TORONTO — It’s become a familiar refrain from U.S. destinations to the Canadian travel industry and Canadian travellers – but it’s still nice to hear: “We get it. And when you’re ready, we’re ready.”
That was the word from Meet Boston, in town yesterday to host a fun night at Rogers Centre, as the Toronto Blue Jays faced off against the Boston Red Sox.
Dressed not in BoSox bright red, but instead the distinct and famous shade of green of Fenway Park’s ‘Green Monster’, the Meet Boston team mingled with trade and consumer media and industry partners, and shared a message of compassion, understanding and welcome.
David O’Donnell, Meet Boston’s VP Strategic Communications, told Travelweek that the drop-off from Canada hasn’t been as bad as anticipated, however data for the months ahead may take a turn.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of dire forecasts,” said O’Donnell. “The forecast decrease from Canada was originally 15%. It ended up only being down 1%, however that’s from earlier this year when we had some really big events that attracted a lot of Canadians like the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off in February. For August 2025, the Canadian numbers were down 6% versus August 2024.”
He noted that Boston’s positioning as an air destination from the Canadian market, with flights on carriers including Air Canada, WestJet and Porter, “has helped. Drive destinations in places like Vermont and Maine are getting crushed.”
Any downturn in Canadian visitation is still worrying, he added. “The Canadian visitor is so critical for us. We have that shared identity, that shared heritage.”
Canada’s affinity for Boston runs deep. The city has always been a favourite from this market, and there are historic ties too. O’Donnell points to ‘The Nova Scotia Tree for Boston’, a Christmas tree the province sends the U.S. city every year as a symbol of gratitude and friendship. The tradition started in the early 1970s but has its roots all the way back in 1917, when Boston was one of the very first to help Halifax after the devastating Halifax Explosion, sending medical personnel and supplies.
History is very much on the minds of Meet Boston as it gears up to celebrate America 250 with the rest of the country in 2026. “We’re also trying to push more winter tourism. There’s a lot of cold cities who do winter very well,” said O’Donnell.
Among the new hotels in Boston, the Raffles Boston opened in 2023 as the first Raffles property in North America. Another option, citizenM Boston Back Bay, opened in mid-2024.
This past summer Meet Boston appointed DCI as its agency of record in Canada for public relations, business events and the travel trade. Meet Boston’s site is MeetBoston.com.
