No one beats the Brits at special events - like coronations, pageantry, and garden parties.
So it was with delight that Open Jaw accepted an invitation to a garden party hosted by the newly-minted British Consul General, who broke out the bunting in the yard of her home in Toronto’s leafy Rosedale neighbourhood on Saturday 13MAY. The approximately 100 guests included a smattering of tour operators, media, politicians and a wide cross-section of trade and business partners.
Our gracious host was Fouzia Younis, who holds the distinction of being the first woman Muslim to be appointed to a British diplomatic post. Bringing with her a background of roles based in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, she says she is very excited to be starting this new chapter in her life.
As the group enjoyed a rainbow array of gins, a whisky-tasting bar and nibblies including (of course) smoked salmon sandwiches, the Consul told Open Jaw that she is starting to feel at home – this was her 5th week in the new role – and that’s she’s very much looking forward to exploring the city, Niagara Falls and Ontario’s green countryside. And (fingers crossed) meeting Drake, her number one on the Canadians-I’d-like-to-meet list.
Also in attendance was Gavin Landry, the International Director who is responsible for all of VisitBritain’s operations in 22 countries. “We’re still looking to drive the (post-COVID) recovery – and the Canadian market is doing very well. This year we’re forecasting 920,000 Canadian visitors, pushing us towards the ‘magic million’.”
There are an impressive 102 weekly flights from Canada to the UK (LHR, LGW, MAN and GLA). And the spend forecast is £958,000 – up a whopping 30 per cent from 2019.
North America is definitely driving the recovery Landry added, with Canadian visitors differing from our neighbours to the south. “There’s a stronger VFR connection, the average length of stay, at 8 days, is longer; and Canadians are more likely to rent a car and explore outside London.”
In fact, getting visitors to visit Britain’s many charms outside the capital is an important focus of VisitBritain. (Landry’s favourite spot? Scotland’s Inverness, for “the coolness in the air and the people you meet – you just melt into the place.”)
As well as the chance to get dressed up in our tea-party best and spend a sunny spring afternoon in a gracious garden, guests were happy to be asked to stand and sing the British and Canadian national anthems. For most of us, it was the first time singing God Save the King. A whole new era for Britain and Canada, indeed.
