Aggressive marketing, which are concentrating on convention and meeting business, has resulted in higher number of visitors to Toronto from across the world.

With an unprecedented 10.6 Million overnight tourists, Toronto took a giant leap towards becoming an international tourism destination last year, as reported by canadianpress.com.

Huge growth in meeting and convention business boosted Toronto tourism in 2007. Sales teams of Toronto tourism have made 470,000 bookings of future room nights in convention business, which means direct visitor spending in excess of $250 Million in the Canadian city.

The key growth area in the Toronto tourism industry lies in overseas visitors with the UK leading the way, registering 2% growth in 2007 with nearly 280,000 visitors. In addition to it, China and Mexico were the fastest growing international markets with an annual growth of around 15% and from both the countries, overseas visitors to Toronto are rising.

Along with meeting and convention business, the pleasure tourism of Toronto also grew phenomenally in 2007. The penetration of sales programs of Tourism Toronto deepened further on the Canadian, the US, and other international markets.

The improved infrastructure and greater attractions are also providing fillip to Toronto tourism industry and luring visitors to spend holiday there. The expenditure of Toronto tourists in 2007 exceeded $4.5 Billion, spanning hotels, restaurants, taxis, attractions, shopping, performing arts, and meeting facilities, underlining the crucial economic role of tourism in the region.

Furthermore, accelerating growth in Toronto’s tourism market is due to massive tourism marketing and sales programs aimed at attracting premium customers like overseas travelers and mega conventions. The industry players were able to combat the obstacles of new passport regulations and rising Canadian dollar with the help of aggressive tourism marketing.

David Whitaker, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto state, “In marketing our destination, we play to Toronto's great strengths - above all its diversity of experiences found in festivals, cuisine, arts and hotels and we continue to reach more and more high-value travellers who come to Toronto to enjoy the finer things in coming years", as reported by foxbusiness.com on January 31, 2008.

As per a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “With marketing efforts increasingly centered on convention business and meetings, tourists are coming to Toronto for dual purpose – attending meeting convention together with spending vacations. The Toronto tourism industry should come up with ‘win win strategy’ to attract more tourists from around the world.”