San Antonio celebrates new Air Canada route in Toronto

With the launch of a new Air Canada route between Toronto and San Antonio next week (May 1), the Alamo City is preparing to welcome a host of new Canadian travellers in the coming years.

Representatives from Visit San Antonio and Air Canada were present at an event to celebrate the new route launch in downtown Toronto yesterday afternoon, with Chef Diana Barrios Treviño – whose three family restaurants are a staple of San Antonio life – also in attendance to showcase the city’s unique culinary culture.

Dave Krupinski, chief operating officer, Visit San Antonio, said that the city was eagerly anticipating the beginning of the new route – particularly given the importance it places on tourism from Canada. “It’s one of our largest and most important markets,” he told PAX.

“Obviously, Mexico is the number one market for San Antonio. Canada would come in as a distinct number two – as of last year, we had over 60,000 Canadians come in. We’re hoping that this new flight will increase that; we’re thinking that we’ll probably get a 10 to 15 per cent increase in visitation because of this flight.”

Dora Putney, the director of tourism at the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, noted that Canadian travellers to the city would find a unique and incomparable experience. “We have Spanish roots, as well as German and French, and so we provide an experience that you really can’t find anywhere else in the world,” she commented. “We’re a city unto ourselves.”

Putney also said that the San Antonio Missions, a recently-designated UNESCO World Heritage site, offered travellers the opportunity to delve back into the history of the city, and highlighted the renowned Riverwalk as another example of the city’s appeal for discerning tourists.

She noted San Antonio’s suitability as a year-round destination, with a range of experiences throughout all seasons including the annual Luminaria festival, the Christmas river parade for families, its Fourth of July celebrations and Cinco de Mayo festivities.

Air Canada Vice-President, Global Sales, Duncan Bureau, was on hand to thank those in attendance for their support, commenting that Air Canada was now the largest operator into Texas from Canada as a result of the new route. He said that the launch would reinforce the company’s goal of making Toronto a hub for global travel.

Diana Barrios Treviño, meanwhile, told PAX that San Antonio was worth visiting for its culinary culture alone. “Our culinary world is kind of taking off to another level in San Antonio,” she said.

“There’s so much going on – so many different pockets of the city have something phenomenal happening. We have all kinds of wonderful cuisines, and chefs in town that are being recognized for their incredibly innovative techniques that they’re using.”

Of course, the city remains renowned for its distinctive Tex-Mex-style food – which, Barrios Treviño assured attendees, is different in San Antonio from anywhere else in the world. “There are over a thousand Mexican restaurants in San Antonio,” she said. “And can I tell you? Most of them are darn good.”