London calling to more Canadian travellers in 2014: study

While New York and Las Vegas continue to draw Canadian travellers, London, England is also a top international destination, according to Hotels.com.

With results based on the company’s Hotel Price Index for the first six months of 2014, London debuted in the top three most popular international cities for Canadian travellers in the first half of this year, jumping one spot since the first half of 2013 to third place. Paris debuted in the top five, climbing two spots to number four. A statement from Hotels.com cited the recent stability of the Euro as a likely reason behind the interest in European cities from Canadian travellers.

Swapping places in the top two spots were New York City and Las Vegas. In the first half of this year, the Big Apple was the victor as the most popular international city for Canadian travellers and Sin City fell to second place.

New to the Top 20 list for the first half of 2014 is Tokyo, which climbed six spots – the largest jump in the Top 20 – from the same period last year. The second largest increases in popularity were in Barcelona, Hong Kong and Anaheim - all up three spots in the Top 20 ranking. The biggest decrease amongst the Top 20 went to Seattle, dropping four spots from number five in 2013 to number nine in the first half of this year.

The top six Canadian cities, led by Toronto, remained unchanged in their popularity amongst foreign visitors. Lake Louise increased two spots to number 16 in the first half of 2014. Other cities known for their outdoor attractions, Canmore, Ottawa and Whistler all jumped one spot in the Top 20 rankings.