Canadian Travel Company Launches ViaRailVacations.com Bucks Canada Tourism Downward Trend



Exclusively Canada Ltd. (www.exclusivelycanada.travel) today launched its latest Canadian consumer travel site, ViaRailVacations.com. This new portfolio site focuses on vacation packages featuring travel on Via Rail trains and routes and is part of the company's ongoing expansion strategy. Exclusively Canada continues to experience record breaking growth year over year, despite the Statistics Canada numbers (www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/66-001-PIE/66-001-PIE2008003.pdf) released last month showing tourism to Canada hitting an all time low.

"We continue to find strong growth in long haul travel to Canada," says Shannon Wilkinson, Vice President of Marketing at Exclusively Canada Ltd. "While the number of day trips over the US border have decreased sharply, these are not the consumers we are reaching. The high Canadian dollar and longer lineups at the border have made Canada less attractive for single day excursions, however, we are still an appealing destination for our US neighbors looking for multi-day vacation experiences, as shown by the only slight decline in visitors who spend at least one night here." Wilkinson notes that Exclusively Canada's US business has increased nearly 20% over the same period in 2007 and more than doubled in the last 24 months.

The company has also become one of the fastest growing partners for Via Rail Canada by creating interesting vacation package combinations showcasing VIA Rail trains, which it promotes passionately to a variety of global markets. This special relationship spurred the creation of the ViaRailVacations.com website which the company will use as a focused opportunity for marketing Via Rail vacation packages.

For additional information on VIA Rail Vacations, contact Shannon Wilkinson or visit ViaRailVacations.com (http://www.viarailvacations.com).

Exclusively Canada Ltd. (http://www.exclusivelycanada.travel) was founded in October of 2002 to provide group and fully independent vacation planning and packaging services to North American travel agencies and affluent international travelers. In 2004 the company launched its consumer direct strategy under the brand CanadaYourWay (http://www.canadayourway.com). Exclusively Canada has grown rapidly to become one of the world's top marketers of independent luxury travel in Canada.

Exclusively Canada Ltd. is an active member of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), the National Tour Association (NTA), the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), and an annual participant at Rendezvous Canada, Canada's premier international tourism industry marketplace.





Canadian Travel Company Launches ViaRailVacations.com Bucks Canada Tourism Downward Trend