Tourism

Spending on tourism continued to grow last year as travellers returned to planes and patios, but it remained well below pre-pandemic levels, according to Statistics Canada.

At least one rural town in Eastern Ontario is showing its true colours – and it’s a full rainbow.

The visit of U.S. President Joe Biden to Ottawa could bring an increase in tourists coming to Canada’s capital to explore the city for themselves.

Curtis Gallagher, who leads Avison Young’s hospitality business for Canada, said while a local recovery is “underway,” Ottawa’s return to pre-pandemic occupancy levels “may be a little bit slower-paced than some of the other markets” the firm surveyed.

In a news release on Wednesday, the airport authority said that in recent weeks it has “observed a degradation of service levels associated with ground-handling activities” provided to Flair and Sunwing by U.K.-based firm Menzies Aviation.

The National Capital Commission confirmed that the skateway, the world's largest outdoor skating rink, will not open this season due to warm temperatures.

The mild weather of this year’s Winterlude celebrations is pushing local businesses that depend on the winter festival to consider what a future of warmer weather could mean for them. 

One could argue Ottawa residents got more than enough exposure to patios during COVID-19, but The Grand Ice Bar is unique. And with temperatures hovering around zero, it was an easy night to be outside.

Nina Kressler told OBJ last week the region’s second-largest meeting and convention space is seeing “significant uptake” in bookings for major gatherings with more than 300 participants.

Mark Laroche said Air France has suggested it could add more flights to its newly announced Ottawa-Paris schedule if the customer demand is there.