Ottawa-Gatineau sees strongest tourism growth nationwide in 2017

Canada 150 events in the Ottawa-Gatineau area helped boost overnight tourism visits by 5.5 per cent this year, a Conference Board of Canada report has found.

Ottawa topped the list for tourism increases this year, the report said, with Montreal coming in a close second after seeing a 5.1 per cent increase in overnight visits. 

"The hundreds of events organized in communities across the country to commemorate Canada's 150th birthday attracted visitors ... and contributed to a banner year for tourism in 2017," Greg Hermus, associate director for the Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Tourism Research Institute said in the report.

Jantine Van Kregten, director of communications for Ottawa Tourism, said Ottawa's events this year were a big draw for a wide variety of tourists.

"What set us apart is that it was a year long celebration," she said. 

Organizers included a wide variety of options that featured different price points and interests, Van Kregten said. Events like La Machine, which was free to attend, drew huge crowds, while pricier events, like dinner at the Sky Lounge, attracted tourists with higher budgets and a sense of adventure. 

"It really changed the conversation about Ottawa, La Machine more than anything else," she said. "The beauty of those machines and the feeling that you got watching them wander through the streets, that was a game-changer."

Celebrations, new facilities and economic recovery

Celebrations of Montreal's 375th birthday boosted the number of tourists who visited, the report found, and may have overshadowed Quebec City, which only saw a 3.1 increase in the number of visitors. 

The report also cited a number of other factors that contributed to Canada's overall tourism growth rate of 3.1 per cent —  the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg, the new Rogers Place arena in Edmonton, a boost in business travel to Calgary and an increase in the number of direct flights to Toronto. 

The report covered 10 major Canadian cities. 

The report said that while tourism in 2018 is expected to be a bit lower than the numbers seen this year, visits will still be high thanks to new facilities and the exposure created by Canada 150 celebrations.