPEAKER_00 37:05

Exactly. So we collaborate with Destination Canada, who's the Crown Corporation in charge of marketing Canada uh on the international scene. And for us, I like to compare this as like the the Super Bowl of tourism. It's our biggest event of the year. We have over 1,500 people here, and it's a mix of buyers and sellers. It's like a big Tinder, right? People are meeting 15, 10 minutes appointment all day long. And it's tour operators from around the world that are coming here and meeting with provinces, with operators to see what's new, what do you have to offer, right?

SPEAKER_05 37:32

Well, one of your colleagues, Nicole Clark, I, you know, have gotten to know the team over the last few months preparing for this event and looking forward to meeting each of you and being here for the very first time at rendezvous. I thought it was obviously a great opportunity being I'm based here in Toronto. This is my hometown, and I'm very much Canadian, but I travel more than half of the time. And for me, I meet a lot of the people, yourself and colleagues, at other global events. What I really wanted to make sure I did was take the time to profile what happens here at the rendezvous conference. Tell us a little bit about your background. I know you've been to rendezvous conferences before, but you're new in this role. I know you've been kind of seven months into this new role, so you're coming back to rendezvous this time in this new capacity.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

Yeah, definitely. So before uh being the CEO at Tayak, I was with L'Alliance de l'Industrie Touristiques Quebec, which is basically the Quebec equivalent. Uh they do the the promotion internationally for Quebec. So I and we hosted the event uh two or three years ago in Quebec City. Uh so we I got the chance to see it on the other side side of the fence when you're like the old city and and everyone's coming here, and it has such an impact on the city. It's it's amazing.

SPEAKER_05 38:33

Yeah. Well, one of the things that obviously is really special about Canada is we're a bilingual country. And I spoke at a conference last year in Quebec City, which was really special because it was a Francophone conference. I was one of three English speakers that was brought in for that uh conference. And being here at this event, seeing people from Quebec, but also uh British Columbia, Alberta, the East Coast. I've got a lot of family out in the East Coast, my daughter's at school in Halifax, and you realize just how special our country is when the people across from coast to coast to coast get together for an event like this. And so, for you, given that you've been to this event for many years and you've obviously taken on this new role and you're key to this event, tell everyone about what brings people to rendezvous, who comes to this event and what draws them to this event each year.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

So obviously, from the the international buyers, you know, they want to know what's new, what they can sell to their client for people to come here. And obviously, this year, given with everything that's happening in the United States, we can really see that there is this curiosity and there's this interest in finding out like alternative and what they can offer. And we're seeing this in the registration and the amount of new buyers that came this year. So uh from an international seller's uh buyer's perspective, this is what we're seeing. And then for the people that are here selling their destination, it's it's a the perfect opportunity to showcase you know what we have to offer. If you're if you're a tourism operator or you're a provincial organization, you you can show what's new in my province this year that people should come visit.

SPEAKER_05 39:54

Yeah, and uh, people would have heard from the introduction, you know, there's 400 booths here, 60,000 meetings that are happening, more than 100 million in revenue that's expected to be transacted over the next few days here at the conference. We're sitting here together on day one of the three-day conference, and this is uh the window of opportunity to have these conversations because you guys have a very busy few days ahead. Tell us a little bit what's planned for this conference. What are some of the highlights for 2026 in particular?

SPEAKER_00 40:18

Well, I think for like I mentioned, for us it's the amount of of new buyers that are here. You know, we've got record numbers of people here, and we with the the shift in um in behavior of a lot of tourists, like it's really an opportunity we need to seize uh right now. So we really want to make the most out of it this week and really leave a lasting impression. We had our our opening reception in the CN Tower last night. Uh, people were very impressed. You know, we had almost 1,300 people at the top of the CN Tower for a great cocktail. So we're we really want to make sure we leave a bang. We we make that they know people are welcome here uh in Canada and that they come this summer.

SPEAKER_05 40:52

Yeah, it's fantastic. One of the things I got to experience this morning that I want all of our listeners to know, because I've talked on this podcast many times about demographics and you know changing customer behavior, and one of the interesting highlights that Matthew Upchurts, who runs the Virtuoso uh organization, had pointed out to me in one of our most popular episodes, is that post-pandemic, we still haven't seen the Chinese traveler return. And so he highlighted that you know there's a hundred million Chinese travelers that have yet to re-enter the travel market. And what's really interesting, sitting here together at the rendezvous conference in downtown Toronto, is there is a Chinese tourism contingent.

China Returns And Global Buyer Growth

SPEAKER_05 41:28

You have a special section set up, and your team was explaining to me that these are vendors that have passed all the regulations to be able to operate inbound tourism to Canada for Chinese travelers. And were they busy having meetings this morning? And that's a very encouraging sign for us in Canada to see that we're gonna get groups of Chinese travelers, and I'm not to touch on politics, but obviously they are connected. Carney making a trip and us all of a sudden being able to open up to uh having Chinese travelers again is a really exciting development for Canadian tourism.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

Well, I'm glad you raised this, and it's totally connected. And for us it was a big win because for years, because of the tension with China, group travel was not allowed in Canada. So when you ask, you know, what TIAG does, it's part of our role as advocacy to Parliament to make them realize, you know, some of the stuff you're doing is impacting the tourism industry, such as this. So having uh this travel kind of travel ban lifted now and being able to have uh a group of uh Chinese travelers come here for us, it's a huge win. We're it's one of the things we're most excited about this year.

SPEAKER_05 42:25

What are some of the other big international markets that come to this event each year? One of them, I um uh a few of your colleagues talked about Germany, how many Germans coming to Canada, and especially Germans looking for indigenous travel. And obviously, there's a large indigenous uh tourism component here, and uh so that obviously is is one of the big draws. But tell us from an international point of view, what are the big markets that come to this event that are sending travelers to Canada?

SPEAKER_00 42:50

Well, the United States remain, you know, the the biggest market, and they they've got a good representation here. But we often uh obviously have uh France, you know, UK, Australia, uh big presence from Asia. So we're we're we're really expanding like Destination Canada, beside the US, has eight key market that they really focus on. Uh and you've mentioned most of them, and I I come to Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 43:11

Now the other thing I wanted to ask you too is that you know you're very close to the trends that are happening in Canadian tourism. And one of the things that we've certainly seen is more Canadians exploring their own backyard. And it's you know, you mentioned it in context of we're having a moment here in Canada, and part of that is because um Canadians are choosing not to travel to the US for uh I think we all know the main reasons for that, um the geopolitical factors at play and and the overall uh uh tense aspect of the relationship and and tariffs and so forth. So Canadians are making the decision to uh stay home or travel elsewhere, but they're definitely exploring their own backyard. How significant is that trend in terms of the tourism increases that you're seeing?

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Well, we believe it's the reason we had a record breaking summer last year, was sixty billion dollar in in uh summer. For us in tourism, uh, we're seeing that trend continue this summer. That we are we're obviously a little scared when the war started and the gas price started to to increase. We were wondering, you know, how that will affect uh tourism behavior. What we're seeing so far is obviously people are kind of changing their their behavior, but they're not canceling trips, right? It may if they were planning on doing a road trip, let's say, from Quebec to PI for to go camping, they're still gonna go, but maybe they'll skip a restaurant or they'll skip an activity. But what we're seeing is most people doesn't seem to be canceling their vacation, which is good news.

SPEAKER_05 44:30

Yeah. Well, one of the things I also wanted to ask you is the type of travel that Canadians are looking for domestically. And so indigenous travel is continues to be on the rise uh for all the right reasons, but especially with international travelers. When it comes to domestic travelers, what type of travel experiences are you seeing them taking? You obviously mentioned the uh gas prices because one of the ways that Canadians get around is the uh epic road trip. You know, that we have a huge, uh beautiful country, but and so many people take huge road trips in the summertime. They go camping, and I know uh National Parks organization is here. What are sort of the travel styles that you're seeing with having a lot of momentum this summer?

Domestic Travel Shifts And Visitor Trends

SPEAKER_00 45:07

Well, nature remains usually our number one solid, right? It's it's it's what people go to, and we have so much to offer in Canada. You mentioned earlier the difference from coast to coast, like it we have everything to offer in one destination. Uh, and then food remains a big driver. Uh I I was lucky enough uh last year to be the one of the persons that negotiated to bring the Michelin guide in Quebec, and and we saw the the impact that this sort of of the for food is and people who would like to enjoy good food, the impact that the whole culinary tourism can bring. Uh so that's another driver that we're seeing.

SPEAKER_05 45:37

Yeah, culinary, I mean, across the conferences I've been attending this year, culinary has obviously been a big focus and continues to be. The other thing is wellness, of course. People choosing to travel based on being active. And uh, when you say nature, I mean obviously one of the best things you can do in this country is you can hike, you can cycle. Um, is wellness a big driver as well?

SPEAKER_00 45:57

Definitely, and and we're seeing a lot of destination using that um as a as a as a promotion tool. And I'll I'm giving another Quebec example, but because I was there until until a few months ago, but their their big campaign was called Winter Repee, which is uh like a play-on word of like come take therapy during the winter in Quebec with wellness with spa and everything. So we're seeing a lot of destination uh leaning into this whole like wellness and and you know, take care of yourself uh in our destination.

SPEAKER_05 46:22

Yeah. One of the things when I was at the Virtuoso Canada conference, I did like this three-city speaking tour in Calgary and Vancouver and Toronto, and they would show stats to all of the uh you know high-end luxury travel agents about Canadian travel, and one of the things they pointed out was a real increase in solo travel, which obviously is another driver that you know, especially um if female traveler taking group trips. Um so there's been a big rise in solo travel. What the interesting when they pulled up put a list together of the top solo destinations, number one was Canada for solo travel. And I said, How does that work? Is that like going on a road trip on your own or going camping and just solo uh experiencing Canada? But what what are you seeing in terms of groups and how people are traveling? Is is solo travel uh a real thing here in Canada, or what what are the other kinds of groups and travel styles that you're seeing on the rise?

SPEAKER_00 47:07

It's very interesting. You raise it, and I believe the reason is safety, right? Like when if you're a solo traveler, the one number one thing you're looking for is am I going to a save destination? Right. And this is one thing that Canada can offer. You know, we have a bunch of stuff to offer, but one thing our reputation has is we're also a safe destination. So I'm completely convinced these two are linked.

SPEAKER_05 47:26

Yeah, that's really interesting. Actually, I'm hanging on you. As soon as you said that, I was thinking about people that I know that have gone to Montreal or gone to Vancouver on their own. Like they've taken a long weekend, or people are more comfortable traveling solo or joining other group trips, and especially given now you've got the infrastructure in place with the accommodation, the tours, you can put together uh a trip quite easily on your own. The other thing when um we look around who's here at this event that I wanted to ask you to help uh illuminate the experience here for our global audience. We have all the provinces, all the territories represented here at the event. We also have the indigenous tourism and then obviously um new delegations like having the uh the uh Chinese tour operators having a section. Are there any other groups at national parks? I what are some of the other uh organizations that come together for an event like this that are worth noting that are part of the ecosystem of Rendezvous?

SPEAKER_00 48:18

Well, uh you've met like this is the the biggest chunk you've mentioned, but there's uh there's tourism operators, you know, as all uh uh for like for example, like Fresh Track Canada, which is uh an operator we have out west uh in uh in in Vancouver. So uh besides just the destination marketing organization, you do have you know uh operators and and businesses that come here for it.

SPEAKER_05 48:37

Yeah, actually it's a really I'm glad you mentioned that because as I learned the terminology, those are the sellers, the ones that are coming here. A good example of that is our good friend John Gunter from Frontiers North.

SPEAKER_00 48:46

Yes, I love John.

SPEAKER_05 48:47

Yeah, John's a fantastic guy. Um I think the world of John. Uh you've got Jason Sarancini who runs Lansby, and um, and I obviously I know the team at Fresh Tracks as well. Uh for our international audience, what are some of the other operators that they should be aware of? And clearly I know you can't play favorites, so I'm not trying to put you on the spot and ask you which of your favorites, but those are a couple examples because I know Fresh Tracks overwhelmingly draws most of their business from the U.S. for Americans looking to come to Canada to take rail tours. And it's a very substantial business, a very meaningful business. And it's been around, there's an English guy that founded it. It's a great success, Canadian success story, and they totally just focus on Canada very intentionally. Are there any other organizations like that that are worth noting for our listeners that are thinking about traveling to Canada and making that connection to say, wait a second, Frontiers North, I know um Newfoundland has some incredible operators as well. What would be a few that you would call out that uh our global audience might be interested in knowing about?

SPEAKER_00 49:40

You're really putting on the spot with this, man. If if I give you a political answer, I think it's more something people underestimate about this event is the networking opportunity you get, right? Right. Like even uh you get here, there's people you you will not think that you will meet, or or that you'll meet people that will pitch you in touch with people you never thought you could meet. So uh I think this is really the the undertone of it, it's the networking.

SPEAKER_05 50:01

Yeah. Well done. Well done. That was almost a trick question. But I just want to add to Sebastian's point there. The number of operators that are here, I mean, some that I'm familiar with, but many that I still have to have a chance to connect with and understand more about that, you know, if you want to go and see the Northern Lights or if you want to experience um uh uh polar bears, like there's so many, such a diverse variety, because obviously, given the scope of our country, there's so many different opportunities to explore. Um, on that note, I know you guys have a website. And for those people who are trying to figure out choosing to come to Canada this summer or making plans for 2027, what are the best resources for them to look at?

SPEAKER_00 50:41

Well, obviously, since we're an advocacy organization, our website is mostly about this tourismcan.ca, but something super interesting that we've put there, the two tools that people could find interesting, we've put a visa tracker, uh visa processing tracker on our website because the federal government was kind of slow sometime on processing visa. And sometime when you want to visit, you know, you have international international people that want to come here, you know, how long can it take if they're from destinations that are not uh that don't have electronic organization. So if you go to our website, you can see the visa processing tracker. You'll see on average the time it took the federal government to treat the visa depending on the destination. And then we did a breakdown by every ride in Canada, the amount of businesses, the amount of employees in every sector. So for someone who's curious to learn about how big tourism is, uh they're easy tool you can navigate on our website.

SPEAKER_05 51:25

That's great. Well, I got two last questions for you, Sebastian. And I won't put you on the hot seat, but I know um the but it might. So we'll see we'll see. We'll see how you fare on these two. Okay, the the first question: for those people who are not familiar with Canadian tourism, there's obviously a lot of uh stats that you might be familiar with that maybe people aren't aware of. And so tell us if you wouldn't mind. Share one insight about Canadian tourism. And the part that I always reflect on when uh people think about Canada, I'm always shocked to discover the number of people, global international travelers that I think are savvy that have never been to Canada before. I've lived in Australia, I've lived in the UK, I've lived in the US, the number of people that I meet, and they're like, oh no, I haven't been to Canada yet. And my mind is always like, how come? Why not? And um, one of the perceptions that we have with our country is beautiful landscapes, but it's isolated. That it's like, you know, that people think they're just going to be the reality is our culture is so rich and diverse. And so what might be either a stereotype or what would be an interesting fact about Canadian tourism that our global listeners should know?

SPEAKER_00 52:24

It's 10% of the workforce. So everyone you know in Canada knows someone who works in tourism, right? If you think of other industry, like do you know someone in the mining industry? Do you know blah, blah, blah. Yeah, everyone knows someone who works in tourism in Canada. It's huge. We don't realize it because a lot of time it's a bunch of small businesses and it's a bunch of sectors together. Uh, but when you put them all together, it's it's one of the biggest sectors in Canada. So this is the one I usually say like it's one out of ten person in Canada who works in tourism, and we all know someone who works in the industry.

SPEAKER_05 52:49

Yeah, and we have so many when you go to uh uh British Columbia, there's so many Australian accents and Kiwi accents, and it's one of the things that's actually quite wonderful is um the number of people that come to work for summers, and um but yeah, okay, and last question, this was the one actually might put you on the on the spot a little bit more. I always like to people ask people what their next trip is. And so domestically, what's next on your list of places to explore in Canada?

SPEAKER_00 53:14

I'm well, I've got to be honest on this one. I'm actually going to PI with my family in August this summer. We we rented a campground for for a week, so really excited uh for my kids to discover it. That my kids are five and three, so they're uh they're just starting to travel for the first time. So we're really, really excited to bring them over there and make them discover something else. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 53:32

Well, of course, Anna Green Gables country, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Uh there's so many reasons to travel to PEI, of course, to Charlottown, um, which is where Confederation happened. It's such a small population and it's such a beautiful island. Uh, I love the East Coast. My daughter lives in Halifax and uh she's at university there, and we are going this summer, and we're gonna go to PEI as well again, because I just love PEI. And um, so I'm I'm I think that's awesome. The one thing I was amazed when I went to PEI and went to the Anne of Green Gables is the number of Japanese tourists and how big that book is in Japan. And it was just cool to see that all these uh Japanese tourists coming to Canada to PEI that have a connection with this place because they've read these books from a Canadian author.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

Oh, definitely. And then sometimes we don't realize because a smaller destination, you know, in the volume, if you compare them to, you know, Ontario, uh BC, it might not be as big in a volume number, but what it represents in their everyday, the impact of tourism and travelers there for them, it's huge. So yeah, uh really happy to go there and show it to my family this summer.

SPEAKER_05 54:31

Fantastic. Well, Sebastian, thank you for taking the time to join us. Thanks for the opportunity to bring travel trends and be a part of this event and the event spotlight for the very first time. Uh just to close off for our listeners that want to learn more about tourism industry for all of our listeners that want to learn more about the tourism industry association of Canada or connect with you directly, what would be the best ways for them to do that?

SPEAKER_00 54:51

Uh they can find me on LinkedIn, so Sebastian Benedict, uh, like the eggs, or uh the tools I mentioned are on tourismcan.ca.

SPEAKER_05 54:58

Wonderful. Well, merci beaucoup. Thank you so much for joining us and uh good luck with the rest of the conference. Thank you. Our next

Destination Ontario Showcases The Province

SPEAKER_05 55:06

guest here live at the rendezvous conference in beautiful downtown Toronto is someone who is also from Toronto and a proud Torontonian as well as a proud Canadian. I have the privilege now to speak to Vincenza Rinaldi, who is the president and CEO of Destination Ontario. Welcome to Travel Trends.

SPEAKER_03 55:24

Oh, thank you for having me here. It's such a pleasure.

SPEAKER_05 55:27

Of course. I have to make sure we get Ontario and a Torontonian as part of this. There's so many beautiful parts of our country, but this, after all, is the most populous, and this is the business hub, and one of the big reasons we're here. But uh before we get into that, tell everyone a bit about your background in tourism.

SPEAKER_03 55:43

Oh, okay. Well, um, my background, I've been with Destination Ontario for about eight years and now as the president and CEO for uh about two and a half years. Um, actually, before my role was more in background, doing a lot of the, you know, uh the HR and the accounting and stuff like that. But I also did oversee the Ontario Travel Information Services. So those are the people who have the travel counselors who are there to assist our visitors, whether they're uh arrived here in Ontario or they're still planning to come to Ontario with putting itineraries together. So that's a little bit of my background on tourism.

SPEAKER_05 56:24

Well, I figured tourism has obviously a passion for you and and meeting your team and getting a chance to, I mean, obviously, and knowing the organization. But let's let's make sure all of our listeners understand Destination Ontario. Give us a bit of an overview of the organization and what you guys do.

SPEAKER_03 56:37

Right. Well, Destination Ontario is an agency of the government of Ontario. We're actually part of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. Um, but we're on our own too. So but we're a marketing organization. So we're there to basically promote Ontario as a travel destination. And we do that in various markets around the world. We're actually in 10 markets. So we're in the European markets with the UK, France, and Germany. We're in the Asia markets in China, South Korea, and Japan. We're also in Mexico, in Australia, and of course, the US, which is what our biggest market actually.

SPEAKER_05 57:16

Well, and we're obviously so close to the US and multiple US states, and American travelers I know are still very important uh for Canadian tourism and will continue to be. And obviously, we have a great relationship. We're uh um with our friends in the U.S. I've got many family members there, and I travel back and forth. And and so as we look at uh Destination Ontario and what brings you to an event like Rendezvous, it's obviously a pretty cool thing that it's in Toronto this year. Um curious to know this with this particular rendezvous, clearly you've been going to rendezvous events for years. What's particularly special about this year's event and what were you most looking forward to about being here?

SPEAKER_03 57:50

Well, first of all, we uh are so proud here in Ontario to be hosting this world event here in Toronto in this province. Um hosting RVC for uh Toronto puts Ontario at the center of it, you know. So it's not just about Toronto. When people come here to RVC that we're actually able to promote various parts of the province. We want to showcase everything that we have. And Ontario has so much to offer, like we really do. We're kind of like um you think about the world, it's kind of like the world in Ontario. We got diversity, we have almost ever almost all countries are represented here in Ontario. So we got very cultural communities, um, very welcoming communities, and and there's something for everyone. So we're excited to um that it's being hosted here in Toronto in our beautiful province. And so this is a big deal for us, and we're so excited about it.

SPEAKER_05 58:51

For sure. And and uh Vincenza and I are having this conversation at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, moments away from the CN Tower and the Sky Dome. And I still remember the Sky Dome first opened. I was a kid when I was there for like the All-Star Game and the All-Star Game that year. We were we were fortunate to host it, and they we opened the roof to the world, and it was a special moment that you know it we opened and closed it, and the whole idea was the world was watching as we cheered for 20 minutes as it opened and closed. And it was a really cool moment in the city of Toronto growing up here to be on the world stage. And so I love the fact that this conference is here in Toronto this year because obviously it moves around as it needs to to represent all of Canada, but I love that this year it's in Toronto. And so, with your involvement this year, what are some of the initiatives that Destination Ontario has underway at this conference?

SPEAKER_03 59:37

Right. Well, in addition to having 108 Ontario sellers here. So they're they're having their business meetings, you know, they have their 15 minutes meetings and all of that. So, in addition to that, we've also uh hosted 17 familiarization tours. So we've just completed seven. We have 10 more to go. Um, and that's really exciting because we actually get to bring the sellers, I mean the the buyers right on site. They can actually experience the different destinations, the different attractions, the hotels, the restaurants, you know, they get to see the, you know, what used to be called the Sky Dome Rogers Center now. Um, you know, I I think we had our Japanese uh fam tour there just the other day, and they got to watch a game and experience it, and they were so excited they got to meet some of the players. So um it's really exciting to do that. So that's the kind of stuff we're doing um while it's here in Toronto. And we we work in partnership with Destination Toronto as well, because they're the host city. We're the host province. So we work together to make sure that um, you know, we're welcoming the world to us. We also have a um host night tomorrow evening on Thursday. It's gonna be at the Royal Ontario Museum, and we have the whole museum to ourselves. It's gonna be a fantastic event. Again, another way of showcasing who we are, welcoming them to our uh our city and this uh Ontario, our province.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:11

Well, as you mentioned, Ontario, our province. One thing I do want to make sure I call out for all of our international listeners when you're looking at a map of Canada, obviously Toronto is the capital of this province, Ottawa is the capital of the country, but Toronto is the capital of Ontario. We have Queen's Park here, and that's where the legislature is. But Ontario is a massive province. And it's both in population and in uh uh the size. And one of the things that most people are are not familiar with, I always love uh when people drive across Canada, and I've had the uh the privilege to do it twice. And and so to drive from Toronto to Vancouver, it takes about 48 hours, but half of that is driving out of Ontario. It takes about 24 hours just to get to Thunder Bay, and there's so many spectacular parts of this province. I have tree planted in the summers up north. Obviously, you've got many friends, I'm sure, um uh that have cottages and people are very familiar to the lifestyle in Ontario. There's so much more to Ontario than just Toronto. And so I would love if you wouldn't mind speaking to a little bit of that for those people who are trying to wrap their heads around traveling to Ontario about all the places they could see across this amazing province.

Ontario Itineraries Beyond Toronto

SPEAKER_03 1:02:15

Yeah, exactly. Well, just like you said, we're a province of Canada, and we do have, of course, have Toronto, which is the one of the most diverse um cities in Canada, but we also have Ottawa, which is the prov province uh the country's national capital. Um we have other cities as well, we have Kingston and London and other urban areas as well. Mississauga, which is apparently, I think, the the fourth largest uh municipality in the country. Yeah, I grew up in Mississauga, so I know it's well, yeah. Um but we also have, like you said, we have Muskoka, we got the n northern Ontario. So for people who love nature, um, who love fishing, who love hunting, who love, you know, just outdoor hiking or um motorsports, you know, or those people who like being on motorcycles. There's so many trails and and um snowmobiling is a big one too, that we that is all done in so many parts of Ontario.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:21

But it's true, like Ontario has so much to offer. We have one country. We have the Niagara region, we have uh Niagara on the lake, we also have um, you know, uh the various parts of Ontario where you can get wine um or and grapes um and fruit, you know. So there's we have agritourism. Um, there's so much to do in Ontario. I mean, I could just do a whole discussion on that. We have beautiful beaches. People don't always think about Ontario's because we're part of Canada, and people don't think about Canada's having beaches, but we have beautiful beaches. We have, you know, Wasega Beach, we have Subel Beach, we have um Turkey Point, we have Sandbanks, we got Ontario Parks. There's so much to explore in Ontario. And um, and sometimes it could feel overwhelming, even for myself, you know. But luckily, one of the things that we do, and I think I mentioned this just a bit earlier, is we do have travel counselors. They're professionals, they know the province, and they will help you kind of build an itinerary for you to make it a real authentic experience. So they'll they'll say, like, what are you interested in? Are you coming with a family? Are you on your own? Are you really interested? Are you like interested in cities and shopping? Are you more culture, like the arts or the museums? And they help build um a great itinerary for you. And we have an amazing culinary scene. As you know, we have uh Michelin star restaurants in Ontario, so that's one thing we always encourage people to check out our culinary experiences as well.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:01

Yeah, you hit many incredible highlights, and obviously, yes, largest freshwater uh beaches in the world. And and this is the part that I think a lot of people don't understand about Canada is the seasonality. And because you as soon as you say Canada, they think cold and you think winter. And the reality is that is a part of it, and it's actually one of my favorite times of the year. I love winter in Ontario. I love going up to go skiing or snowboarding. I also love you know, the maples, tapping the maples syrup trees and going like on doing the sled rides, and like um that that is also a special time of the year, but it actually only is part of the year. We have glorious hot summers. We're experiencing it right now as we're um uh you know having another heat wave, and people do take to the beaches. So you hit on a lot of highlights. The other thing I would love for you to be able to share with all of our listeners is what you're seeing as far as some of the trends in tourism. You mentioned culinary, obviously, that's a major trend. Um, but in terms of international travelers coming to Ontario, what some of their motivations are. I love that you mention travel advisors because clearly it's a huge uh audience for us, and that you know that they are. Looking for their guests to make recommendations and they don't necessarily know that there is a wine country, and all of a sudden they can put together an itinerary that they you know that's really special that they wouldn't have otherwise known about. And so tell us a little bit about some of the overall trends you're seeing at Destination Ontario.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:14

Well, as I mentioned earlier, we really do try to promote our province to various parts of the world, and we see a lot of the international travelers and our our numbers are really going up in terms of international travelers coming here, but it depends where they're from. But one of the things that they're really seeking is that uh nature experience. Um, you know, they love to come to Toronto, but then they also want to do a camping trip or they want to do uh visit one of our parks or like the Algonquin Park. Like the Algonquin Park, you know. Um there's so many, we have so many of those. So we see that a lot. And you were talking about seasonality in our Mexican markets, they love to come in the winter. So you can imagine they they experience summer all the time, right? So they love to come here, they want to see snow. So they want to kind of go more north and and just experience like more of the winter weather. So we see that as a trend. Um, but yeah, and and one of the things we also know about the our international travelers is when they come, they like to stay longer. You know, they stay longer, they and they explore more places. Um, so it really depends where they're from. I mean, a lot of them love to rent a vehicle and that's what they'll do. They'll and they'll go around in their vehicle or they'll they'll go by, you know, our via rail or trains that we have. Um so it really depends on the markets that they're from.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:44

But um, yeah, so but mostly our European uh travelers like to come in the summer to experience our summer. Um, and they're they're very excited to visit a lot of our cultural uh attractions as well. And the other thing is Ontario is very well known for is our many festivals, especially in the summer, but we also do have them all year round. Like you were saying, our maple syrup festivals and you know, we have food festivals.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:12

You know, like Carabana in Toronto. I mean, it's just a huge festival of Caribbean culture.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:16

Yes, and we have Pride coming up, and then of course, um, everybody knows that FIFA is coming. Yes. And FIFA, we do have two games here in Toronto. Um, so we have a lot of um people from all over the world. Um, so we know that people who who are huge soccer fans or football fans, depends on where you are in the world, they they're kind of like uh soccer is like a religion to them. So they'll they'll come anywhere. So we're we're so excited to have a lot of these FIFA fans coming here. We know that once they come here and sort of come for the games, they are more likely to return and and experience Ontario again. We also know that they're gonna be staying beyond the games and they're looking to travel beyond Toronto too. So we know that they want to go to Niagara, uh, which is a big popular course. We can't mention, can't not not mention Niagara because it's uh iconic. Um, but they also want to travel like to smaller towns, you know, like Alora, you know, or Tokomori, yes, or areas like that. So we're seeing we're seeing those happening now. We get it, we're getting a lot of calls uh for those types of itineraries.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:33

Well, you've definitely done a j a fantastic job marketing this province because as I continue to take family who are visiting, we always have to go to Niagara Falls. You're absolutely right. Everyone, that's a pilgrimage. I always then take them to Niagara on the Lake, take them to the Angelin pub, go to see some of the uh wineries. But then I always try and take them to small town Ontario. My mom now lives out in British Columbia. When she comes back to Ontario, she loves visiting small town Ontario, uh Prince Edward County. And like so, but I love that you mentioned Tobermory because that's a special place for us that we go to every year around Canadian Thanksgiving, and it's the end of the season there, so the shops are getting ready to close, and it's just kind of a really nice time of the year, the leaves are changing, but the number of international tourists over the last four or five years, it's amazing. The world has discovered all of these beautiful little hidden gems in Ontario.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:17

Exactly, they're hidden gems, and you might what our research tells us is that when people come to Ontario, one of the biggest drivers for them coming is because we're welcoming and we're safe and they appreciate the diversity. Um, so that's one of the main reasons they're coming. And when they come, they actually experience like real genuine um, you know, welcoming uh atmospheres.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:43

That's wonderful. I'm glad we had this opportunity to sit down together. I was so keen to meet you. And obviously, you know, I'm not only proud Canadian, proud Ontarian, a proud Torontonian. So we have all of that in common. Yeah, and I'm just so um amazed um being here at this event to see how it's all come together, but the real, you know, being at the heart of it here in Toronto and hearing the success story. So I really appreciate you taking the time uh to share your story. And just to finish off, because obviously I know we're gonna have inspired people both to visit um this beautiful province, but also to connect with you and the team. Um so what would be the best way for people to reach out after this episode?

SPEAKER_03 1:11:19

Oh, absolutely. If people want to reach out to me, I mean you can find me in LinkedIn, just look up my name and you'll see me there. But also they could send me an email at Vincenza.rinaldi at Ontario.ca.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:32

That's fantastic. And there you go. Ontario.ca is where also people need to go to learn more information and um and plan their next trip for themselves or for their guests.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:40

But we have a website destinationOntario.com, and um they'll find everything there. Our team does a great job in sort of updating all destinations. We work with all our partners across Ontario, and you'll find everything you need to know about Ontario attractions, uh, tourism, uh, our events, all there on destinationOntario.com.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:02

Fantastic. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you for making the time. Vincenza, a real pleasure to meet you. Good luck with the rest of the conference.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:07

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Destination Toronto And Market Diversification

SPEAKER_05 1:12:10

Our next guest, I'm really excited to introduce to all of you. He's someone that I've admired uh for many years given the work that he's done in Toronto. He is the president and CEO of Destination Toronto. It is Andrew Weir. Andrew, welcome to the Travel Trends Podcast here live at Rendezvous.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:26

I'm so glad to be finally doing this with you.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:28

I know. We got a chance to meet in Vegas of all places at the Virtuoso Conference. We actually got paired together, and uh, we both were excited that we're both from Toronto and uh we've kept in touch ever since. But this is the first time we've had the opportunity to record together. But um obviously this is your hometown, and this is this is this this event has come to you. So tell everyone actually, first of all, a little bit more about your role in Destination Toronto.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:51

Sure. Uh so I've been with uh I've been with Destination Toronto almost 21 years now, which is hard to fathom. I've been in this role for two years, so I'm I'm the old guy and the new guy all at the same time. Uh learning a lot every day and just so uh grateful to have this incredible team that we work with and and the community beyond our team. So, you know, there's our own staff at Destination Toronto, but the the community just feels very, very aligned right now. And really, I think everyone's got the eye on the prize of long-term growth of the tourism sector and not just growth for growth's sake, but because of the impact it has on our community. So when you have that kind of alignment, you feel like everybody's rowing in the same direction. And and I think when you're in the city, you can feel that that momentum.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:30

Yeah, and what an incredible 20 years. And that's why when I mentioned about what you've accomplished and how much you and your role, and especially now leading the charge. And you know, I seeing you at international events, you obviously fill me with pride to say, like, yes, that's Andrew. He's you know, and you do such a great job of representing this city. And then I see you at all these events in and around Toronto as well. You're constantly quoted. I was actually doing a GBTA event recently um when they came to Toronto for their annual event and um some of the stats that you and your team had put together for that event. So tell everyone on that note, Destination Toronto, tell give everyone a bit of an overview of the organization and uh the great work you guys do there.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:08

So, Destination Toronto, it's actually a good time to be having this conversation. We just turned a hundred years old. Wow, that's awesome. Which is amazing. Um obviously no nobody here was part of it when it started, but it started in 1926 and it was uh established to be the Toronto Convention Visitor Association. We've had different names. A lot of people know us as Tourism Toronto, which we were for about 30 years. Now we're Destination Toronto, but we are the the promotional organization for the destination promotion organization for Toronto, and um that encompasses everything from uh convention sales and servicing to a global marketing function, and increasingly moving more and more into engaging with local stakeholders and and being a catalyst for improving the product on the ground. It's not just about selling and marketing, although that's always gonna be the core of the business, but also having a hand in how we improve our competitiveness for the long term. So you put all those things together, and our our business is uh is you know, we we use the word ignite. We ignite Toronto's visitor economy, and uh that's the role we play and proud to do it.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:08

Well, and the other thing, obviously, you in that hundred years, one of the key roles that Toronto played is that you were actually the host of the very first rendezvous way back in 1977, going back 49 years. And I was saying at the very beginning of this episode of ours, the listeners heard uh when I was speaking to Megan about the fact that I think 49 is particularly special because of the 49th parallel.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:30

So, you know, because it's our hundredth anniversary this year, I've spent a lot of time going back through old documents, just the archives, annual reports, and I came across the 1978 annual report that was reflecting on last year we hosted the very first this thing called Rendezvous Canada. And I this was just a couple weeks ago that I found that, and it was ironic because here we were preparing to host this one, which is our third one in the last seven years. Yeah. We had it in 2019 and then again in 22. And um, you know, this it is not coincidence that it's here this year. This was very deliberate on our part to bring this to Toronto in a time when, first of all, we knew the city would look great, getting ready for the World Cup, and um it's just a great time of year. But more importantly, we've been very strategically focused on international diversification over the last couple of years. So as we've been building more and more of these inroads into well-established markets like the UK and Germany and Mexico that had frankly taken a step back during the COVID period and it's been a rebuild, but also this huge opportunity in front of us in new markets, everything from China to South Korea to the Netherlands and Ireland, that we're seeing a lot of opportunity momentum. We're so fortunate to have great direct air service as a city. So people can get here, but there's a lot of markets that the message isn't um is hadn't been told, hadn't been delivered as aggressively. So this is about building these partnerships, right? It's very often the tour operators and the trade that are at the front of the of that relationship with the customer and the and the travelers uh in some of these markets. And so this helps us get more awareness of Toronto, build long-term demand, uh, and particularly help us diversify our market, which is which is critical right now.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:08

Yeah, well, what's also interesting too, in terms of correlating that timing, is that the CN Tower officially opened in June of 76, as you would know, because you obviously have uh I'm sure many facts memorized about the city of Toronto, but obviously that is the landmark that we are globally recognized for, and obviously for many, many years, it was the largest freestanding structure of the world. And uh interestingly, as as you know, Andrew, last night at the opening, uh 1,300 people from this event go up to C and Tower. So here we are, you know, CN Tower is about to celebrate its 50th uh birthday coming up, and this event celebrating 49th year in Toronto. You're starting to uh share some of the reasons why this year is particularly meaningful, intentional, and special. And I'd love to hear a bit more about that and how it came to be and what some of the factors that with planning for this event were um that you contributed to this year.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:58

I I'm happy to talk about that, but let me let me go back to this 50th anniversary for a minute because it somehow in the city there was a bit of a like a tourism baby boom about 50 years ago. We had the CN Tower. Yeah, the Blue Jays are 50 years old. Last year, the Toronto Zoo turned 50 years old. TIFF, our film festival, turned 50 years old. There was something in the water in the mid-70s in Toronto, and you know, these things are kind of cyclical too when you think about what was happening. Soon after I started with Tourism Toronto, as it was in the time, the big story we were talking about was something called the Cultural Renaissance. The ROM was being reimagined with the Daniel Liebskin edition, the Art Gallery of Ontario was being reimagined with the Frank Gary edition, the Four Season Center Opera House opened, Illuminato started, the Nuit Blanche started. There was this whole cultural renaissance at the time, and so there are these phases of building, and we kind of we can within the tourism business, we can track time by some of these key developments and development phases. And I think we're gonna look back on this period now as uh in a couple respects, but one will be I think the revitalization of our waterfront. When you think about this as the decade of the just complete transformation of our waterfront from the central waterfront to everything happening in the Portlands and the eastern waterfront we're seeing with Badacity Park and uh everything that's opening in that area, the parliament slip, and then you go to the west side of the waterfront where you've got Ontario Place and all the redevelopment of exhibition place. So I think when we look back, that's what this phase will become known as. Now, I'll leave that for a minute. Let me come back to the question you actually asked me, which is about why are we here? Why are we hosting rendezvous right now? Um it's uh this really was a strategic choice to host this event, not just because it's a good event to host, but we wanted it this year at this time, uh, and worked closely with Tayak and Destination Canada and Destination Ontario to make that happen. I mean, it takes a it takes a partnership to make that happen, and so all those players have been very instrumental in making this happen. And this is because we have really prioritized, and our board and our community has prioritized market diversification. We to be successful, Toronto at its best, we have a very diversified visitor economy. We have business travel, we have leisure travel, we have domestic, we have US, we have international. And during the COVID period, we saw that some of those engines weren't firing at the same level, right? Domestic travel was very strong, and thank goodness it was, because international just fell off entirely.

SPEAKER_06 1:20:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:25

We need to get back to having all of these engines firing at a very strong level. And so that's forced us to now really put a premium focus on redeveloping the international markets. Part of that is getting back to where we were before, but we're not we can't be in this recovery mindset. We need to be in a growth mindset. We need to be looking not at where we were in 2019, but where are we going to be? And the opportunities ahead of us are doubling down on the success we're seeing in the UK and Germany and Mexico, and at the same time, building new demand in markets like the Netherlands, China, South Korea, Brazil, um, Ireland. Like these are Switzerland, these are opportunities, and we can't pursue all of them at the same time. So part of what the value of this show is is understanding, because tour operators are here from all those countries, we're learning where the best opportunities are so that we can direct investment to where the highest return will be to deliver more of that international business to the city.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:20

Yeah, that's great. I would you want to go back and what you just shared was very meaningful to me because I came here when I was just uh uh five or six years old from England and moved to Mississauga. And uh in so many ways, my life trajectory is very connected to the city of Toronto, both the population growth and and so that late 70s, early 80s, and all of those. I mean, I'm a huge Blue Jays fan. So for me, coming to Rendezvous, this is my first rendezvous. I was very keen to be here for this because it's in Toronto. And the one thing I was just gonna call out that uh when Andrew mentioned about being very intentional, you know, the last year it was in Winnipeg the year before, it was in Edmonton, you know, two years ago it helped generate 65 million, maybe 80 million, but this 100 million plus. And I think that's one of the things about Toronto is this is the economic hub of our country. And obviously, I know we're both biased, and um, you know, there's and over the course of this podcast, we've talked about from coast to coast to coast and how what brings us together as Canadians. So I'm proud to be Canadian, an Ontarian, and a Torontonian. But I think it is particularly special it's here in Toronto. And so when you look at the economic impact, and this is one of the things I find really fascinating when I read your reports, um, you know, this particular event is gonna bring in more than $7 million of direct economic impact. And you've got more than 4,000 hotel nights. When you think about an event like this, when it and how important it is, because but you're also having this event why there's Toronto Tech Week happening, why the there's so much going on in Toronto.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:44

There's even more to it than it seems. So, I mean, you're absolutely right. Having an event of this scale, this size, it's about 1,500 people, um, is critically important, any any time of year. What was really important was this was a time when initially we couldn't sell meetings in May because the FIFA World Cup had uh had basically blocked out the entire city. So most of the meetings that would take place that this month were booked years ago when some of those rooms became available, some of the some space opened up, then we could actually sell into this space. That's when we had the conversation with Tayak and with Destination Canada about bringing rendezvous here. So it was an opportunity like it it has an outsized impact right now because not only is it bringing critical millions of dollars and thousands of room nights, but it's doing it at a time when we otherwise had a hard time selling because we had missed a lot of the sales window. Yeah. So that that's an important thing. Now, in terms of the overall impact of the event, it's also I think we need to recognize how strategically important Toronto is to the success of this event because these are buyers coming from markets around the world, and the benefit we have in Toronto is we've got direct flights to all of them. So it is more difficult for some of the buyers to travel to places like Winnipeg and Edmonton. It's absolutely worth going, but it just takes a couple extra steps. Whereas coming to Toronto, it's very easy. It's one flight for just about all of them. And as a result, we see where we've seen you know just under 400, just over 400 buyers at the previous few shows, we're well over 500 this year. So it's not only good for Toronto, but it's good for every single Canadian seller and destination and hotel and tour and attraction and experience that's here because they've now got more of the world, more of the buyers here. So this is how we benefit each other that Toronto is able to draw more of the buyers here. And frankly, we're able to put on a great Canadian showcase. I love the fact that when they're in this room, when they're as we sit here in the on the show floor here with all this business humming around us. Exactly, the buyers are experiencing all of Canada, truly, from coast to coast to coast, and it's a wonderful showcase of the entire country. But when five o'clock hits and they leave, it's all Toronto. Yeah. You know, they're going out there and they're intermingling with all the Blue Jay fans coming out of the game. Uh last night it was on the way in. Today it's an afternoon game, it'll be on the way out. But they're seeing that energy, they're seeing that city energy. They're walking around and having great meals at great restaurants all throughout the city. They were here early on the weekend before, and there's many of them are staying for the weekend after. So they're they're getting out to different neighborhoods around the city. They're getting out and doing the attractions, they're getting out on the water, they're they're experiencing the city at a level of depth that is only true for Toronto because all the other destinations that are here, they only have their 10 minutes with that buyer on the show floor. We get everything after. And that's the impact of being the host city.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:30

Yeah, and the one thing I love about international travelers coming to Toronto is truly how multicultural this city is. And gradually over the last 20 years, Canada has become multicultural. But growing up here in the 1980s, this city was already a very multicultural. And my expectation when I worked and lived in other countries was the same, but it was never quite as multicultural as what I knew Toronto to be. And it's only become more multicultural in the last 20 years. And you mentioned the Blue Jays, I've got my city Connect Friday. The Jays are playing the Miami Marlins right now. I saw Jays fans going by at lunchtime and gave that buzz of the city that I absolutely

Toronto’s Welcome Story Through Culture

SPEAKER_05 1:26:03

love. And the tagline of that is diversity is our strength. And that's something I love about the city of Toronto. And I think so international people coming here seeing that, um, seeing how well everyone gets along, how safe, how clean. Everyone always makes those comments, right, about Toronto. And those are true as well. But um, but at the same time, there's something to be said for um uh the culture and the diversity in this city and how comfortable everyone feels. Because a couple of times on those podcasts, people have mentioned the word welcoming.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:29

Well, that that's I think what's important. You know, diversity is we've done a ton of research on this, and and um diversity is tough to sell because everybody wherever they live, they think it's diverse. They think, you know, they've got some restaurants from some different places around the world down the street. So why would I need to go to Toronto for that? But then when they do come here, they look around, they ride the subway, they walk the streets, and they they see, oh, now I get it. Now I see what you mean, I see what you were talking about all along. So it's hard to sell in advance, but it's very appreciated when it's here. What we really can sell and what does resonate is not the fact that we're diverse, but what it feels like and means. So you see that through food. Right? You we can we can talk about the the food experiences that are all throughout the city, not just downtown, but when you think about some of the experiences from Scarborough and North York, where you get some of that real authentic global cuisine and experiences that um and often with a story too, because it's so genuine. Um, that's part of what we can sell. When you think about the film festivals, we have dozens and dozens of film festivals all year long from different parts of the world, and not a lot of cities could sustain that. And but it happens in Toronto because we have people from all these places that are celebrating their own culture, and so and you see it with festivals, and and then at the end of the day, there's this sense of welcome. And let's be honest, right now around the world, people are thinking very carefully about how welcome they will feel, and Canada really shines. It's a it's an opportunity. I think we've gotta we have to seize this moment as a Country, certainly as a city, but as a country, because people are looking for what we have right now. And at a moment that we have this distinguishing chasm, we need to leverage it. You know, we need to raise the bar, raise the baseline of visitation and our reputation. And it's it's happening, but we've got to double and triple down on this opportunity.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:20

Yeah, and it's wonderful as we both know, having been at international conferences together at the same time, when people respond to us as Canadians and then they hear from Toronto. And most people, if they've been to Canada, they've most often been to Toronto. So they're like, oh, I've been to Toronto, went for the conference, and I love Toronto. You always hear people just instantly react, and it's always wonderful to hear that. Um the one thing I wanted to ask you, Andrew, too, is that over the course of this event spotlight episode, as we've been focusing on Canada and then uh Ontario and all the amazing places across this country. But while you and I are together, I want to focus on Toronto because our global listeners still many people have not been to Canada. And even us just sharing some of those highlights, for me, obviously, yes, cuisine, but specifically markets. I love St. Lawrence Market, I love Kensington Market. I watched a documentary on my flight home on Air with Air Canada last night about Kensington Market and how it's evolving and changing. You know, it's a Jewish neighborhood and it's Portuguese and Caribbean, and you just it is so incredibly diverse, and it's it's a real gem of this city. But when you look at the city and how it's evolving and changing, what are some of the things that you're looking at or paying attention to as sort of the big overall trends? Of course, you know, we have FIFA, we have events that are coming on um this year. But in terms of you know, 2026 going into 2027, when you look at why people are traveling to Toronto, where they're coming from, what are some of the overall themes and trends that you're really paying attention to?

Events And Women’s Sports Drive Travel

SPEAKER_04 1:29:39

I would say there's a couple of big trends that we're watching. Some that are global in nature, some that are specific to Toronto. I uh you know, one that we've really seen a lot over the last number of years is the importance of events as a driver of visitation. More and more people are choosing a destination because they have a ticket for something. It could be a meeting or a conference, but it also could be a concert. And so the new Roger Stadium that's been built as a temporary stadium, but it's a 55,000-seat outdoor summer concert stadium that gives us some infrastructure that we didn't have in the city before. And as a result, we've got five days, five shows of Bruno Mars, and we were one of only six cities that had the OASIS tour last summer, and and we're seeing a lot of the K-pop bands come through. And and that is driving visitation to a much greater degree than we've seen before is the ticket people hold, and it's sports also. People are traveling more and more for sports like uh, you know, whether it's the World Cup or it's the Blue Jays, because we've got Canada's only baseball team and we had that great run to the World Series last year. Tell you one of the really interesting trends that I think is very exciting, and we are just at the front edge of something that is going to grow and grow, is the women's professional sports. Yes. So the Toronto Tempo. So I was at the opening game in the Toronto Tempo about two weeks ago, and God, the energy there was exceptional. And and and that just keeps playing back, and people see that and they want to be part of it, and that team's going to be very successful for a long time. We've seen it with the Toronto Scepters and hockey. We're seeing it now with the Northern Super League, with Toronto um AFC Toronto, the soccer team. We're seeing it other women's sports like the National Bank Open, the tennis tournament, where we've got a Canadian defend as the defending champion on the women's side. So the there's just this energy and momentum behind women's pro sports that again, I think gives Toronto a place to shine, a place to stand out. And so if you're interested in, and it's not just for women to watch, you know, that that stadium was 50-50 men and women when I was at the tempo game, and I think we'll see a lot of that. And the same is true at the Scepters as well. But if you want to see high-level sports, it's a very accessible ticket, a very accessible game with a great fan experience and a terrific product on the field or the court or the ice. And so we'll see more of that as well. That that that idea of the ticket driving visitation, I think, is one of the big trends we're seeing for sure.

SPEAKER_05 1:31:52

Yeah. And just one quick thing on that, because having lived in Vancouver, Melbourne, London, and and LA and uh and and calling Toronto home, one of the things that always comes up for myself and friends who live in Toronto when people ask why we choose to be uh living here is like there's always something on, there's always something due, there's always either a new concert, new stand-up comedian, there's just there's always something entertaining to be in the city, and it's walkable, and it's uh and so for those people who know, they know, and the people who've come and experienced it, and obviously, hopefully as a result of this event spotlight and our conversation, more people will recognize the opportunity for Canada and specifically for Toronto. Um, two last questions for you, Andrew. When you think about the outcome of this event, and obviously you were highlighting already some of the benefits of the event being in Toronto. We talked about some of the immediate economic impact. What are so the long-term impact? It sounds like you've got all these international buyers that are here coming into Toronto. Clearly, this long-term benefit. What are some of the big outcomes that you think will result from you know the 49th event being here in Toronto that will have a lasting impact?

SPEAKER_04 1:32:55

Uh let's maybe look at it from the standpoint of rendezvous and then the World Cup is a one-two punch. So over this six-week period, the international awareness and exposure that we're building for Toronto is unlike anything we've been able to do before, where you've got global media attention. On June the 12th, when Team Canada plays, there's no other game in that time slot. Anyone watching the World Cup anywhere in the world is watching Toronto. Yeah. And so that exposure combined with some of the media that are here on site is building demand and awareness. But then all these relationships being developed on the sales floor here at Rendezvous Canada, that is building the conversion channels. It's building the means by which people can buy that trip. It's one thing that they're interested in coming to Toronto, but to be able to buy uh an air and hotel package with some attraction passes or a fly drive, so they're going to come to Toronto. And then very often they're packaging that with Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Muskoka, other parts of Ontario, maybe going beyond into Quebec, that's a great trip. And the more of these tour operators and travel buyers that are packaging that in ways that are responding to what the customers are looking for, what's that enabling us? That's enabling us to do is build demand, build interest and demand, but then also build the means by which people can convert and buy that product. So think of it as a one-two punch, and I think we'll see a significant lift. You know, certainly the the intent is to see a significant lift in international demand and international visitation to the city over the next 10 years. This is not about having a great month. This is about raising the floor and kind of that that hockey stick kind of line uh trajectory improvement in our business.

SPEAKER_05 1:34:35

Well, and that's what I look forward to as well. And I was keen to ask you that because the people who are here for the first time, the people who are listening to this, and the overall benefit of profiling this amazing city that we've chosen to call home is that more and more people will choose to come to the city, more people will realize all the amazing opportunities there are to explore in Toronto and Ontario. And so that kind of brings me to the final question that I wanted to ask you, even though there can be a little bit of rivalry amongst the different regions, because I was speaking to uh David Goldstein earlier because as our listeners uh are about to find out, next year it's going to Calgary. It's officially getting announced here at the event tomorrow, but we can share it on here because this is being released after the event. Um and he was chiding that you know that they're going to try and outshine Toronto next year and and obviously all the power to him. Um, but obviously the reality is the benefit of this event being here this year will still be um realized for years to come for people who've now put this has put Toronto on the map for them. They've made business connections here, they'll come back to this city, and hopefully it'll do great things for Calgary next year as well, and all the cities that this goes to. But I do think there's something special for Toronto, just given the size and scale of our city.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:42

But look, I mean, you know, Winnipeg did a great job with this event last year. Edmonton did a terrific job the year before. Um, we're always going to try to one up the one before. Good good luck to Calgary. Um, you know, I I wish you the best. But I think what I think what's most important is this is Team Canada, right? We we are all we're all wearing that red jersey. This is Team Canada, and we win when Canada is in more demand. Because at the end of the day, you know, people around the world dream about a trip to Canada, first and foremost. The identity is at a national level. And so Canada's got to win. And I think this is an opportunity for it to win and to see the the unity of the country around uh bring putting forward uh a story that that resonates with visitors, that resonates with travelers, and to being that welcome place, that alternative to other parts of the as other parts of the world turn inward, we are turning decidedly and deliberately outward. And that's uh a huge competitive advantage, and we're all in that together.

SPEAKER_05 1:36:38

Yeah. And on that note, this is what a question I wanted to finish off by asking you. You know, I know you travel a lot internationally, you're always representing this city on a global scale. So I see your LinkedIn updates and uh I know you're always on the move. But when it comes to personal travel in Canada, what's next on your list of places you want to explore in this amazing country of ours?

SPEAKER_04 1:36:58

I've never been to the territories, I've never been to the Yukon or Northwest Territories or none of it. And that's um, to my great personal shame, I need to, I need to go have that experience. Um and I kind of feel like it's something you need to do twice. You need to do uh a summer version of it, but you also need to do the winter version uh because that's the real experience and the northern lights. Um so that's that's the highest on my list. It's just an experience I haven't had that I think every I would uh not just every Canadian should, but from what everything I've seen, the images and every time when I walk through that area, the floor here a few minutes ago, um, it's just stunning imagery. And I just want to go with my camera and spend some time and experience that region.

SPEAKER_05 1:37:38

You and me both, as I'm our listeners heard, those that I've not been to uh uh the North and I haven't been to any of the three, I've been to all the provinces, but none of the territories. So I will follow your lead there. And it was the same thing for me when I saw those booths and what they each have to offer Yukon, Nunavut, and Northwest Territories. So uh I'm with you on that, and obviously uh Team Canada all the way. And uh uh Andrew, just as we close off, if people want to learn more about Destination Toronto or reach out to you directly, what would be the best ways for them to do that?

SPEAKER_04 1:38:06

So destinationToronto.com is uh where you'll find all the best information. Uh and you can find us on LinkedIn, but you know, start at the website and then you can connect with us all the various ways. Once you're on the website, you can also use our AI assistant that we call Six, um, which is uh very allows you to have very, very customized, have a great personalized conversation with Six. Tell it exactly what you want. These are not pre-programmed answers. This is going to respond and give you very, very personal information. So have a have a great conversation with Six.

SPEAKER_05 1:38:34

Well, I love that you and I have been repping the Six here in this conversation.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:37

Well, we called it that for a reason.

SPEAKER_05 1:38:39

Indeed. Uh Andrew, I'm so glad we finally got a chance to sit down and record together. I look forward to more collaborations in the future, but terrific to see you again and all the best with this conference and success with Toronto in 2026.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:50

Thank you. So glad to be part of it.

Marsha Walden On Canada’s Tourism Future

SPEAKER_05 1:38:54

I now have the great pleasure and privilege to speak to a true industry legend in Canada, Marsha Walden, who is the president and CEO of Destination Canada. She's been in that role now for over five years, and she's actually going to be retiring shortly. And so I'm so glad that we get this opportunity to sit down. I've been working with your team, Marsha, as you know, to bring this event spotlight together, which has been wonderful. It's been fantastic having the opportunity to be here live and to have the interviews that our listeners have heard. But I really wanted to close off this special event spotlight by speaking to you. So, Marsha, welcome to Travel Trends. Thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:30

Well, thank you for inviting me. It's great to be here with you, Dan.

SPEAKER_05 1:39:34

Of course. And I, you know, when we started the conversation uh with Destination Canada and this incredible event that you put together, and now we bring this event this conversation and this event spotlight to a close. I want to make sure that we start off with your background and a little bit more about how you got into this space. Because I know you worked at Destination British Columbia and your background is very much data-driven performance marketing, which is so interesting because you know we started this conversation with your CFO and chief data and analytics officer. So clearly there's a some similarity in backgrounds there. Um, but obviously your focus has been marketing and leading this great organization. Tell us a little bit about your background first and this great organization you've had the privilege to run.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:14

Oh, well, thank you. Um, obviously, since I'm about to retire, it's a very long story. Um, but uh I'll make it short. Um really right out of university, I I was fortunate enough to join one of Vancouver's largest ad agencies. And so I spent the first 17 years uh working for various uh clients all across Canada, flagship industries, got a great lesson in how uh sales, marketing, and operations works for all kinds of different industries. It was super fascinating for my whole career. And uh then I took a couple of years off because I had three kids and I wanted to spend some time with them, and then I jumped back in and um uh led the marketing work for um from a corporate marketing perspective for the Lottery Corporation of British Columbia, BCLC, and had a chance to work in really unusual um roles there from strategy and transformation to operations to marketing, of course. Um and uh learned a lot, frankly, about leadership in that um organization. They were really good at uh training their staff and giving them the tools they needed to be leaders. And then all of a sudden, one day I got a call from a headhunter saying, we think we have a good role over here at Destination British Columbia. They're looking for someone with a strong marketing background and someone that can really transform an organization that's been inside government for a couple of years and bring them back outside as a crown. And so, lo and behold, there I was at Destination British Columbia for seven years. And then I got another phone call. And um, weirdly, it was in the early months of the pandemic, and um, this person asked me if I would like to please apply for the role at Destination Canada. So I thought about it hard because I really loved working at Destination British Columbia. It was a great role, great team. But I also thought, you know what, I can help BC at the same time I help Canada. So um I made the jump.

SPEAKER_05 1:42:10

Yeah, that's an amazing story. And what perfect timing, too. And especially given your background, BBDO, which is obviously one of the world's recognized advertising firms, so having that role, and then even gaming. When I was interviewing uh Vincenza with Destination Ontario and she was describing her role, and she mentioned and gaming, because tourism and gaming, obviously, actually in government organizations go together.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:31

They often do.

SPEAKER_05 1:42:31

And gaming is all about data and really knowing your customer and trying to and so um clearly, then when you got back to tourism and destination BC and then leading this role, and uh Destination B Destination uh Canada is based in Vancouver, of course.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:46

Yeah, it's uh it's really the only federal crown that is, and lucky me, I happen to live there. So it was uh really, I think, a match, uh a natural match in the end. And uh it's been uh well, close to six years now, but it's time to enter a new chapter with my husband.

SPEAKER_05 1:43:02

Uh good for you. I'm I'm I'm thrilled for you. Obviously, and the industry, I'm sure you'll still come back and and and visit. Hopefully, you'll be back for a rendezvous next year just to say hello to everybody. That's yours to determine in time. Um, but as we sit here and have this conversation in Toronto in uh uh 2026, and you think about this rendezvous is obviously particularly special and meaningful for you because it's your last in that role. Tell us a little bit about this year's event and in terms of what you were very focused on achieving with kind of, I guess, your last major rendezvous event.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:32

Yeah, well, I think one of the things that I find so powerful about this event is it really gives you that incredibly tangible sense of how business gets done in our industry. You can see the deals being made at every table, and we've got 1,400 delegates here just, you know, writing deals and giving rates and uh figuring out what uh capacity they have in different types of uh uh uh experiences and seasons, et cetera. So it's a very palpable way of seeing the industry in action. And more than ever, you know, I think tourism is being seen as an economic engine to help Canada sort out some of our economic challenges at the moment. And we have such a strong basis of exports in our industry. And I think the general Canadian doesn't even think about tourism as an export. But here we are. All this business on this floor is export business, international buyers buying things from Canadian sellers. And so it's a great way of um bringing that story to life in living color.

SPEAKER_05 1:44:33

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Sebastian Benedict, who was on the podcast just uh a few moments ago, as our listeners heard, was talking about the fact that one in ten Canadians works in tourism. And I was at the Virtuoso conference, I did their uh Canadian tour, Calgary, Vancouver in Toronto, and they were highlighting stats to all of the luxury travel advisors, and one of them was that the number of people working in tourism globally will be more at like 12.8% of the pot global population. And so I think the reality for you know it may be 10% today, but it could be 12, 14 or more in the future, given Canada's role globally in tourism, more international travelers, and as you mentioned, some of the other geopolitical challenges and tariffs and other things that we have going on. The fact is that more people will be working in tourism.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:16

Well, I think that's uh a hundred percent true because we can see already the forecasts for the global tourism industry are far outpacing the economic forecasts for the economy as a whole. And so we'll be growing at rates that are really um almost double uh what every other industry will be able to achieve. And so that requires workers.

SPEAKER_06 1:45:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:38

And um, you know, Canada, I think, can keep pace. There's uh in terms of international volume, there's two trillion dollars out there up for grabs. We're only currently getting 31 billion of it, so there's a lot of upside for us.

SPEAKER_05 1:45:51

Yeah. Well, and your colleague Megan was talking about the 10% growth compounded over the next 10 years, and I I obviously that's what you have modeled. And I'm, if anything, I'm more bullish that I think it could be even more significant than that. One example, obviously, you have the Chinese delegation that's here, and we talked about that on this podcast as well, because that's very exciting to see with the groups, and Matthew Upchurch, who I've mentioned that runs Virtuoso, it highlighted to me that post-pandemic, there's still a hundred million Chinese travelers that have not re-entered the global tourism economy, and they're starting to now, and Canada's going to be one of the direct beneficiaries of that, and I think that's wonderful. And this is where there's going to be more and more opportunity. And so, what are the few other things on a legacy? Uh, you know, as you prepare to uh retire, which I'm interested to see how long you can retire, see if you you know can stay away from this industry because clearly you love it so much. Um, but what are some of the other legacy things from this event you're looking forward to, you know, kind of like uh as you as you uh take that moment to enjoy the time with family, so to see the the positive changes that you've put in place that will last the next 10 years or more.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:55

Yeah, well, obviously you you hope when you're in the middle of your career that you're establishing some things that will carry on into the future. And and I know our our team, our executive team is still very bullish on our 2030 strategy. We're in fact gonna achieve what we thought was a stretch target two years early. So we're going to be at $160 billion by 2028, not 2030. And so we know we're on the right path uh as an industry and that there's lots of upside. And when I think about legacy, I I think, first of all, you know, you had a chance to talk to Megan. You know how strong our uh data collective is in fueling not only the decisions we make, but those of the 280,000 businesses uh across the country. But in addition to that, um, you know, we're in the middle of incredible upheaval, not just from all the obvious things around um uh global strife uh and economic strife, but um the way technology is going to impact how consumers make travel decisions, how they purchase travel, how they research travel, that is fundamentally changing the marketing model that we all have and the sales channels that we'll be using. So you probably heard a lot about this from Gloria about how we're gonna operate in different kinds of ecosystems in future. And as a marketer, first of all, that's daunting to imagine everything you've ever known about the way things are gonna happen is gonna change over the next couple of years, and you have to be ready for that. But we also have a responsibility to lead the industry in a way that allows them to understand what's coming and be ready or more ready for it. So, you know, we take that responsibility really seriously. We have a lot of things underway, and candidly I would have loved to have seen them through, but it's enough to ignite them and then let them take off on their own. I'll watch from a distance.

SPEAKER_05 1:48:53

Well, that's a perfect example because uh we were talking about Aurora AI, and actually uh during the recordings, I took some time to actually go and do a demonstration, which I just want to make sure that everyone tourism data collective.ca and then slash aurora-ai. You can go and have a demo yourself because I was sharing with Megan uh a tourism concept that I had, and she was actually helping me workshop it and um to put a business case together. And it's based on the idea of having cabins across Canada, encourage people to drive across Canada to actually do the epic road trip. But one of the challenges we have is limited accommodation along the way. And obviously, you can only typically travel during the good times, you know, of this the summer months. And so, how do we create more opportunities for people to travel year-round? And so I was checking out some of the data and I was like, wait a second, I could really use this, and I'm sure many uh entrepreneurs in Canada can or other investors looking to enter the Canadian market. And one of the things I just wanted to highlight from what you just shared, I did have another executive recently, not on the podcast, but at a dinner function, who was talking about AI and he's about to retire and just said, I'm glad I'm retiring now because I don't understand it. And I'm I'm I'm definitely concerned about what. The impact. Whereas I look at you and I look at the team and look at what you have uh bravely done with embracing AI and even the session that was happening right next to me on generative engine optimization. And I'm gonna share that with our listeners in the notes because you guys have put a great presentation together. And it's exactly what you said. The consumer journey is changing completely now, and you guys are you guys are meeting the moment as Destination Canada. So full credit to you and the team for making sure that you're there and relevant. I can see how enthusiastic the listeners are to that conversation. So these are the things that stand out to me, Marsha, and you know, just finally having a chance to meet you as lasting legacy from your leadership and putting that strategy in place, building the right team. So um, but tell us as as you have this last conference, some of the other things you are looking to enjoy at this conference. I was amazed at the lunch, one of the uh the singers, William Prince.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:53

Oh, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_05 1:50:53

What a beautiful singer.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:55

Yeah, yeah. And all original work that we heard. Yeah, and it was so compelling. And you know, I've been to a lot of these luncheons, as you might imagine, as I'm sure have you. And generally, you know, the first five or ten rows of of tables, pay attention to whatever's happening on the stage, and the last five or ten are yakking amongst themselves and not paying attention. You could have heard a pin drop from that room from one end to the other. Everyone was mesmerized by what they were hearing. So it was a really great and the meal was good too.

SPEAKER_05 1:51:24

Yeah, yeah. And I I I was looking him up at the same time, and I was like, how come I've never heard of him before? But obviously, these are sort of the gems that you can bring together for a conference like this. How did you find him? How did you guys get him?

SPEAKER_01 1:51:35

Well, we didn't. Uh Travel Manitoba, who was hosting online. Of course, yeah. He's uh obviously extremely well known in in uh Manitoba, but also he's hosting a big concert here in Toronto. And so I think the reason they were able to get him on the stage at our rendezvous because he's got his own gig going on, and he's like, Yeah, I'll drop by. But he was very engaging, and you know, and uh every host that we have over lunch here just um shares what's so special about their home uh and their province and wants to share it with the world, and that's what's so wonderful about our industry, isn't it? It's that people feel this enormous sense of pride in where they live and what they have to share. And they and we have such open-hearted um citizens in our country that it it's part of what makes us a really compelling destination.

SPEAKER_05 1:52:24

Yeah. The one thing that certainly has been a um uh a through line in these conversations is the idea that we're welcoming. And you know, people always tease us as Canadians for saying sorry, we're always apologetic for everything. And that is certainly true. And um and people often say to me, and I'm sure it's the same for you, having just met you and seeing the way your team responds to you, is that people say, You're really as nice as you sound on the podcast. I'm like, Well, that's just me. I'm just like that's as a and and like that's it's like a Canadian thing. I'm like, but I guess you know, we are uh um and I it's it's it is something that is unique that I and I love about being Canadian because that's just an assumed and um is that we are welcoming, we are kind, we are very polite, we are all of those things by and large.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:06

And so when you you know when you see our marketing, yeah, and and we're all uh you know putting out content that really is summed up under Canada naturally, yes. I mean we are naturally open-hearted, open-minded, and uh full of open spaces. And so that is just who we are naturally, and we uh want to share that.

SPEAKER_05 1:53:26

Yeah, well, just to finish on looking forward, and I also want to ask you a question about your personal travel plans, uh, since you're gonna have some more time to explore all these incredible places. Uh, and we'll finish with that in a moment. But before we do, um when you look at 2027 and beyond, I know it's just been announced uh or it's gonna be announced tomorrow, uh, officially at the conference. We can share it here because this will be post um the event itself. But next year it's gonna be in Calgary, and so it'll be in Alberta, and I think that's a very timely um for many reasons for it to be in Alberta, to be in Calgary, uh Alberta, Canada, very importantly. And it's you know, the one of the things I love about what I've seen at Rendezvous and and uh uh why I've appreciated being here is that all of our country is represented. I mean, from coast to coast to coast, we have beautiful East Coast. My daughter lives in Halifax, and I think we all have stories and connections to people that live across this great country and how amazing Ontario is as a province, and how amazing BC is, how beautiful it is. But and now all of a sudden there's a great deal of attention being paid to the territories finally, like Yukon and um and Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and it's actually came up on multiple conversations that that's where people want to go. Megan's just went to Northwest Territories, and just speaking to Andrew, it's where he wants to go next, and that really excites me. But yeah, so um when you think about Calgary and what's next, for our listeners that are now keen to get involved. I know it's an invite-only event, and we'll share more details as I uh do the wrap-up. Um, but tell us a little bit about Destination Canada going forward into 2027, that 2030 plan, and and plans for next year in Alberta.

Calgary 2027 And Canada’s Global Advantage

SPEAKER_01 1:54:56

Yeah, well, let's start with plans for next year.

SPEAKER_05 1:54:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:59

Um next as you've said, uh, rendezvous will be hosted in Calgary next year. Calgary is a great host. They have so much experience in hosting business events, you know, hosting major sporting events. And so we know that they're gonna do a bang up job. And um uh and you know, people get excited from around the world when you're in places that they're dying to see. And so Calgary is one of those places, and the region is incredibly um inviting and uh lots of reasons to be in and around Calgary, uh Banff being only one of them. Um and so we're really looking forward to that, and um we see Calgary getting a lot of new investment and new hotel properties and things, so um, we'll have a chance to witness that as well. Um so uh it happens to be our 50th uh year of posting rendezvous. So there'll be you know many reasons to celebrate there, and we're sure we'll get a really, really good turnout. This was a record year, but I'm not holding my breath that next year won't break those records again. So um we'll uh we'll make sure that it's uh a very good show as we have done this year. Um looking farther beyond, I mean, we are really just trying to get better at competing. I mean, travel is such a lucrative uh global industry with such great growth prospects that every nation in the world is starting to wake up to what its potential can be in driving their economy and driving the social fabric and making people really appreciate what is special about the food they eat, the places they have, the things they do with their family, and sharing that with the world. And um so you know, when we look ahead, we see enormous potential for economic growth, but also enormous soft power in what travel represents for our country and keeping us connected and feeling like one nation. Yeah, and also in how we take what Canada is to the world. So when our prime minister is out there inviting people to come and invest in this country, the first thing they want to understand is what is the culture, the safety, the regulatory environment, the level of government, uh governance and government that you can expect when you bring your money to a country. Well, travel helps to convey what that looks like. Yeah. Um for new investors, for new citizens, for students. I mean, we're a big part of all of that um Canadian fabric.

SPEAKER_05 1:57:28

Yeah, yeah, very well said. Obviously, one of the latest reports, as you would have read as well, was that uh global investment in infrastructure, Canada ranks number one for the first time ever, that people see us absolutely as safe, uh matching uh people's values. And so it's uh it's an exciting moment. And uh I was speaking to my good friend John Gunter earlier, and he he and I said Canada's really having a moment. And he's like, let's make sure it's more than a moment. Yes, let's make sure that tea at lunch today.

SPEAKER_06 1:57:53

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_05 1:57:54

So it will be.

SPEAKER_06 1:57:56

Yeah, and exactly it will be.

SPEAKER_05 1:57:58

So um, you know, it's uh it's uh such a great legacy that you leave behind. Obviously, I wish you every success with retirement and being able to enjoy it. So just to finish on that, um, what do you have planned for your personal travels? Where else in Canada do you still need to explore or you're looking to go back to?

SPEAKER_01 1:58:13

Uh well, you know what, travel is one thing, and that that's in the the fun part of the uh of my triple F's. So it's gonna be fun, family, and friends. Nice. And uh so yeah, we've my husband and I have lots of travel with friends uh planned um over the next six months and and beyond in Canada and elsewhere around the world. And then uh my family, uh two of my three kids live very close by and they eat I have three little grandsons. Oh, amazing. So three, two, and and almost one. And so I'm just looking forward to the next chapter investing in a part of my life that um I think will be the part that is really my legacy.

SPEAKER_05 1:58:54

Yeah, well, absolutely very well said, and obviously that that's a great way to close. And one of the things that's so special about this country sustainability and trying to pave the way for future generations to be able to continue to experience the great nature and everything that we have and to protect it and the investment that you and the team have made in indigenous culture and tourism, which Gloria Laurie touched on when she was on the podcast, that really alerted me to the opportunity and potential and seeing that here. It's another one of those major developments and a big step forward uh for us and a reason that international travelers are choosing Canada. So it's wonderful that the stars are uh aligned and um yeah, wonderful to meet you, Marcia. Thank you for making this all possible. Really uh terrific to meet you and yeah, enjoy all that travels and the three Fs and and hopefully I'll see you at some point in the future.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:41

Thanks. Well, nice to chat, yeah.

Stats Resources And Final Thanks

SPEAKER_05 1:59:43

I really hope you enjoyed this special spotlight as much as I did. I just wanted to say a special thank you again to Megan Farino from Destination Canada, Sebastian Benedict from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Vincenzo Rinaldi from Destination Ontario, Andrew Weir from Destination Toronto, and Marcia Walden, who you just heard from, the president and CEO of Destination Canada. What a wonderful way to close off this conversation. I think all of these leaders painted a very powerful picture of a tourism industry here in Canada that is growing, innovating, and really competing successfully on the global stage. And I'm so impressed to see the scale of rendezvous. That certainly speaks for itself with the 1,400 delegates that came together and the over 500 national buyers from 24 countries. There's been over 500 Canadian tourism companies here, and I am very bullish on the future of Canadian tourism based on what I've seen here and what I see happening across our country. So the most exciting story is definitely ahead as Canada continues to strengthen its position of one of the world's most respected and desirable travel destinations. And Destination Canada does a fantastic job reporting on Canada's global reputation as it continues to rise, supported by travelers seeking these authentic experiences, nature-based adventures, cultural connections, and truly meaningful travel opportunities. This, as I've said to our listeners over the course of the year, is the year of transformational travel. And when I look across the room here and I see the incredible experiences, including the indigenous travel opportunities that Canada is going to become known for. It's wonderful to see. And I'm very, very optimistic for the future. And I just want to finish by sharing a few stats on the international outlook for Canadian travel. And I mentioned China in the beginning, and they are forecasted to lead outbound travel to Canada in 2026, increasing by 27%, the strongest growth among Destination Canada's core international markets. South Korea is expected to grow by 10%, Japan by 3%. And then when we look in North America, there's a big trend that I've been speaking about on our podcast about regional travel. And Mexico is expected to increase by 10%, and the United States by almost 5%. So it's wonderful to see many people across North America deciding to come to Canada. So it just gives you an idea. And I know many Canadians are traveling to Mexico as well, which is also wonderful. So travelers clearly are seeking these authentic, immersive experiences from culinary tourism and festivals to outdoor adventures, waterfront destinations, and road trips, one of my favorite ways to travel throughout Canada. And one thing that we also highlighted as well is artificial intelligence, which Canada is known for, especially here in Toronto, that's rapidly becoming part of the travel planning journey, creating new opportunities for Canadian destinations and tourism businesses to reach global travelers. So I definitely encourage you to check out the AI tools on destinationcanada.com. These trends certainly reinforce a message we've heard repeatedly throughout these conversations, which is that Canada is well positioned for tourism growth and the relationships being built here at Rendezvous Canada will really help shape that future. I just want to finish by thanking the incredible teams at Destination Canada, Destination Ontario, Destination Toronto, and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada for their collaboration and support in making this event spotlight possible. We also want to extend our appreciation to all the organizers, volunteers, buyers, sellers, media partners, and tourism professionals whose hard work makes Rendezvous one of the most important tourism marketplaces in the world and the PR team I had the privilege to work with as well. For more information to learn about these organizations, check out destinationcanada.com, check out Tourism Industry Association of Canada at TIAC slash AITC.ca. So we have our English and our French version, but T I A C AITC.ca. And to learn more about Rendezvous Canada, future host destinations and other opportunities to participate in upcoming events, visit rendezvouscanada.ca. And looking ahead, the industry will gather again for Rendezvous Canada in Calgary, Alberta. And we encourage tourism leaders, destinations, travel buyers, media, and industry partners from around the world to learn more and consider joining us there. And finally, to all our listeners around the world, thank you for spending time with us. Your interest in travel to Canada really fills my heart with a great deal of joy. And I'd love to hear comments and feedback on this episode, which you can share on our social channels. We do post clips and highlights on YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can find out more information about Travel Trends Podcast on our website, traveltrendspodcast.com, and check out more spotlight episodes there too. And on behalf of our Travel Trends team, thank you so much for joining us for the special Rendezvous Canada twenty twenty six event spotlight. Until our next episode, safe travels.