PAUL NURSEY
VICTORIA – 2024 has been a great year for Greater Victoria’s visitor economy and it just got a whole lot better with the announcement that, for the second year in a row, Victoria has been named the #1 Small City in the World by Condé Nast Traveler.
Make no mistake about it, this Condé Nast Travelers Readers’ Choice Award is a big deal for our region. This year’s Readers’ Choice Awards were based on responses submitted by 575,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers across the United States. Condé Nast Traveler has more than 16 million unique visitors per month worldwide and more than 16 million social media followers. Its United States readers alone spend $17 billion per year on travel.
Around the world, the awards are recognized as the travel industry’s longest-running and most prestigious accolades, and remain the ultimate symbol and acknowledgment of excellence within the travel sector. More importantly, as Condé Nast Traveler is a widely respected luxury travel and lifestyle publication that millions of people rely on for advice on where to travel, awards like these and the related media coverage that comes with them play a key role in building awareness of everything our region has to offer.
This award reflects the efforts our members and Greater Victoria residents and businesses put in year-round to provide visitors and meeting delegates with friendly and unforgettable experiences. It also reflects Destination Greater Victoria’s (DGV) year-round commitment to research and data-driven analytics.
During 2020 and 2021, we transformed our business model, aiming to maximize recovery and success for our members. A key aspect was focusing on earned media, especially in the U.S. market. Achieving #1 Small City in the World by Condé Nast Traveller reflects the success of that strategy and the tremendous amount of work our team has put in at home and throughout the U.S. through tourism and business event conferences, travel trade outreach, media relations, advertising, public relations, hosting travel media, and much more.
At DGV, we’re always analyzing global markets and tourism industry trends for valuable insights into how we can do better and maximize results. That commitment to excellence is reflected in everything we do, including our recently launched fall marketing campaign in key U.S. and Canadian markets, which proudly invites travellers to visit the #1 Small City in the World.
Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Destination Greater Victoria
