Despite Canada’s dismal dollar and winter weather in the east that hasn’t yet been as nasty as might have been expected, South Florida is bursting with Canadians, according to some of the folks who welcome them there.

And the reason is clear: “Canadians are cruising everywhere,” says Cathy Rodriguez, international leisure sales manager for the Biltmore hotel, one of a handful of tourism representatives from Miami and neighbouring Sunny Isles who recently visited Montreal on Toronto on a trade sales mission, meeting travel agents, tour operators and the media.

“There’s a surge in cruising by Canadians and Miami is the cruise capital of the world,” Rodriguez said at a VIP partner appreciation event in Toronto on Feb. 12. As such Canadians are choosing to stay on in the area pre- and post-cruise, she says.

Rodriguez reports that her hotel in Coral Gables, which, though iconic, is “not even on the beach” counted Canadians as its top international clientele in 2019 for the first time in close to a decade, surpassing both perennial No. 1 Brazil and the U.K.

Of course, not all Canadians to the Greater Miami area are cruisers, many opting for cultural excursions in multi-cultural, vibrant Miami, or beach holidays in Sunny Isles, the latter a quiet enclave about 20 minutes north of the bustling city, but a world away.

“It’s different. It’s family friendly, safe, you don’t have to worry about anything,” says Ibis Romero, executive director of the Sunny Isles Beach Tourism and Marketing Council.

A major development in the destination is a total renovation of Aventura Mall, one of Sunny Isles’ most popular attractions.

Meanwhile, the trade had a chance to meet Miami’s new director of travel industry sales for Canada, Judith Patron-Fernandez, who worked in the market previously and returns after years away covering Europe and Asia for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. She said that official tourism numbers, expected soon, will confirm that Canadian visits to the city were on the rise, and that Canada is Miami’s top international market.

Moreover, she confided, “I love Canada, I’m happy to be back,” also admitting to Travel Industry Today that trading Paris for Toronto and Montreal is no hardship at all. “Parisians,” she smiled, “are not as friendly!”