The country’s capital was ranked 96th in Resonance Consultancy’s annual ranking, between Germany’s 95th-placed Stuttgart and Vietnam’s Hanoi at 97th. “I have to say I’m pleased, but certainly not surprised,” said Catherine Callary, vice-president, destination development at Ottawa Tourism. “Obviously we scored very high on some key elements that set us apart from other cities in the world.” The ranking is based on six metrics—place, product, programming, people, well-being and promotion—with subcategories for each. Toronto leads among Canadian cities in 24th place. Montreal was ranked 57th, Calgary 65th and Vancouver 69th. Overall, London, United Kingdom took first place. Ottawa scored particularly highly in the ‘people’ and ‘prosperity’ categories, due to its highly educated population, low unemployment rate, global GDP per capita and relatively low cost of living. “Canada’s capital has long lived in the shadow of its exciting big-city siblings, Toronto and Montreal,” the ranking said. “But a national 150th birthday in 2017 brought attention to the citizens of a city where one in four is an immigrant. “Ottawaans are unusually intelligent.” Callari said the high concentration of Ottawa residents with post-secondary degrees has been a hallmark of the city’s economic growth. “Often, when you think about destination marketing and management, our most valuable asset is our people,” he said. “Having real strengths in the people category, that’s something Ottawans can be really proud of.”
Callari also noted that Ottawa did well in the planning categories, which draws scores from TripAdvisor reviews. “We’ve got really top restaurants in this city and you can see how something like this would rank,” he said. “We know that more and more Ottawans are really proud of our city and that we are proud of the city’s beauty and amenities,” he added. “That raises the profile of our destination globally, and that’s also in these rankings.” The rankings also make special mention of indigenous reconciliation efforts in the capital region. Mādahòkì Old Farm in the west end gets a special mention—it’s an agritourism venture where indigenous communities can connect with the land through healing and wellness programs and social enterprises. Resonance Consultancy bills itself as the world’s leading real estate, tourism and economic development consultants.
