Ottawa-Gatineau Tourism

[YOWhopeful]

I have lived in Montreal most of my life and been in Ottawa for 15 years. The problem I notice here in Ontario is that Toronto sucks all the energy. Ottawa is perceived as not being worth spending money on. I guess architects urbanists seek notoriety and they won’t find it in Ottawa. And Ottawans seem very happy with the current situation. Ottawans are an odd bunch. They actually don’t know or like their city. No one at my work has ever taken the LRT. Just to try it out. As a novelty. Something new in the city. When you mention it they always bring up its many issues but aren’t you just curious to try it? They never visit museums or exhibits or the theatre. In turn Ottawa gets mediocre exhibits like the Monet last year which was dreadfully expensive for not much. And it’s a vicious cycle.
So to sum it up thr problem with Ottawa is Ottawans.

[GeoNerd]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

A place can be tolerable to live and be a poor tourist attraction. It can also be a great tourist attraction and not a great place to live. I, for one, would not want to live in Las Vegas or Niagara Falls, for example.

You need to stop seeing our criticisms of Ottawa as some kind of personal offence. The tourists don't love Ottawa. There's a reason for that. Screaming at people that tell you why, ain't going to fix the problem.

Also, people don't have any obligation to love where they live. I'm sure there's plenty of people who live in Toronto, because of work or family obligations, who hate the place. And that can be true of Ottawa too.

I'm not taking any personal offence whatsoever. I am very confident in my city and know it's a great place to visit and/or live. Can it be improved? 100%. So can any city. When I hear that whiny defeatism in people that say things like Ottawa has nothing to offer, or it's not worth visiting, or Gat Park is the only thing of worth, it just sounds pathetic and sad, and I will respond with pointing out many of the positive aspects of the city.

What other city in Canada can you go to 8 national museums, +50 historic or cultural sites/monuments, be in complete nature 5 mins from downtown, go see a show at one of the nations premiere art centres, galleries, incredible restaurants, casinos, beaches/parks, 100's of km's in segregated paths, the most festivals per capita than anywhere else, etc. Sorry if your life sucks, but you live in one of the best place in the entire country and have so much at your doorstep if you choose to participate in it, tourist or resident alike.

Not sure why people are commenting like we should have the same tourism atmosphere as Niagara Falls. People don't come to Ottawa for Chucky Cheeses and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Just like I wouldn't go to Washington DC and complain that they aren't like Chicago, LA, or NYC.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

What other city in Canada can you go to 8 national museums, +50 historeic or cultural sites/monuments, be in complete nature 5 mins from downtown, go see a show at one of the nations premiere art centres, galleries, incredible restaurants, casinos, beaches/parks, 100's of km's in segregated paths, the most festivals per capita than anywhere else, etc.

Quality > Quantity. I would trade all the Museums in Ottawa for the Louvre, British Museum or the Guggenheim. Nobody goes on vacation to a city based on the number of museums or kms of segregated bike lanes they have. You go there for the experience and the vibe. And Ottawa is challenged to compete on that front with other cities in Canada. Which is why it lags compared to other cities in Canada in attracting tourists.

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

Sorry if your life sucks, but you live in one of the best place in the entire country and have so much at your doorstep if you choose to participate in it, tourist or resident alike.

As YOWhopeful pointed out this is the base of our highly suburbanized culture. If people from Barrhaven aren't regularly enjoying downtown, why would you think somebody else would want to fly here to try it out?

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

Not sure why people are commenting like we should have the same tourism atmosphere as Niagara Falls. People don't come to Ottawa for Chucky Cheeses and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Just like I wouldn't go to Washington DC and complain that they aren't like Chicago, LA, or NYC.

We don't need to have the same tourism atmosphere as Niagara Falls. But if we want tourists, we should probably make the city more attractive and easier to get around.

Funny you mention DC. Should have been the model for Ottawa. At least there you can go to a ton of museums in literally one area. How many tourists to Ottawa do you think go to our Aviation museum or Science Museum?

On topic, this was about attracting enough tourists to get transatlantic air service to Ottawa. So who exactly in your mind is this tourist who is going to spend thousands of dollars to come to Ottawa over the large buffet of options they have? And when they come here, what do you imagine them doing?

[OTSkyline]

Wow, defensive much? Yes, we have criticisms about Ottawa but I don't remember reading anyone saying it's the worst and most boring city and can't improve. I think most people on this forum see the deficiencies or opportunities and are more than willing to discuss where Ottawa's shortfalls might be and where we could put some time & energy to improve as a capital or a destination. The tourism industry is huuuuge and pumps millions or billions in cities; it's in Ottawa's best interest to participate and get a piece of this pie.

@Mods, maybe this conversation should be moved to a Tourism Ottawa thread?

[YOWhopeful]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

I'm not taking any personal offence whatsoever. I am very confident in my city and know it's a great place to visit and/or live. Can it be improved? 100%. So can any city. When I hear that whiny defeatism in people that say things like Ottawa has nothing to offer, or it's not worth visiting, or Gat Park is the only thing of worth, it just sounds pathetic and sad, and I will respond with pointing out many of the positive aspects of the city.

What other city in Canada can you go to 8 national museums, +50 historic or cultural sites/monuments, be in complete nature 5 mins from downtown, go see a show at one of the nations premiere art centres, galleries, incredible restaurants, casinos, beaches/parks, 100's of km's in segregated paths, the most festivals per capita than anywhere else, etc. Sorry if your life sucks, but you live in one of the best place in the entire country and have so much at your doorstep if you choose to participate in it, tourist or resident alike.

Not sure why people are commenting like we should have the same tourism atmosphere as Niagara Falls. People don't come to Ottawa for Chucky Cheeses and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Just like I wouldn't go to Washington DC and complain that they aren't like Chicago, LA, or NYC.

Let me respectfully disagree. Again we are not saying Ottawa is not a liveable city. If you are trying to attract foreign tourist dollars then other than Gatineau Park and nature in general Ottawa really has not much to offer. It does not have world-class museums or premiere arts centres, it has good restaurants sure but so do other cities, and what historic landmarks other than the Canal which is a world heritage site? No tourist will come to Ottawa just for the casino. Yes it has beaches and bike paths but that’s great for the locals, again no foreign tourist will come here for that.
I agree your comment makes for a very liveable city but not a tourist destination.
Ottawa has nothing excellent in the purest sense of the word, ie something it truly excels at.

[GeoNerd]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Quality > Quantity. I would trade all the Museums in Ottawa for the Louvre, British Museum or the Guggenheim. Nobody goes on vacation to a city based on the number of museums or kms of segregated bike lanes they have. You go there for the experience and the vibe. And Ottawa is challenged to compete on that front with other cities in Canada. Which is why it lags compared to other cities in Canada in attracting tourists.

As YOWhopeful pointed out this is the base of our highly suburbanized culture. If people from Barrhaven aren't regularly enjoying downtown, why would you think somebody else would want to fly here to try it out?

We don't need to have the same tourism atmosphere as Niagara Falls. But if we want tourists, we should probably make the city more attractive and easier to get around.

Funny you mention DC. Should have been the model for Ottawa. At least there you can go to a ton of museums in literally one area. How many tourists to Ottawa do you think go to our Aviation museum or Science Museum?

On topic, this was about attracting enough tourists to get transatlantic air service to Ottawa. So who exactly in your mind is this tourist who is going to spend thousands of dollars to come to Ottawa over the large buffet of options they have? And when they come here, what do you imagine them doing?

Yikes, again some posters life's sounds kind of miserable and lame on here, if that's how they view this city. If you're comparing Canada's national museums to the Louvre, British Museum or the Guggenheim, yeah of course they aren't as good. Those are arguably the best museums on the planet. I wasn't comparing Ottawa to major world destinations. I was comparing it to other Canadian destinations. Try visiting Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Winnipeg, Quebec City, or Halifax, for a week, then you'll appreciate how great a destination Ottawa is. The only good thing about Calgary is leaving Calgary to go somewhere else. Quebec City could put you to sleep after about 5 hours there. The other cities are about as equally interesting for a few hours. The main advantage that Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, have are their size. But try comparing their museums (or lack of) to the Louvre, British Museum or the Guggenheim and you'll really be laughing.

Ottawa does need to do a better job with it's tourism attractions, but to say its some sleepy dot on the map not worth visiting amongst other Canadian cities is categorically incorrect.

[GeoNerd]

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

Let me respectfully disagree. Again we are not saying Ottawa is not a liveable city. If you are trying to attract foreign tourist dollars then other than Gatineau Park and nature in general Ottawa really has not much to offer. It does not have world-class museums or premiere arts centres, it has good restaurants sure but so do other cities, and what historic landmarks other than the Canal which is a world heritage site? No tourist will come to Ottawa just for the casino. Yes it has beaches and bike paths but that’s great for the locals, again no foreign tourist will come here for that.
I agree your comment makes for a very liveable city but not a tourist destination.
Ottawa has nothing excellent in the purest sense of the word, ie something it truly excels at.

For someone that claims to live in Ottawa, you don't seem to know this city at all. I suggest getting off the cul-de-sac, out of your comfort zone, and exploring the city a bit. You might be surprised at what you find.

[YOWhopeful]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

Yikes, again some posters life's sounds kind of miserable and lame on here, if that's how they view this city. If you're comparing Canada's national museums to the Louvre, British Museum or the Guggenheim, yeah of course they aren't as good. Those are arguably the best museums on the planet. I wasn't comparing Ottawa to major world destinations. I was comparing it to other Canadian destinations. Try visiting Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Winnipeg, Quebec City, or Halifax, for a week, then you'll appreciate how great a destination Ottawa is. The only good thing about Calgary is leaving Calgary to go somewhere else. Quebec City could put you to sleep after about 5 hours there. The other cities are about as equally interesting for a few hours. The main advantage that Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, have are their size. But try comparing their museums (or lack of) to the Louvre, British Museum or the Guggenheim and you'll really be laughing.

Ottawa does need to do a better job with it's tourism attractions, but to say its some sleepy dot on the map not worth visiting amongst other Canadian cities is categorically incorrect.

I feel you fail to recognize my point. Comparing Ottawa to Saskatoon or Regina or Quebec City or Winnipeg is intellectually lazy. They probably have fewer foreign tourists than we do. For sure we have more to offer than those places but stating that won’t bring more tourists to Ottawa.
And why can’t we have a Guggenheim or Louvres in the Capital? Why not?

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

I feel you fail to recognize my point. Comparing Ottawa to Saskatoon or Regina or Quebec City or Winnipeg is intellectually lazy. They probably have fewer foreign tourists than we do. For sure we have more to offer than those places but stating that won’t bring more tourists to Ottawa.

I would bet money that Quebec City is on par or ahead of Ottawa for foreign tourists. I suspect most of what Ottawa gets is incident to business travel to Ottawa or VFR (visiting friends and relatives).

Should be noted that cultural tourism is not the only way to build tourism. Ottawa could also position itself as the convention capital of Canada, with some effort towards targeting business travelers. But even Ottawa based organizations tend to have their conventions in TMV. This is probably far easier to fix.

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

And why can’t we have a Guggenheim or Louvres in the Capital? Why not?

Guggenheim Bilbao comes to mind. Designed by Frank Gehry, no less. The Guggenheims have several museums all over. None in Canada. Ottawa would actually be a great candidate. Really, if it wasn't for that Guggenheim, how much of the world outside Spain would know about Bilbao?

Other places in the world understand the importance of getting high quality well known cultural attractions. Abu Dhabi, for example, went out of their way to get branches of the Guggenheim and the Louvre. This Guggenheim is also a Frank Gehry work.

[phil235]

One thing that I think this debate is missing is that the number of tourists visiting a place is influenced by the number of direct flights that it has, particularly for short stays which make up a big share of tourism numbers. The fact that Ottawa's airport is underserved definitely reduces the number of tourists who come here.

I find it funny that people are citing Calgary as a better tourist city than Ottawa. I don't think it's even close in terms of attractions for tourists. Its numbers have nothing to do with the city - it just benefits from being near the Rockies and places that people want to go.

Toronto is not the greatest tourist city either. It gets lots of business visitors and tourists just by virtue of being big and all that entails, and it has done a bit better lately with attractions like the Aquarium. That said, in terms of actual tourist attractions, it isn't stellar, nor is it an attractive city to walk around. When I worked in the Eaton Centre, I can't tell you how many times I had tourists say something to the effect of "We've been up the CN Tower and to Casa Loma, now what?" The answer was typically a day trip to Niagara Falls. Things like Wonderland and the zoo that are often cited by Torontonians are not things that attract droves of international visitors.

Quebec City on the other hand absolutely rivals or exceeds Ottawa's offerings.

[YOWhopeful]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I would bet money that Quebec City is on par or ahead of Ottawa for foreign tourists. I suspect most of what Ottawa gets is incident to business travel to Ottawa or VFR (visiting friends and relatives).

Should be noted that cultural tourism is not the only way to build tourism. Ottawa could also position itself as the convention capital of Canada, with some effort towards targeting business travelers. But even Ottawa based organizations tend to have their conventions in TMV. This is probably far easier to fix.



Guggenheim Bilbao comes to mind. Designed by Frank Gehry, no less. The Guggenheims have several museums all over. None in Canada. Ottawa would actually be a great candidate.

Other places in the world understand the importance of getting high quality well known cultural attractions. Abu Dhabi, for example, went out of their way to get branches of the Guggenheim and the Louvre.

I see we think alike🙂

[GeoNerd]

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

I feel you fail to recognize my point. Comparing Ottawa to Saskatoon or Regina or Quebec City or Winnipeg is intellectually lazy. They probably have fewer foreign tourists than we do. For sure we have more to offer than those places but stating that won’t bring more tourists to Ottawa.
And why can’t we have a Guggenheim or Louvres in the Capital? Why not?

In no way was I comparing Ottawa to Saskatoon or Regina. Suggesting I did is deliberately misleading. Canada's museums can be like the Guggenheim or Louvre, and maybe one day they will as we continue to improve as a city and nation. What would really help is if we began to properly fund them to be world class.

[GeoNerd]

Originally Posted by phil235

One thing that I think this debate is missing is that the number of tourists visiting a place is influenced by the number of direct flights that it has, particularly for short stays which make up a big share of tourism numbers. The fact that Ottawa's airport is underserved definitely reduces the number of tourists who come here.

I find it funny that people are citing Calgary as a better tourist city than Ottawa. I don't think it's even close in terms of attractions for tourists. Its numbers have nothing to do with the city - it just benefits from being near the Rockies and places that people want to go.

Toronto is not the greatest tourist city either. It gets lots of business visitors and tourists just by virtue of being big and all that entails, and it has done a bit better lately with attractions like the Aquarium. That said, in terms of actual tourist attractions, it isn't stellar, nor is it an attractive city to walk around. When I worked in the Eaton Centre, I can't tell you how many times I had tourists say something to the effect of "We've been up the CN Tower and to Casa Loma, now what?" The answer was typically a day trip to Niagara Falls. Things like Wonderland and the zoo that are often cited by Torontonians are not things that attract droves of international visitors.

Quebec City on the other hand absolutely rivals or exceeds Ottawa's offerings.

I completely agree with everything you just said....Minus the bit about Q-City. What a boring, isolated, over-hyped town. Sure its small historic, gated area, is quaint and charming. But after about one day I'm ready to leave and not return for another +5 years. I find it has very little offerings whatsoever outside of the above mentioned.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by phil235

One thing that I think this debate is missing is that the number of tourists visiting a place is influenced by the number of direct flights that it has, particularly for short stays which make up a big share of tourism numbers. The fact that Ottawa's airport is underserved definitely reduces the number of tourists who come here.

This is a chicken or egg problem. We aren't going to get more tourists here without more connections. And we aren't going to get more connections without more demand for travel to Ottawa. We can really only control one of these as a city.

Originally Posted by phil235

I find it funny that people are citing Calgary as a better tourist city than Ottawa. I don't think it's even close in terms of attractions for tourists. Its numbers have nothing to do with the city - it just benefits from being near the Rockies and places that people want to go.

Toronto is not the greatest tourist city either. It gets lots of business visitors and tourists just by virtue of being big and all that entails, and it has done a bit better lately with attractions like the Aquarium. That said, in terms of actual tourist attractions, it isn't stellar, nor is it an attractive city to walk around. When I worked in the Eaton Centre, I can't tell you how many times I had tourists say something to the effect of "We've been up the CN Tower and to Casa Loma, now what?" The answer was typically a day trip to Niagara Falls. Things like Wonderland and the zoo that are often cited by Torontonians are not things that attract droves of international visitors.

Correct. They are lucky to have substantial natural features that are somewhat global draws. We can't really compete with that. Have to offer something different.

Originally Posted by phil235

Quebec City on the other hand absolutely rivals or exceeds Ottawa's offerings.

Better food scene. 400 year old walled city that almost makes you forget you're in North America. Meanwhile, we harass kids who start lemonade stands and can't even manage things like sharing the Courtyard without each restaurant fencing off its own diners. Sorry, bit of a personal pet peeve. It's so ugly.....

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

I see we think alike

Anybody who has lived in more than just Ottawa and has actually left Canada for vacation, can see what needs to be fixed here.

The really sad part is that a lot of the complaints we have would make the city better for us, not just the tourists. I, personally, could not care less about attracting tourists. But if people want to know what it takes to actually get people here, we should probably at least start with making it better for ourselves.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

What an absolutely horrible take. For culture, museums, historic sites, and natural beauty, there aren’t many better place than Ottawa to visit in Canada.

Hard disagree. Ottawa may have all of these things but does not do any of these things better than everywhere else. Maybe museums, but eh. Montreal pretty easily beats Ottawa in all of these categories aside from museums. Toronto beats Ottawa in these categories aside from natural beauty and museums. And frankly, people aren't travelling exclusively for museums. I'm not going to London so I can visit the British Museum - that's a sidequest on a slow day.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

I completely agree with everything you just said....Minus the bit about Q-City. What a boring, isolated, over-hyped town. Sure its small historic, gated area, is quaint and charming. But after about one day I'm ready to leave and not return for another +5 years. I find it has very little offerings whatsoever outside of the above mentioned.

One could say the exact same thing about Ottawa. Once you have walked Wellington from Portage to Sussex and been to the Market, there's really not much else that is important to see. That's the essence of the city right there. Indeed this is why all those bus tours either spend only one night in Ottawa or just an afternoon. Sometimes, not even that. Just drive by Parliament and the Supreme Court.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Hard disagree. Ottawa may have all of these things but does not do any of these things better than everywhere else. Maybe museums, but eh. Montreal pretty easily beats Ottawa in all of these categories aside from museums. Toronto beats Ottawa in these categories aside from natural beauty and museums. And frankly, people aren't travelling exclusively for museums. I'm not going to London so I can visit the British Museum - that's a sidequest on a slow day.

Toronto beats Ottawa on historic sites? Not sure about that one. Fort York is a good place for a beer festival, but as a historic site its kinda second rate. Like most of Southern and southwestern Ontario, Toronto also managed to tear down just about every building of significance that predated the 1950s. The few that managed to slip through (Old City Hall, St. Lawrence Hall, a couple of re-purposed factories) feel more like anomalies than historic places. I'd take Ottawa (and Montreal and Quebec City) on history every day of the week.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Hard disagree. Ottawa may have all of these things but does not do any of these things better than everywhere else. Maybe museums, but eh. Montreal pretty easily beats Ottawa in all of these categories aside from museums. Toronto beats Ottawa in these categories aside from natural beauty and museums. And frankly, people aren't travelling exclusively for museums. I'm not going to London so I can visit the British Museum - that's a sidequest on a slow day.

I would debate that Ottawa's museums are better. ROM and the Royal Tyrrell Museum > Museum of Natural History.
Museum of Anthropology @ UBC > Canadian Museum of Civilization

I've even heard people say Ontario Science Centre > Science and Tech Museum.

For national museums, ours are kinda weak. Not just in their programming. Sometimes the architecture and locations/setting too. The only one that I can argue is truly unmatched is the War Museum. Museum of Civilization is great on architecture. But programming, like several museums here is rather weak.

Also, while nobody travels exclusively for museums, they are definitely part of the overall experience and build the itinerary. You're not going to go to Paris on vacation without going to the Louvre.

[Zmonkey]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I would debate that Ottawa's museums are better. ROM and the Royal Tyrrell Museum > Museum of Natural History.
Museum of Anthropology @ UBC > Canadian Museum of Civilization

I've even heard people say Ontario Science Centre > Science and Tech Museum.

For national museums, ours are kinda weak. Not just in their programming. Sometimes the architecture and locations/setting too. The only one that I can argue is truly unmatched is the War Museum. Museum of Civilization is great on architecture. But programming, like several museums here is rather weak.

Also, while nobody travels exclusively for museums, they are definitely part of the overall experience and build the itinerary. You're not going to go to Paris on vacation without going to the Louvre.

And museams are just part of it. Summer people like going to Jays/Toronto FC, people take their kids to Wonderland, the aquarium, do a show, see parts of downtown or Lake Ontario, great restaurants, shop, party, concerts etc etc etc.
For most people even if Toronto's museums are not best in the country, they will be good enough for their needs.

You need a good mix of a lot. This is what Ottawa will lack from a tourists point of view. I think people are mixing up what tourists want vs where they want to live. How many people in Ottawa are travelling to a city like Ottawa?

To me the best Museum in Canada is in Winnipeg. I am not going there just for a museum.

For tourism, a big thing the city could do is work with conferences and International events. Canada has a great reputation so have large conferences weather political or not in the city. That will lead to more air service.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I would debate that Ottawa's museums are better. ROM and the Royal Tyrrell Museum > Museum of Natural History.
Museum of Anthropology @ UBC > Canadian Museum of Civilization

I've even heard people say Ontario Science Centre > Science and Tech Museum.

For national museums, ours are kinda weak. Not just in their programming. Sometimes the architecture and locations/setting too. The only one that I can argue is truly unmatched is the War Museum. Museum of Civilization is great on architecture. But programming, like several museums here is rather weak.

Also, while nobody travels exclusively for museums, they are definitely part of the overall experience and build the itinerary. You're not going to go to Paris on vacation without going to the Louvre.

I think that you are missing few of our museums. The National Gallery and the Aviation Museum are both very good. And a hard disagree that either the ROM or the Museum of Anthropology beat the combo of the Museum of History/Museum of Nature. As you say, the War Museum is exceptional. We've got good attractions in the that department.