Toronto Tourism

[afransen]

To be fair, I was talking about the City of NF. My parent's place is in Wainfleet, in the SW corner of the Niagara Region (and about a 40 minute drive from the Lundy's Lane area). I'll agree that Niagara is actually a pretty interesting and diverse area. It has some quaint old towns, but for the most part its cities are a little depressed (think St. Catharines, Port Colborne, Welland, etc.) economically, and it shows.

I find the Jordan area probably one of the more interesting, with its vineyards, orchards and oodles of greenhouses. Not many know that the greenhouse industry rivals the wine industry in economic impact (as Niagara is the third largest cluster in North America after Florida and California). It's also a pretty good industry as far as agriculture goes, as it is high value-added, capital intensive, and relatively environmentally friendly compared to most other forms.

 

[ShonTron]

One of the best drives in Southern Ontario is old Highway 8 from Hamilton to Queenston. From urban grit to typical Ontario suburb (Stoney Creek) to Winona, Grimsby, Beamsville, the valleys and twists, and the escarpment right there.

Niagara itself really is such a treasure, and so close by to Toronto. How many big cities in North America can claim to have wine-growing regions, crass and glitzy tourism stuff, world-recongized natural features (falls and the Escarpment), charming towns, industrial grit and other soft fruit agriculture so close by? Maybe San Francisco.

Jordan is a well-hidden secret which is now just being capitalized (go check out the new little Disneyesque village just north of Jordan itself).

 

[Tewder]

Also, if you really want to get an appreciation for the size of the Niagara River and gorge I'd highly recommend the Jet Boat tours that operate out of NOTL. It's an amazing perspective to be at the bottom of the gorge looking up, and you immediately realize just how spectacular a natural site it is, surely one of the most impressive in southwestern Ontario.

 

[Bogtrotter]

I think the jet tours should be banned in certain areas. They are noisy and are only appealing to certain people. A jaunt into the Niagara Glen by foot will give a more close-up and personal experience with the gorg'e beauty. Lots of of interesting wildlife to be seen as well.

 

[MajorComplainer]

Why are you assuming that only the same people are returning? Did you forget that not everyone in the state of New York or the eastern United States has been to Toronto? Did you forget that the population changes over time? Did you forget that there is such a thing as return visitors?

So that's EXACTLY what the Tourist marketing group keep thinking...keep promoting the city to the same area, cause not everyone in that area has seen the city yet...... And that's EXACTLY how we have failed to attract attention elsewhere. It's the "too narrow" thinking. We only focus on such small market and at the same time, neglect such potential market worldwide. Besides, NYC has everything...why'd they want to see Toronto, a city always tries to copy NYC?

You must be a difficult person to hang out with.

OMG, my friends said the same thing too... That's why I love them

 

[allabootmatt]

There have been Toronto Unlimited ads in the Amtrak regional trains along the NE corridor for almost a year now--they're terrible. Just a picture of someone's backyard with legs dangling over the side of a fence, and a caption of "Looking for an escape?" or some such. Nothing about the city or why anyone should think of visiting at all. It could literally be an ad for any destination.

 

[syn]

So that's EXACTLY what the Tourist marketing group keep thinking...keep promoting the city to the same area, cause not everyone in that area has seen the city yet...... And that's EXACTLY how we have failed to attract attention elsewhere. It's the "too narrow" thinking. We only focus on such small market and at the same time, neglect such potential market worldwide. Besides, NYC has everything...why'd they want to see Toronto, a city always tries to copy NYC?

I wasn't aware that Toronto is always trying to copy NYC.

That isn't something that's based in reality...it's just another silly stereotype.

Using your reasoning, why should anyone visit anywhere? People should just stick with NYC, which has everything anyways.

 

[MajorComplainer]

I wasn't aware that Toronto is always trying to copy NYC.

That isn't something that's based in reality...it's just another silly stereotype.

Using your reasoning, why should anyone visit anywhere? People should just stick with NYC, which has everything anyways.

I bet you a million buck that once Toronto Life Sq is completed (maybe in another 5 yrs?), the New Year's Eve celebration will be moved from NPS to Dundas Sq.

Count on it!

 

[RJR123]

While maybe not as bad now, Toronto has often tried to mimic NYC. All you have to do is refer to cheesy newspaper articles that call Bloor Street our own 5th Avenue (laughable, to say the least), or refer to Yonge Street as our own "do-not-cross, 110th Street." (see last Saturday's National Post homes section).
Or you can refer to former ads for BSN that state that it's on Toronto's "Upper East Side." And I've often heard 905'ers referred to as the B&T crowd. There's lots more examples.

 

[syn]

I bet you a million buck that once Toronto Life Sq is completed (maybe in another 5 yrs?), the New Year's Eve celebration will be moved from NPS to Dundas Sq.

Count on it!

So?

It's probably going to be inevitable at some point - the NPS rennovation will likely make it unavailable for a few years.

Besides, the Nathan Philip's Square celebration is as much a CityTV production as it is a city run event. As Dundas Square becomes more of a complete destination, it would seem only natural that a competing media outlet would take advantage and stage a show there.

I could see them holding a New Years celebration at both spots.

 

[syn]

While maybe not as bad now, Toronto has often tried to mimic NYC. All you have to do is refer to cheesy newspaper articles that call Bloor Street our own 5th Avenue (laughable, to say the least), or refer to Yonge Street as our own "do-not-cross, 110th Street." (see last Saturday's National Post homes section).
Or you can refer to former ads for BSN that state that it's on Toronto's "Upper East Side." And I've often heard 905'ers referred to as the B&T crowd. There's lots more examples.

I've never heard Yonge Street described that way. I've never heard 905'ers described that way either.

If you're going to go on media descriptions, then there are cities of all sizes all over the world that are trying to be NYC. In many ways, the media in Toronto hasn't matured with the city. In all my years here I've never heard anyone describe the city in that way - it's more of a media perpetuated myth.

 

[MisterF]

I've never heard those things either.

New York is THE city to copy around the world. Its intense urbanism and the American propaganda machine make it the urban standard. You see it everywhere, from London to Shanghai to closer to home places like Chicago.

 

[JasonParis]

The marketing seems to neglect everyone else in the world and only focus on the US, esp north-east section. To me, that's short-sighted, lack of vision and simply lack of effort. But why am I complaining...it's been like that for the last 20-yrs...why change, right?

Or maybe those are the only ads you've seen (due to our proximity)?

 

[4pook]

Toronto is Number One, at least for business types

In the same week the Economist praised Vancouver as the world's most liveable city, there was another story about places for business travel. Guess which city came out on top? (Vancouver was #2.) We must be doing something right.

http://www.economist.com/markets/rankings/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8908426


"The best cities to visit on business are those that combine good infrastructure with low prices. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit's World Business Trip Index, Canada and Australia present the best locations thanks to their highly developed transport networks. A weak dollar has also made American cities more tempting. Cost has been a factor in reducing the appeal of European destinations, with only Vienna featuring in the top ten. But low prices are not enough to raise the pulling power of less developed cities. Tehran, the cheapest city to visit, remains one of the least attractive.

Surveys of this kind usually focus exclusively on costs. But this ignores the things that help to make business tolerable, or even a pleasure. Crime, climate, transport and recreation all play a part in this index, along with airport distances and the availability of good hotels. The Economist Intelligence Unit chose a broad cross-section of cost and comfort factors to form an index of 0-100, where a lower score implies a more attractive prospect for the business traveller."

 

[MajorComplainer]

Or maybe those are the only ads you've seen (due to our proximity)?

Maybe.
But I do look at international magazines/newspapers...you don't see any ads there.