TORONTO — Despite a broader downturn in Canadian travel to the U.S., Phoenix is holding up better than many destinations – and Visit Phoenix says Canada remains too important a market to pull back from now.

Travelweek spoke with Sarah Doyle, Director of Communications at Visit Phoenix, and Michael Chirichillo, Media Relations Specialist, ahead of their visit to Toronto next week, where they will meet with media outlets and work to keep Greater Phoenix top of mind in the Canadian market.

While Visit Phoenix has recorded some softening from Canada, the decline has been less pronounced than the broader national trend for U.S. destinations. One factor, she says, is a sizeable population of Canadian snowbirds and part-time residents who return regularly during the winter months.

“We have seen a downward trend, but we’re not quite as bad as the national average,” said Doyle. “We’re incredibly fortunate because we welcome a lot of Canadians seasonally as part-time residents. Many of them own homes here and spend the winter, and that also extends into friends and family visiting.”

Phoenix’s established Canadian following is supported by another important advantage: easy access and a winter climate travellers already know well.

“Phoenix has a strong connection with Canada from an airlift standpoint and in terms of familiarity,” said Doyle. “During the time of year when we see the most Canadian visitors, our weather is fantastic. Once people know what they’re getting, it makes that trip easier to commit to year after year.”

That loyalty is also reflected in the airlift picture. Visit Phoenix has not seen meaningful capacity reductions from Canada this winter, with Doyle describing service levels as “stable.” Chirichillo pointed to nonstop Toronto service from Air Canada and Porter Airlines’ Toronto Pearson-Phoenix route, which launched roughly two years ago and continues to perform strongly.

CANADA REMAINS A PRIORITY

Canada and Mexico are Phoenix’s two largest international markets, giving the Canadian market an outsized role in Visit Phoenix’s international strategy.

The Toronto trip represents the organization’s first visit to the market in several years and comes as Visit Phoenix begins a new fiscal year with Canada back near the top of its priority list.

“Canada is an extremely important market for us,” said Doyle. “We understand the headwinds that have been hindering visitation, but we haven’t been out to Toronto in a couple of years, and we felt Canada had to be prioritized this year.”

The decision to return was also informed by conversations with Canadian media and industry contacts at recent appointment-based events, including IPW. Those discussions suggested that while sentiment toward U.S. travel has not fully recovered, interest has not disappeared.

“It didn’t seem fully warm, but it didn’t seem completely cold either,” said Doyle. “There was still interest, and some editors were beginning to warm up to covering the U.S. again. We took that as a sign to get back out there and make sure that when travel does start picking up again, Phoenix remains top of mind.”

One indicator Visit Phoenix is watching closely is Canadian Visa card spending, currently down about 12% from previous levels. For the tourism board, the figure reinforces both the challenge facing U.S. destinations and Phoenix’s comparatively resilient position.

VAI LEADS DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE 

Giving Visit Phoenix plenty to talk about on its return to Canada is a substantial development pipeline, led by the highly anticipated VAI Resort in Glendale.

With roughly 1,100 rooms planned, the project is expected to become Arizona’s largest resort and combine accommodations, entertainment, dining and attractions on one sprawling site. Acclaimed chef José Andrés will also debut his first restaurant in Arizona – Bar Mar, located in The Villas at VAI Resort.

“It’s absolutely massive,” said Doyle. “If you think of a bell and a whistle, it has 12 of those for every thought you could possibly have.”

Among its biggest draws will be the first Mattel Adventure Park, expected to feature two Hot Wheels rollercoasters, a full-scale Barbie Beach House, Masters of the Universe laser tag and mini golf inspired by Magic 8 Ball, Pictionary and other beloved Mattel games. Plans also call for a five-acre white-sand beach pool, roughly a dozen dining venues and a major outdoor amphitheatre.

“There’s going to be so much happening there,” said Doyle. “It’s almost like Vegas meets Mykonos meets Arizona in its own world.”

Located west of downtown Phoenix across from the NFL stadium in Glendale, VAI currently has a target of around November 2028, although the project is not expected to announce a firm opening date for some time.

Lobby Voice Lounge, VAI Resort – Credit VAI Resort

HOTELS KEEP LEVELLING UP

VAI is arriving amid a much wider transformation of Greater Phoenix’s hotel inventory.

Downtown Phoenix has two notable projects in the pipeline, Chirichillo said, including The New Hotel and Spa, expected to open in mid-September, and a newly announced JW Marriott with more than 300 rooms.

At the same time, many of the region’s best-known resorts have used the past several years to reinvest heavily in their existing product.

“One of the biggest stories for us has been hotel development,” said Chirichillo. “Just about every one of our large resort properties has gone through a major renovation – guest rooms, indoor spaces, outdoor spaces, meeting spaces, you name it.”

JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa is one example, with upgrades that included a new water park, refreshed rooms and meeting spaces and new chef-driven dining concepts. Arizona Biltmore and The Phoenician have also completed major renovations.

Taken together with new openings, that investment has dramatically reshaped the quality and breadth of the region’s accommodations since the pandemic.

“If your doors didn’t open in 2020, they’ve probably been renovated since then,” said Doyle. “Every year since that point, we’ve opened a new property and will continue that trend for the next several years.”

Much of the new inventory has landed at the luxury end of the market, filling what Doyle says had previously been a gap in the destination’s hotel offering and encouraging established properties to raise their game.

“The entire destination levelled up,” she said. “A tremendous amount of money was reinvested across the board.”

One example of Phoenix’s newer luxury direction is Global Ambassador, an approximately 141-room independent hotel opened in late 2023 by local restaurateur Sam Fox.

“It brings more of a European flair and boutique international experience to Phoenix,” said Chirichillo. “It’s a little different from what people might traditionally expect when they visit here.”

Global Ambassador boutique hotel

GROWING CULINARY SCENE

Accommodation isn’t the only part of Phoenix that has evolved. The destination’s culinary scene has emerged as an increasingly important part of its tourism story.

For years, Doyle says, the challenge was convincing travellers who already knew Phoenix by name that there was considerably more to discover beyond its familiar desert image.

“For the longest time, we couldn’t get anybody to recognize our food scene,” she said. “People knew the name Phoenix, but they didn’t necessarily pull back the layers and explore what the destination could be.”

National recognition has helped change that perception. Phoenix chefs have earned James Beard Awards for Best Chef: Southwest in consecutive years, including René Andrade of Bacanora and Yotaka “Sunny” Martin of Lom Wong.

The fact that the award-winning restaurants are located close together in the downtown core has further strengthened the city’s case as a culinary destination.

“To have both of those wins in the heart of downtown, just a couple of blocks from each other, is wildly cool,” said Doyle.

DOLLARS STRETCH FURTHER HERE

Rather than defining Phoenix around a single traveller type, Visit Phoenix is leaning into the destination’s ability to deliver very different vacations – from luxury resort stays and culinary escapes to outdoor adventures and warm-weather winter getaways.

“Phoenix really is one of those destinations you can mould into exactly what you want it to be,” said Doyle.

Recent international market research has also reinforced one consideration that is particularly relevant for Canadians right now: value. Visit Phoenix is not positioning itself as a budget destination by any means, but Doyle says travellers can often make their dollar stretch further than in some competing U.S. markets.

“We know Canadians need to see value and understand how that connects to the experience,” she said. “We offer an escape from the cold, and while we’re certainly not a budget destination, your dollar can go a little further here than in some other places.”

Rendering of Mattel Adventure Park

TRAVEL ADVISORS REMAIN KEY

As Visit Phoenix works to maintain its Canadian business, the travel trade remains an important part of that strategy. Its dedicated tourism department works directly with advisors and tour operators on education, itinerary development, hotel and resort recommendations, local experiences and general destination information.

In Canada, Toronto-based Global Marketing & Sales (GMS) represents the state on behalf of the Arizona Office of Tourism. The organization works with Canadian travel agencies and advisors to build awareness of Arizona and help the trade better sell the destination through training, sales support and connections with tourism partners.

Visit Phoenix complements that statewide support with more destination-specific resources for Greater Phoenix. Among them is TAP into PHX, an online training program designed to help participants become more knowledgeable about the destination and better promote and sell it to clients.

“Travel advisors are a massive part of how we obtain certain segments of business,” said Doyle. “We’ll always do what we can to make sure they are well educated, informed and up to speed on everything we have going on.”

And with Canadians still travelling to Phoenix despite the wider pullback from U.S. destinations, Visit Phoenix sees maintaining its presence in the market as a long-term investment.

“We can’t just give up on the market,” said Doyle. “This destination has such a strong tie with Canada that we have to keep trying.”

For more information about Phoenix, go to www.visitphoenix.com.

Lead image caption: Piestewa Peak — Credit Visit Phoenix