From British Columbia to Montreal, the low Canadian dollar is proving a boon to the tourism sector.
Dragged down by cheap oil and an international
slump in commodity prices, the dollar is trading at around 70
cents against the greenback and enticing Americans to travel north of
the border.
"We're getting more reservations at the last
minute from Americans planning trips for the weekend," says Eve Pare,
head of the Hotel Association of Greater Montreal.
Montreal-area hotels in December made more than $40 million, up more than nine per cent from a year earlier, Pare noted.
The city's tourism bureau said last summer's
season — between June and August — saw a 10 per cent increase year over
year in the number of American tourists crossing the border into Quebec.
For Katie, 20, a McGill University student
from New York State, the low Canadian dollar means her tuition is
"basically nothing."
On a mini-vacation with her friend Jack, 21,
also from New York, the two said they were spending more than they
regularly would on eating out.
"I've been taking advantage already," says
Jack, standing on a corner in Old Montreal. "We're going out to nicer
dinners than normally because it means you can take off 40 per cent from
the bill."
Around the corner at the Jacques Cartier
Square, Adriana Carvalho, 43, from Brazil, said she and her partner had
been planning on visiting the United States but changed their minds at
the last minute to take advantage of the dollar.
The Brazilian real is trading at 24 cents US while it's at about 34 cents in Canada.
But Carvalho said the dollar wasn't the only reason they made the trip to Montreal.
"You guys have things here we can't get in the U.S. like furs," she said. "And we love skiing."
Alexander Kiorpelidis, who owns a Montreal
souvenir shop, estimates he's had about a 15 per cent increase in the
number of American tourists over the past six months, even though they
aren't necessarily buying more of his wares.
"(This) year we're expecting a big jump he said," referring to the upcoming high tourist season in July and August.
"I would like to see 25 per cent increase in sales," he said.
Ellen Graham, 25, walking down the old
district's cobblestone streets, said she is about to marry her fiance,
Lance Lynch, 30, who travelled from Florida to be interviewed by U.S.
immigration officials.
"I came up to meet her at the consulate and we
made a vacation out of it," he said. "Everything is virtually 30 per
cent off here, which is huge."
In British Columbia, a spokeswoman for Tourism
Whistler, which tracks overnight room stays at the cluster of resorts
north of Vancouver, said November and December 2015 were the busiest for
those months on record and that the low Canadian dollar has been a
"huge incentive" for American visitors.
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