Toronto/Chicago comparisons

[mistercorporate]

Chicago's not much of an international city compared to Toronto which had an increasing international profile even before Rob Ford. Chicago is a formidable regional center serving the midwest and has a lot of notoriety within the US but not so much overseas.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

I can't say that I'm surprised Vancouver is performing so well. It's an amazing city to visit and live in.



Chicago is one of America's premier cities. It's all over the media and presumably has greater international recognition (does it?). The fact that Toronto has more overseas visitors than Chicago blows my mind. I can't think of anything about Toronto that would make it a more attractive tourist destination than Chicago. But perhaps I'm just underestimating this city again.

Both have some, but not what I would call "one name" recognition. I'm surprised Toronto and Vancouver are ahead of SF, which I thought definitely had a bigger profile.

Chicago's not much of an international city compared to Toronto which had an increasing international profile even before Rob Ford. Chicago is a formidable regional center serving the midwest and has a lot of notoriety within the US but not so much overseas.

This is partially false.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I can't think of anything about Toronto that would make it a more attractive tourist destination than Chicago.

Keep in mind Niagara Falls beats most cities quite handily in international visitors (Toronto, Van and Chi). It just wasn't included in the survey.

One thing to consider is, that Canada and the USA are very large countries. When overseas visitors are planning a tourist trip (as opposed to business or visiting friends/relatives), they usually plan a trip to a country first. If they are planning a trip to the USA, Chicago is simply farther down most people's list of places to visit in the USA than Toronto is on their list of places to visit in Canada. And Toronto is very close to Niagara Falls.

 

[Ryan_T]

Maybe, but their prominence in top 5 biggest/oldest cities in the US puts them high on the list.



Unrelated note: found this in my large batch of forgotten photos.


Stories

 

[Tewder]

Keep in mind Niagara Falls beats most cities quite handily in international visitors (Toronto, Van and Chi). It just wasn't included in the survey.

One thing to consider is, that Canada and the USA are very large countries. When overseas visitors are planning a tourist trip (as opposed to business or visiting friends/relatives), they usually plan a trip to a country first. If they are planning a trip to the USA, Chicago is simply farther down most people's list of places to visit in the USA than Toronto is on their list of places to visit in Canada. And Toronto is very close to Niagara Falls.

Yes, Chicago has a lot of competition within its own market place. I imagine the majority of its tourists are American or Canadian.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Both have some, but not what I would call "one name" recognition. I'm surprised Toronto and Vancouver are ahead of SF, which I thought definitely had a bigger profile.

I don't see why. San Francisco is rather overhyped and not as interesting as I had been lead to believe.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I think the Niagara Falls thing is more important than people think. Niagara Falls is a huge tourist destination for international travellers in Canada. Tourists like to combine attractions and cities together. Chicago, while potentionally a more interesting tourist spot as a standalone destinatino, doesn't combine with much else.

MTown, San Francisco is an amazing tourist destination. There is less going on in terms of entertainment if you were to combine youth culture sections of a NOW magazine in Toronto with the San Francisco equivalent. However, there are so many natural wonder day trips you can take from San Francisco (coastal highway, National Parks etc.)

If you want to talk about over-hyped on the previous list I say Miami. Not particularly impressive in my mind (warm weather excluded). Night life in the US is fairly low-key by international standards but I was surprised that Miami is considered on of the best nightlife spots in the country. I wouldn't put it in the top 25 cities I have personally visited in terms of nightlife. Unless the real nighlife is not in the Miami Beach / South Beach area of the city.

 

[SunriseChampion]

No doubt. I was all over there two months ago. I was simply referring to San Fran itself.

I differentiate my travel most of the time between the cultural/urban and the natural. So, I might travel to Vancouver, for example, to spend time in Vancouver. Or, I'll travel to BC to go hiking and backpacking.
Closer to home: I might go to Ottawa to hit up some pubs and the casino or I might go spend 5 days in the Madawaska Highlands in the bush.

I wouldn't usually mix the two. Though, I guess I'm weird and extreme. Either off the grid completely or running around some city's downtown in my latest Strellson getup.

 

[Translude15]

Vancouver does indeed seem to punch above it's weight in NA. Especially on how much visitors spend.


NORTH AMERICA Top 10 Destination Cities by International Overnight Visitors
MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index 2013

1. New York 11.5 mil
2. Los Angeles 4.8 mil
3. Miami 3.9 mil
4. Toronto 3.4 mil
5. Vancouver 3.4 mil
6. San Francisco 3.0 mil
7. Washington 2.3 mil
8. Chicago 2.2 mil
9. Montreal 2.0 mil
10. Boston 1.6 mil

It's hard NOT to spend a lot of money when you're in Vancouver given how expensive everything is.

 

[nfitz]

It's hard NOT to spend a lot of money when you're in Vancouver given how expensive everything is.

Vancouver expensive? I've got family there, and I haven't noticed it being particularly expensive compared to here. Well, unless your buying a house ... but most tourists don't tend to do that.

 

[Translude15]

Vancouver expensive? I've got family there, and I haven't noticed it being particularly expensive compared to here. Well, unless your buying a house ... but most tourists don't tend to do that.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/0...pensive-city-to-live-economist_n_2631806.html

Absolutely Vancouver is more expensive than Toronto. Beyond housing, taxes are higher as are things like food, gas, alcohol, and merchandise. This would ultimately affect tourists and how much they spend when visiting the area.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I haven't noticed Van City being more expensive. Except for Belmonts. Food, drink, etc were always comparable.

 

[ladyscraper]

Chicago is one of America's premier cities. It's all over the media and presumably has greater international recognition (does it?).

My wife is from the States (New York) and her impression from living there her whole life is that nobody seems to mention Chicago that doesn't live in the midwest. It just isn't on the list of American cities that people talk about anymore (her opinion)

 

[Ryan_T]

My wife is from the States (New York) and her impression from living there her whole life is that nobody seems to mention Chicago that doesn't live in the midwest. It just isn't on the list of American cities that people talk about anymore (her opinion)

And someone from NYC would definitely not have any bias for/against in this matter.

 

[Tewder]

I can't speak for New Yorkers but I find it's people in Toronto who talk about Chicago a lot... which makes sense really considering how close we are. In Chicago I've found they talk about Toronto too. I've met lots of people there who expressed wanting to come visit, that it was definitely high in their coolness ranking, though I wonder now if Ford has changed this at all?