Canada wants Indian tourist numbers to grow by 7%

Canada welcomed a record number of Indian visitors in 2017 and wants their number to increase further by seven percent in 2018.

Rupert Peters, Destination Canada’s Regional Managing Director, Europe, Australia and India, was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying that 250,000 Indians visited the North American country in 2017, an increase of 17.37 percent over 2016. He said that he would like to play it cautiously by expecting seven percent increase in Indian footfalls in 2018 compared to last year. Destination Canada data revealed that in 2016 Canada played host to 213,000 Indians.

Peters attributed it to the growing number of direct weekly flights from India and also the emphasis they were putting on promoting their country as an aspiring destination, which aided in swelling Indian numbers Visiting Canada. There are reportedly 15 flights a week that connect Mumbai and Delhi directly with their country. According to Peters, Canada is a tourist destination for all generations and visitors arrive there all around the year.

He added that they were promoting their nation as a four-season destination. Destination Canada is targeting both millennials and people over 45 years in India, he said. He stated that Canada would allure millennials because of its many experiences, adventure and wildlife tourism. On the other hand, to people over 45 years, it is a nice leisure destination, which offers culture, food, shopping, beauty and more, Peters said.

Stating that they had positioned Canada in India as an economic long-haul destination which would appeal to a broad-based audience, he said their aim was to make their country an aspirational destination. Peters added that they wanted Canada to be on the must-visit list of all Indians who like to Travel Overseas.  With Destination Canada also targeting the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events) segment in India, Peters said that they saw a massive potential in the burgeoning MICE market in India. He said that they expect this segment to swell abetted by an increase in connectivity.

Currently, for Canada, India is its ninth largest source market and going ahead its rank is poised to jump. With increasing number of Indians are visiting Canada, Peters said that they expect the South Asian country to become the fifth or sixth largest source market in the future. The top five source markets for Canada are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and Germany.

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