"Our gates and hearts are open!": Berlin intensifies efforts to attract Canadian visitors
- Canadian travelers are seeking new destinations
- visitBerlin launches advertising campaign in Canada
- New direct flight from Toronto to Berlin starting June 19
Berlin, 14 April 2025 A bear and a beaver lie amicably in each other's arms in front of the Brandenburg Gate. With this image and the slogan "Come for a hug. Visit Berlin." visitBerlin is now increasingly advertising in Canada. The Berlin heraldic animal and the national animal of Canada stand for an invitation to travellers from the North American country. This is visitBerlin's response to the changing travel behaviour of many Canadians.
Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin: "Due to the current political situation, Canadian travellers are on the lookout for new destinations. From mid-June, there will be a new long-haul connection between Toronto and Berlin. This is a good time to promote Berlin as an exciting travel destination. I expect the number of guests from Canada travelling to Berlin to increase significantly."
We are currently observing that Canadian travellers are frequently reorienting their choice of destination. They are turning away from the USA as their number one travel destination in response to the political developments there. Specifically, this meant a 40 per cent drop in bookings for US destinations in February compared to the previous year. In addition, 25 per cent of trips to the USA that had already been booked were cancelled (source: Flight Centre Travel Group Canada).
This offers Berlin the opportunity to attract more Canadian guests to Berlin. In 2024, around 50,500 travellers from Canada (+10.7% compared to 2023) already spent around 150,000 nights in Berlin's hotels.
New long-haul route connecting Toronto with Berlin from June
There will also be a new flight connection: From 19 June 2025, the Canadian airline Air Transat will be offering direct flights between Toronto (YYZ) and Berlin (BER). The two cities will initially be connected on Thursdays and Sundays until 24 October. This will provide guests from Canada with a particularly convenient way of travelling to the German capital. Details of the new flight offer can be found here.
