As Canada’s capital, Ottawa may benefit from travellers looking for an affordable Canadian vacation.
As Winterlude wraps up this Sunday there’s reason to be optimistic about tourism in Ottawa even as the recession drags on, say industry insiders.
The city’s appeal might increase as Canadians look to reduce vacation costs.
“Ottawa is well positioned to attract a lot of people who maybe decide against going to Europe, the Far East or the distant U.S. and instead visit Canada’s capital,” says Julian Armour, the representative for Ottawa festivals on the Ottawa Tourism Board.
With many Canadians tightening their belts, destinations closer to home are more attractive.
“If people have less money to spend they’ll most likely not get on a plane and fly, but they will still get in a car and drive,” says Daniel Laliberte, general manager at Marriott Ottawa and chairman of the Ottawa Tourism Board.
Tourism plays a significant role in Ottawa’s economic activity. Ottawa Tourism reports visitors in 2007 provided more than 2.2 billion in economic impact to Ottawa-Gatineau.
Laliberte says traditionally the majority of tourists to the city come from Ontario and Quebec – places such as Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto.
This bodes well for the city, as appealing to potential tourists outside Eastern Canada is more difficult during tough economic times because travel costs are greater, says Laliberte. Only five per cent of Ottawa tourists come from international and American markets.
Ottawa has an advantage over other tourist destinations in Canada that rely more on visitors outside of Canada, says Laliberte.
Toronto and Vancouver are already doing poorly because they attract more American and international tourists.
Ottawa might also benefit from how people spend their money during a recession. Instead of splurging on this and that, people tend to save their money for longer trips, says Frazer Berry, director of corporate accounts at ARC The Hotel located downtown on Slater Street.
The hotel has seen reservations for Valentines Day weekend and Winterlude increase compared with last year.
“It’s a reflection of the fact people are celebrating bigger dates rather than going out for dinner every weekend.”
The city also offers visitors a reasonably priced option compared to places such as Toronto and Vancouver, says Armour, who manages the Canadian Tulip Festival. The festival, held every year in early May, is free to all.
“Coming to Ottawa can definitely be done without breaking the bank.”
Armour says there’s no indication the festival will be hurt by the recession. “I’m hearing from the hotels that there’s a lot of advance registration for rooms very similar to previous years.”
Still, Laliberte says the city shouldn’t assume tourism is recession proof as people are just starting to lose their jobs.
“We’ve been okay for the last three months, but Ottawa should start to feel it more as we progress in the year,” he says.
The number of tourists The Ottawa Race Weekend attracts in late May will offer a good indication of how the economic times will affect tourism heading into the summer, says Laliberte.
The Ottawa Race Weekend is one of five major events that draw people to stay in hotels, including the Bell Capital Cup, Winterlude, Ottawa Bluesfest, and Canada Day weekend, says Laliberte.
“We should do better than our competitors like Toronto and Montreal,” he says. “This doesn’t mean we wont be affected, but I think when the year is over we’ll do pretty well.”