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Toronto is very fine for Torontonians and a lot of Tourists will like the city. Will they find Toronto is unique? I doubt it. But everything you need in every big cities, you will find it here. Most European friends really like Toronto. Big city, international, Americanized, clean and fun and they think the city is really good place to live and a lot to offer for the residents.
Toronto is underrated. I think it is not because I travelled to Australia, Europe, North America, Asia and they think I am lucky to live here and most of them that I talked to been here before.
Personally, I really love Toronto and the development and excitement stuffs we have are pretty good. I don't want the city change drastically like Singapore. Singapore 10 years ago really pleasant and nice. But now, it feels like one of big Chinese cities.
I will say this for Toronto....Out of Canadas three biggest cities, I personally find Torontonians are the freindliest. Except for some South Asians, they seem so serious and angry all the time.
Part of the problem may be that Toronto has so many elements that it detracts away from one prominent cache.. that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't a good tourist destination - it just isn't known for as you said the 'French' Thing or the 'Scenic' thing.
Don't mean to sound like a broken record either but Toronto does receive more tourists both domestically and internationally than any other Canadian city.
The vast majority of whom are passing through on transit, on business, visiting relatives.
As far as I know, all economists/government agencies use the same methods when calculating GDP or at least they should for international organizations like the World Bank that track this stuff. There will be questions about numbers coming from some countries that are less transparent or turstworthy for sure. But I've never heard of anything for highly developed first world countries (esp Canada and US) that publish a lot of data and are well integrated in terms of business, science and academia as they subscribe to the same theories/methods (most of it invented in Britain and the US).
From 1900 onward, the US has been the world's most productive and innovative major economy. Historically, they produce 15-20% more output per capita (closer to 15% nowadays with the great recession) than Canada and 25% more than many European countries which does translate into higher disposable incomes on average. Now the downsides are that they work more hours, have more income inequality, and provide less of a safety net because of the pressures of a "sink or swim" society which produces more winners and more losers. But that being said, there record of resilient production through productivity, competition, innovation and entrepeneurial spirit is the reason they grew into the world's superpower, but of course they use this clout as well to stay on top. Economies of scale is also a huge advantage they have - Walmart (the biggest company) is bigger than many countries and its revenue is nearly half a trillion which is just too massive to comprehend. But what makes America great has hurt it as well. The root of the current slowdown is due to greed and too much optimism which resulted in excessive real estate debts and lack of regulation. Things can change over time and it maybe Asia's century, who knows. But getting back to the topic, the big picture does trickle down into the comparison of economic clout of individual cities and the numbers do seem consistent with the aggregate.
Thanks for your perspective.. seems like something in between the European model and The American would work out very well I would say.. may be worth sacrificing some GDP clout for!? So in the end - perhaps the best cities aren't modelled solely on have the highest GDP or being the most productive.. there has to be a point where the laws of diminishing returns kick in.
The vast majority of whom are passing through on transit, on business, visiting relatives.
Ok well sure, there are those that visit family and come for business... naturally Toronto is the most powerful city economically in Canada and the most populous. However, without comparative data it is really just your own speculation. Do you feel comfortable making such a statement without supportive data - without being able to break down why it is travellers are coming to Toronto.
while you seem to be impressed by everything for no obvious reason, or due to the lack of traveling in any other cities outside Canada and US.
The Bata Shoe museum, seriously?
You ask for something unique and this museum is the only museum in N.A dedicated solely to the history of footwear... maybe you aren't interested in that but a lot of people would be - we should flaunt it...its the largest museum in the world dedicated to footwear and there are some interesting pieces that can't be found anywhere. They should especially tie this into the fact that Fashionweek in Toronto is the second largest fashion week in North America after NYC - shoes and fashion wow what a connection.
The ROM and AGO both have extensive collections that can't be found anywhere else - how does this not compare when they only exist in these places - obviously they don't compare and the collections that don't compare means its a good thing not a bad thing. I don't want our Museums to 'compare' to anywhere or anything else...The only thing you can say is the ROM is 'awkward' and the AGO you can't even 'describe' - what does this mean??
Perhaps the problems aren't with the musuems and the problem is closer to you..
Toronto does have plenty to offer a tourist who enjoys exploring cities: CN Tower, Dundas Square, Chinatown/Kensignton, ROM/AGO, Shopping on Yorkville or Queen West, Diversity of people, Theatre, St. Lawrence Market, Bars/Restaurants, Events/Festivals, Sports teams, new Acquarim, and Distillery District. There are things to see and do but the challenge is what can you experience in Toronto that you cannot somewhere else? That's the issue that I believe holds TO back from gaining more popularity as a tourist spot. For e.g. you can see St. Lawrence market, which is cool, but it's really just a huge market. Sure there are lots of theatres but a show is a show regardless. Big or more of something doesn't make it better or unique. So far the city has marketed its diversity angle, which is probably the right thing to do but I would like to see the city dare to be more unique. Everything new in the city over the last 10 years is great but the city has evolved into something similar to other large US cities as well, including the whole gentrification thing complete with a Starbucks, Yoga studios and hipster bars with no names. I wish the city had a way to market its local culture in some way to differentiate it more. I'll admit that I don't know what this looks like but I feel there is something untapped here to make it more Canadian or unique.
Who says we don't have unique Shows? Sure there are the big 'International' productions but there are plenty of local homegrown theatre productions right here and that is part of the scene. The thing we should flaunt is that in additional to everything else we have that you can get in other comparable cities - you have more 'choice' in Toronto than most other places when you come here in the productions that you can see both big and small - this the city of theatre and TIFF.
Its the same with the Distillery District - others have it but do they have the Largest collection of Victorian Era Industrial architecture in North America... no they don't so we should flaunt it..light it up - pop off some fireworks around it every weekend and say its the largest and best of what it is..
Its the same with other aspects of our architecture...we have some beautiful examples both old and new but unlike a city like Montreal - we don't light it up at night and show it off.... I'd be directing tourists to the wonderful examples of neo-gothic architecture that is at the U of T among others..
We have the biggest gay community in Canada with not only one of the largest pride parades in the world but also one of the biggest pride week festivities anywhere... We are the city of Worldpride 2014 and the first North American city to have a Worldpride... lets go out and publish this for all to know that there is a reason we got this honour and it isn't because we are some backwater town in North America. Heck lets build a museum dedicated to the Gay rights struggle both here and abroad - Toronto would be perfect for that.
So I agree with you- we have stuff that every other city in N.A has - but we have things they don't - they don't have an Islamic Museum, we do because we embrace our muslims we embrace our gays we embrace our diversity... We need to start framing our mentality around being a tourism destination that is not just ethnically and cultural diverse but sexual diverse as well and perhaps anchored in the fact that Toronto's greatest attribute is the vibrancy and diversity of its people capital...Lets tie that all in as part of the experience you get in Toronto.. you don't get one thing... you get a bit everything, few places - give you such choice.
Toronto does have plenty to offer a tourist who enjoys exploring cities: CN Tower, Dundas Square, Chinatown/Kensignton, ROM/AGO, Shopping on Yorkville or Queen West, Diversity of people, Theatre, St. Lawrence Market, Bars/Restaurants, Events/Festivals, Sports teams, new Acquarim, and Distillery District. There are things to see and do but the challenge is what can you experience in Toronto that you cannot somewhere else? That's the issue that I believe holds TO back from gaining more popularity as a tourist spot. For e.g. you can see St. Lawrence market, which is cool, but it's really just a huge market. Sure there are lots of theatres but a show is a show regardless. Big or more of something doesn't make it better or unique. So far the city has marketed its diversity angle, which is probably the right thing to do but I would like to see the city dare to be more unique. Everything new in the city over the last 10 years is great but the city has evolved into something similar to other large US cities as well, including the whole gentrification thing complete with a Starbucks, Yoga studios and hipster bars with no names. I wish the city had a way to market its local culture in some way to differentiate it more. I'll admit that I don't know what this looks like but I feel there is something untapped here to make it more Canadian or unique.
Ok, if it's true that most North American cities have all the same things as Toronto, this argument could be flipped around and one could ask, "what makes all those other cities so unique if so many other North American cities offer the same things?" Boston has history....so do many American cities. New York has lots of tall buildings and great shopping.....so do many North American cities. Chicago has a beautiful waterfront....many North American cities have beautiful waterfront locations. San Francisco has a beautiful setting....so does LA, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Vancouver, etc. The list goes on. Anything you can find that you think is "unique" in one North American city will probably have some analogue in an another. You may protest, the history of Boston is SO different than the history of Philadelphia or New York or Charleston. But I could say the same thing about all the aspects of Toronto that you've dismissed as being common to most other North American cities - they may have the same things, but Toronto does them differently.
Also, if Toronto has many of the same attractions that other cities in NA have, how does it make sense that Toronto is the city that comes out looking less-than-unique? Why not all the other cities that offer the same things as Toronto. If they all offer the same things, they're not very unique either. What's so unique about Chicago, or New York, or Boston, or Philadelphia? Personally, I think there are lots of things that are unique about all of these cities, but we've singled out Toronto as having all the same things as other cities in NA, when we could say the same thing about most attractions that most NA cities offer. If we start making subtle differentiations, and saying that "other cities may have tall buildings, but none of them have as many concentrated in such a small space as New York," then we are splitting hairs for other cities that we are apparently not willing to split for Toronto. Because all those attractions Toronto has that other cities have are different. They may be the same in a general way, but not when looked at closely. It's like saying once you've seen a skyscraper, you've seen them all; once you've seen a world-class market, you've seen them all; once you've seen an art gallery, you've seen them all. So really, we're creating a double standard by which to judge Toronto's uniqueness. If a skyscraper is a skyscraper is a skyscraper then no one who has visited New York needs to visit Chicago to look at buildings.
^^^ Many cities have something more to showcase that others don't and that is why people go to see them. NYC goes without saying. But Chicago does have some of the best modern architecture and jazz and house. Boston really wears its history on its sleeve where you see and feel it everywhere. Montreal has its own French language culture. SF for its beauty, hippies and wine country. Paris for history, food and fashion. Vancouver has the scenery and amenities provided by the mountains. LA has Hollywood and beaches. Nowadays big cities do have similar offerings but each great place has some "main attraction" that acts as a draw. People need to say/think that I'm going to Toronto because of X and Y?. Look TOKIdd, you can argue this if you like but I don't think anyone is going to Toronto strictly for St. Lawrence market, Dundas square or a theatrical show is my point. These are great periphery things to do but I'm thinking more of a bigger theme that needs to be better marketed to make the city a more attractive tourist destination. Right now, IMO, I think our biggest distinction is "diversity of people" because anyone who visits the city can experience this. And while other cities are diverse too, we are still one of the most diverse in the world and we should wear this on our sleeve more. I think some of what fusion is saying in terms of marketing our different forms of diversity (culture, gay, religion) can tie into this nicely. Like the museum on Islam, imagine that right across the street from a museum on gay rights - where else you going to find something like that? That would be a unique experience that can be "made in Toronto" and take the celebration of diversity to another level. I'd also like to see a more Canadiana element in the city as well. We also have to develop the city so one feels this diversity with events and institutions in the core because you cannot expect visitors to go out of their way too far, especially with our transportation system. Current gentrification trends are also making the city less diverse in the core and this needs to be considered.
^^^ Many cities have something more to showcase that others don't and that is why people go to see them. NYC goes without saying. But Chicago does have some of the best modern architecture and jazz and house. Boston really wears its history on its sleeve where you see and feel it everywhere. Montreal has its own French language culture. SF for its beauty, hippies and wine country. Paris for history, food and fashion. Vancouver has the scenery and amenities provided by the mountains. LA has Hollywood and beaches. Nowadays big cities do have similar offerings but each great place has some "main attraction" that acts as a draw. People need to say/think that I'm going to Toronto because of X and Y?. Look TOKIdd, you can argue this if you like but I don't think anyone is going to Toronto strictly for St. Lawrence market, Dundas square or a theatrical show is my point. These are great periphery things to do but I'm thinking more of a bigger theme that needs to be better marketed to make the city a more attractive tourist destination. Right now, IMO, I think our biggest distinction is "diversity of people" because anyone who visits the city can experience this. And while other cities are diverse too, we are still one of the most diverse in the world and we should wear this on our sleeve more. I think some of what fusion is saying in terms of marketing our different forms of diversity (culture, gay, religion) can tie into this nicely. Like the museum on Islam, imagine that right across the street from a museum on gay rights - where else you going to find something like that? That would be a unique experience that can be "made in Toronto" and take the celebration of diversity to another level. I'd also like to see a more Canadiana element in the city as well. We also have to develop the city so one feels this diversity with events and institutions in the core because you cannot expect visitors to go out of their way too far, especially with our transportation system. Current gentrification trends are also making the city less diverse in the core and this needs to be considered.
I imagine that people go to Toronto for all its attractions, not for one thing. And it does offer a multitude of attractions. If people to to Chicago for jazz and architecture, they can go to New York for the exact same things. Oh, but Chicago's Jazz and architecture are different than New York's. Well Toronto's various attractions are different than ones in the same category in different cities. If you judge by the number of tourists who visit Toronto every year, we must be doing something right.
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