Two well-known Ottawa tour companies have partnered to cut costs for customers in what they describe as a slower-than-expected tourism season.
Since May, Lady Dive Tours, which is known for its double-decker buses and its land-water “amphibus,” has been working with Ottawa Boat Cruise, another local company that shows tourists around the city from the river and the canal.
“We’ve always had a partnership of sorts,” said Etienne LeBlanc-Cameron, co-owner of Lady Dive. “But recently we just realized that we’re the major touring operators here in the region. So we decided, let’s make a partnership.”
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The partnership includes offering package deals to tourists with discounts for customers who purchase tours from both companies.
“(Ottawa Boat Cruise has) been in the industry for a lot longer than we have, so we wanted to form something together instead of being at each other’s throats,” Cameron joked. “It’s mutually beneficial and it’s pushing tourists to experience and see Ottawa from all different angles.”
Julia Oliveira, vice-president of Ottawa Boat Cruise, said it’s an arrangement that she hopes makes finding tour information easier for visitors. Though the two companies have long had a good working relationship, she said the most recent move takes it to the next level.
“We just realized that working together is the best way to go,” she said. “It helps the downtown core and our staff. We’ve always gotten along very, very well and we both want the same thing. We both want to get more people into Ottawa.”
Cameron and Oliveira agree that tourism activity slowed this summer compared to the past few years, when numbers rose steadily after the pandemic.
“We expected things to be higher than they were due to Canadians staying in Canada and Americans coming here due to the high value of their dollars,” said Cameron. “But we haven’t seen quite that. If anything, we have a lower tourism count this year. It’s nothing too concerning, but it is something to note. It’s the first year we’ve seen a downturn since COVID.”
Oliveira, who noticed a similar trend, also isn’t concerned yet.
“I think we were lucky that we had a lot of great weather,” she said. “Our numbers are maybe a little down and I know Ottawa hasn’t had the numbers we’ve all been hoping for but overall we did okay.”
The two companies started a new “golden ticket” program this summer, which Cameron said will be promoted heavily in the coming months. Through the package, tourists get a wristband that they can show at several local businesses for discounts on a variety of things, from meals and drinks to bike rentals and helicopter tours.
“I think we have around 20 or so partners for the golden ticket program so far and we’re hoping to get more and more,” said Cameron. “It’s an added value for our customers and it pushes tourists to stay in the region and spend money in the region. It just pushes the tourism economy and the economy in general in Ottawa, which is exactly what we want.”
The two companies plan to build on their partnership next season.
