NFL-Toronto

   One of the main tourist draws of any large city is the local professional sports team.  In the US, the most popular sporting events lie on football saturdays.  Though Canadians do not share a similar passion for football, they do have some interest in the game.  That is why Toronto will be hosting a Buffalo Bills game in December.  The city has some aspirations to owning its own football team in the future, and this game is seen as a trial for future team prospects.  

  If the city were to receive a team, it would be a huge supplement to its tourism industry.  Toronto would receive weekly publicity in the huge US market.  The games themselves would attract football fanatics from all over the nation.  Though there appears to be no room for a team in the NFL currently, the city should strive for a team in the near future.  The publicity the city would receive would generate a great deal of tourism as well as help portray the image of the city that tourist officials would approve.

Caribana

  Toronto boasts one of the largest street festivals in the world, the Toronto Caribana festival.  This is one of many festivals the city hosts each year.  Caribana began as a celebration of the city’s Caribbean population and has grown to include 1.3 million visitors each year, with tourists accounting for hundreds of thousand of them.  It is estimated that the festival generates $300 a year.

  Though already a well established event, I feel the city should do more to publicize this event.  I have lived less than a day’s drive from Toronto my whole life and have never heard of such an event.  Nor would I have ever suspected that a Caribbean themed festival would occur in Canada.  I would argue that though the parade draws over a million people each year, it is one of the better kept secrets of Toronto.  Though generating $300 million dollars annually would show that the festival’s size is adequate to say the least.

HTO Park

 

Though not typically what one imagines of Toronto, HTO park serves as the city’s urban beach.  Artificially made, this beach serves is both unique and trendy.  The urban beach movement can be seen in other global cities throughout the globe, but not many in a climate as typically thought of Toronto.  HTO beach illustrates the city’s attempt to change its landscape and images.  Though large buildings and other constructions serve as a testament to cities, they often need to supplemented with urban beauty.  We can see and example of this in Chicago’s Millennium Park, a large green-space in a concrete jungle.  The beach atmosphere helps to argue against many common perceptions of Toronto as an uncomfortably cold city.  The challenging of common conceptions of a city is often crucial to boost tourism.

Toronto Film Festival

First premiered in 1976, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the grandest and most prestigious film festivals in the world.  It is held in September and lasts for 10 days.  TIFF is one of the gems of the tourist industry in Toronto as it draws over 300,000 people each year.  As it is held late in the year, it serves as a stage and starting point for many Oscar worthy films and performances.

  Behind the scenes, the TIFF serves as an economically lucrative enterprise.  Its many employees boast it as one of the best places to work in all of Canada. The Financial Post has given the TIFF a spot in their list of top 10 employers in Canada.  Aside from creating jobs, the TIFF welcomes a great deal of revenue for the city from tourists.

War on Club District

  One of the unique areas of Toronto is its “clubland” district.  This, as can be assumed, is the area of the city densely populated with nightclubs and other venues associated with the nightlife in Toronto.  It is an active district which is quite popular internationally and resembles the club districts seen in most global cities.  One of the main attractions of global cities is a vibrant nightlife that tourists cannot find in their native lands.

  Unfortunatley,  the clubland district has been under a great deal of scrutiny from local residence and public officials who see the district as disruptive and an engine of illegal activity.  Clubland supporters say the problems that come from clubland are due to an early last call (2AM).  Patrons of the clubs are not served to their satisfaction and look elsewhere for a good time.

  To restrict such a district of a global city would be an atrocity for the tourism industry.   This would alienate many young people looking to travel to Toronto.  Though it is not the tourist’s city, an effort must be made to keep tourism alive.

Canadian Tourism on the rise

  Tourism in Canada has gone up 4.3% from 2006 generating $19.7B dollars of revenue for our neighbors to the north.  Much of this is a result of domestic tourism.  Toronto is considered to be the main generator of this tourism revenue, as it is the most popular tourist destination in the nation.  As a responsible government, they give this money back to the people in the process of taxation and public spending.  This means it is advantageous for Canadians to travel to Toronto, because the process of travel contains costs that they will eventually see in public spending.  The taxes from the city of Toronto is also cycled back the city itself to improve the cities tourism, and eventually attract more tourists.  This is a great example of the state encouraging the growth and wealth of its global city.

 

http://www.thestar.com/article/535390

Hello world!

First Post.

  This is a blog concerning the global city of Toronto.  Soon, there will be a profile of the city describing its role in the global network of cities.

One of the key aspects of this blog will concern Toronto’s thriving tourism industry.  I hope you find the posts both interesting and perhaps useful in a potential future trip to the city.  Afterall, its not too far away.

Looking forward to correspondence,

  Chris