As the Canadian Loonie continues to gain in strength against the US dollar (USD $1 = CAD $1.01), travel suppliers and destinations are turning their sights to the previously undervalued market. Canadians are traveling overseas in greater numbers and spending more. Canadian travel overseas increased 9.9% in 2007 over 2006, which represents 7.4 million trips.
Mexico has its eye on Canada, reporting that 900,000 Canadians visited the country in 2007, a 22% increase over the previous year, and their average spend was $200 greater than that of American visitors. When most airlines are cutting routes, Mexicana Airlines added direct service from Calgary to Mexico City - and it's off to a flying start (pardon the pun), with their recent inaugural flight arriving fully booked.
Need more convincing? Google Trends demonstrates that for the keywords "Riviera Maya hotels" the top two audiences are based in Montreal (1st place) and Quebec (2nd place). Granted, this includes hotels at all price points, but overall, this data clearly indicates that if you're not including Canada in your PR outreach, now is time. And if you have already been, it's time to relook what can be done to reinforce those efforts.
