TORONTO — Visit California is all too aware of the hurdles that come with marketing U.S. destinations to Canadians right now.
“When sentiment and economics converge, that makes winning hearts and minds even more challenging,” said Ryan Becker, SVP Communications & Strategy, Visit California.
In Toronto yesterday for Visit California’s travel industry events, Becker and a powerhouse delegation of destination and industry CEOs from the Golden State worked hard to assure travel trade media, and later travel advisors and supplier partners, that California is waiting with open arms to welcome Canadians.
It’s a message that California Governor Gavin Newsom has been sharing since the border rhetoric escalated this past spring.
It’s also a message that the Canadian travel industry and travellers have heard before from other destinations, but it doesn’t make it any less powerful to hear it again.
“We’re here on a diplomatic mission,” said Becker. “We want to share our core message: Canadians are greatly appreciated by the state of California, and it wouldn’t be what it is without Canadians and the influence of Canadians.”
Becker acknowledged the “very complicated environment” facing Canadians travellers contemplating a trip south of the border right now. “There’s the exchange rate. There’s polarizing rhetoric. But at the end of the day, we think we can break through.”
Canadian visitation to California is second only to Mexico, making Canada “a vital market for us. Visit California founded in 1996 and we’ve been active in this market since 1998.”
Visit California’s activations in Toronto included one-on-one meetings for tourism boards and media
2025 CHALLENGES
In 2024 some 1.8 million Canadians visited California and spent US$3.7 billion in the state.
Not surprisingly, “that’s challenged this year,” said Becker. The forecast travel spend from Canadians for 2025 is $3 billion, an 18% drop. That’s on par with what U.S. is experiencing as a whole, he added.
“We are cautiously optimistic that this is the bottom for us,” said Becker. “We also understand that the level of passion and intensity around some of the rhetoric is showing signs of waning. That’s one of the key reasons we’re here. To talk about the value of a California vacation, and the alignment of our values [with Canadians].”
Visit California’s ad campaign, positioning the state as ‘The Ultimate Playground’, focuses on everything from family fun, to road trips, to upcoming blockbuster sporting events. Here’s just a sampling: Super Bowl LX in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2026; Super Bowl LXI in L.A. in 2027; 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood; FIFA World Cup; and the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A.
Toronto Raptors ‘Superfan’ Nav Bhatia is one of many Canadians featured in Visit California’s ‘Keeping up with the Canadians’ content series. Visit California’s Toronto activations included a pop-up at Union Station ahead of last night’s Raptors game. There was also a
partner appreciation event at Real Sports Bar & Grill, following an afternoon of updates for the media at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto.
Visit California’s delegation included …
- Peter Gamez, President & CEO, Visit Oakland
- Stephen Revetria, President, Giants Enterprises
- Tom Kiely, President & CEO, Visit West Hollywood
- Cathy Cartier, President & CEO, Visit SLO CAL
- Julie Wagner, President & CEO, Beverly Hills CVB
- Claudia Vecchio, President & CEO, Sonoma County Tourism
- John Hutar, President and CEO, The San Francisco Peninsula
- Mike Waterman, President & CEO, Visit Anaheim
- Daniel Kuperschmid, President and CEO, San Diego Tourism Authority
- Rob O’Keefe, President & CEO, See Monterrey
- Kathy Janega-Dykes, President & CEO, Visit Santa Barbara
MEETING WITH THE DELEGATES
Trade media had a chance to speak with several of the tourism board execs.
“We’re perfect for bleisure travel,” said The San Francisco Peninsula’s Hutar. The SFP’s slogan, ‘It’s Kind of Wild’, sums it up. “You can be kayaking 20 minutes after leaving SFO,” said Hutar. “There’s mountain biking. There’s golf throughout the county. There’s biking, hiking and kitesurfing along the bay.”
For the uninitiated, SFP covers the region south of San Francisco and north of San Jose. SFP is home to more than 140 hotels, many with substantial meeting space. “MICE is very important to us, we’re never going to lose that identity, but COVID forced us to start changing our talking points and looking at everything we have to offer in the outdoors.”
Hutar added: “SFP is diverse and welcoming. Those are pillars that play to Canadian visitors. Travellers can stay here and go anywhere. We would love for folks to use us as a base camp to Yosemite, Monterey, San Francisco and more.”
Visit California’s Associate VP of External Affairs and Media Relations, Angie Pappas, said yesterday’s industry events were crucial. “We want to continue a drumbeat. We don’t want to be forgotten. We’re a place where Canadians are always going to come to,” she said.
Pappas added that while the state has seen some tapering of airlift, it wasn’t a major pullback from the airlines. “We met with Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines, and they were all expressing cautious optimism,” she said.
Kiely told Travelweek that Visit West Hollywood is here in Canada “with our hat in our hand. We’re not like the rest of the country, and West Hollywood is the bluest part of the blue state.”
West Hollywood may be just four square kilometres, but that makes for a very walkable and safe destination. There’s a great selection of hotels, mostly boutique, plus 300 bars, restaurants and nightclubs. “We’re the entertainment centre of L.A.,” said Kiely. To check out Travelweek’s recent interview with Kiely, click here.
Visit Anaheim’s Waterman noted that Canada has been Anaheim’s number one market “since we’ve been tracking it, for 50+ years. This is the first time it’s dropped to number two, behind Mexico.”
While the usual crowds of Canadian visitors are very much missed in Anaheim, Waterman is optimistic for a return to better days. “We have this attraction called Disneyland, and that mouse is going to get through to people, he’s going to win them back,” he said with a smile. “There’s no doubt Canadians are going to come back.”
Thanks to the incredible development known as OCVibe, with an influx of US$10-12 billion of tourism infrastructure, in the next five to 10 years Anaheim will be unrecognizable, in a good way, said Waterman.
Once complete, OCVibe will be one of the largest live music venues in North America, plus it will offer 36 restaurants, six bars and two hotels. Some 70% of OCVibe will be open by the end of next year. “It’s coming. By the time we host IPW in 2030, OCVibe will be done,” said Waterman.
That’s not to mention big new developments coming to Disneyland and more.
Anaheim welcomed 26.5 million visitors last year. “Over next 10 years, we could be at 40-50 million visitors,” said Waterman. “Our Mexico market is up 18%. Our domestic market is up 20%. Canadians are only down 17% year to date. So net, we’re flat. We’d rather be up.”
SLO CAL’s Cartier showcased her part of California, with a prime position halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. SLO CAL is home to 160 kilometres of pristine coastline, and 40,000+ acres of vineyards. SLO CAL is right along California’s famously beautiful Highway 1, and it’s ready to reopen.
As Cartier puts it, in SLO CAL, “if something’s five miles away, it’s five minutes away. There’s no congestion. It’s a great outdoor destination, with 300+ trails. You can do bonfires on the beach. We have a lot of vacation rentals that are ocean-facing. We have 3,000 new rooms coming online in the next few years, boosting our current 10,000 room count.”
Important for Canadians watching the exchange rate, “we’re also a much more affordable destination, just because we’re not as well-known,” she added. “There are so many little hidden gems. Our tagline is, Life’s Too Beautiful to Rush.”
For more information on travel to California, see VisitCalifornia.com.
