THUNDER BAY — COVID-19 may postpone the benefits, but a leading travel industry website is giving a boost to tourism in the Thunder Bay area.
Expedia.ca puts the city in eighth spot in its ranking of 20 of the friendliest places in Canada to visit.
Expedia says the list is based on traveller reviews it received between January 2019 and December 2020.
Its description of the city says "Calling all outdoor enthusiasts. Thunder Bay is full of adventure and activities all year long."
Communities on the list, it says, are right in line with future travel trends.
People are expected to look for options that will provide more room to spread out once normal travel resumes.
Paul Pepe, manager of tourism for the city, says online promotion like this is critical to the recovery of the tourism sector in the Thunder Bay region.
"Expedia has a huge following, so any content that's aligned with a name like that is positive public relations for the community," he said.
Pepe noted that to be promoted as an outdoor enthusiast's dream city also ties right in with his department's goal of positioning Thunder Bay as Canada's premier outdoor city.
He said the tourism sector has suffered a severe blow over the past year, but "people are using this time to plan and to dream about future travel."
Pepe believes there's plenty of evidence of a burgeoning hunger for travel.
"If you look at retail sales, everything from ATVs to bicycles – anything outdoors – has skyrocketed. That's good for when travel does resume."
He said even if the ongoing prevalence of COVID-19 stalls the return to normalcy, Thunder Bay is well-positioned to benefit from a surge in travel whenever it begins.
First place on Expedia's list goes to Radium Hot Springs, BC.
Digby, Nova Scotia is number two, and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario is third.
