Ottawa-Gatineau Tourism

[spotlight]

Originally Posted by Zmonkey

You also need two way traffic. How many people are coming to Ottawa? People going to Ottawa - destination is one thing but you also need Ottawa to be a final destination for a lot of people to really get international.

Calgary, Vancvouer, Toronto and Montreal all have that. From tourists, to business to people visiting family, it all comes in big numbers in those cities.
Other side is connecting, the four above cities also do really well since lots of people connect to other cities. The USA especially from a Toronto point of view.

This is where Ottawa needs to do a better job at marketing itself as a destination. Really with Ottawa being in the middle of Toronto and Montreal we should be in a position to offer the perfect destination for Europeans or tourists from all over the world coming to Canada for a visit. Most people coming to Canada from a tourist point of view won't simply be doing only Toronto or only Montreal, most actually do come to Ottawa as a side trip or day trip.

Ottawa Tourism needs to change the narrative for people and promote Ottawa as the gateway to their travels, from Ottawa you're well positioned to see both Toronto and Montreal while enjoying a less crowded airport.

If you land in Toronto and you plan to visit the thousand islands maybe, Ottawa, Montreal, etc.. you have to then backtrack to get back to Toronto or vice versa if you landed in Montreal. Landing in Ottawa allows you to be centrally located to the entire tourist area.

This is also where a slightly faster and more efficient train system would make a world of difference to connect us to both cities more quickly to really remove barriers completely for people.