The annual Incentive Canada gathering spotlighted diverse regions, unique cultural encounters and an unbeatable exchange rate advantage
By Shelley Levitt | shelleylevitt@mac.com
In late July, Destination Canada hosted Incentive Canada 2025, its annual signature incentive travel event, in Victoria, British Columbia. The intimate gathering brought together about 15 representatives from regions across Canada and an equal number of meeting planners, managers and directors.
While a few planners had traveled from overseas or South America, most were from the United States. The Canadian representatives delivered a clear two-fold message, echoed during informal talks, dinners, one-on-one meetings, whale watching tours and wine tastings. First, whatever disputes may be brewing on a political level, Canada welcomes its American colleagues with open arms. Second, with the exchange rate stretching a U.S. planner’s budget by some 30 percent, choosing America’s northern neighbor for incentive travel programs offers a smart solution for those tasked with delivering ever more dazzling experiences on ever tighter budgets.
Here’s an overview of what representatives want planners to know about their destinations.
Quebec City
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only fortified city north of Mexico, Québec City blends European elegance with accessibility and modern event infrastructure. Long a culinary destination, Québec City earned five new Michelin stars in 2025 while the Hotel Chateau Laurier Quebec and Delta Quebec by Marriott Hotel unveiled multi-million-dollar renovations. The storybook Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is widely considered the most photographed hotel in the world. Tip: the hotel decks its halls in early November for a magical “Christmas in November” experience.
Standout incentive experience: A riverboat excursion across the St. Lawrence River to Île d’Orléans, where attendees can take a horse-drawn carriage ride through a maple farm and savor a maple-inspired feast in a traditional “sugar shack.”
St. John’s
The capital of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s is the oldest and most easterly city in North America. Often overlooked for incentive travel, the city has become a foodie destination with its celebration of indigenous game and its exceptional sea-to-plate dining. Beyond the table, attendees can enjoy outdoor activities like whale watching and “Iceberg Alley” tours—it’s the only place on earth where you can spot icebergs and whales at the same time.
Standout incentive experience: A charter helicopter to the small airstrip at Fogo Island and a stay at the remote, exclusive and intimate (29 rooms) Fogo Island Inn.
Victoria
Named the best small city in the world by Conde Nast Traveler’s 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards, Victoria is rich in indigenous culture, water activities and stunning venues. Incentive Canada guests stayed at the Fairmont Empress, just steps from the Inner Harbour, and enjoyed postcard-worthy dining at Sea Cider Farm + Ciderhouse, Church & State Wines and Bilston Creek Lavendar Farm.
Standout incentive experience: Sea kayaking and seaweed foraging.
Whistler
While it’s famous as a ski destination, Whistler offers year-round experiences, from mild (journeying by ski lift to a candle-lit dinner on a mountaintop) to wild (bungee jumping over a raging river) and a compact, chalet-style pedestrian village at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
Standout incentive experience: Racing through twists and turns on a bobsleigh or skeleton on the world’s fastest ice track at the site of 20210 Olympic Winter Games.
Kelowna
The gateway to the Okanagan Valley and a one-hour flight from Seattle, Kelowna shares the same latitude as Burgandy, France, and a growing reputation for great wine. More than 40 wineries are just minutes from the lakeside city, many with their own helipads. Between tastings, cooking lessons and vineyard dinners, attendees can choose among Kelowna’s 19 golf courses, bike or hike the Myra Canyon Trestles, which features 18 wooden trestle bridges, two rock tunnels and dramatic canyon views, or go climbing at the Boulderfields, a revered destination for boulderers.
Standout incentive experience: A heli wine tour around the Okanagan.
Northwest Territories
“See the aurora borealis” occupies a spot on countless bucket lists and the Northwest Territories offer a chance to fulfill this wish 240 nights a year. Yellowknife, the lively capital of the Northwest Territories, is the launching spot for Northwest Territories adventures, from visits to a wilderness lodge for spectacular views of the Northern Lights to ice-fishing and dogsledding in winter to kayaking or canoeing under the midnight sun in summer.
Standout incentive experience: A floatplane flight to Nahanni National Park Reserve to see the stunning Virginia Falls, which are twice the height of Niagara Falls.
Manitoba
Sharing its southern border with Minnesota and North Dakota, Manitoba offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience for top performers. Spend a couple of days in the capital city of Winnipeg, rich with cultural experiences and history— The Forks, a meeting place where two rivers meet, is the home of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and a bustling collection of restaurants and shops. Then it’s time to fly to Churchill. This remote town on the edge of the Arctic has been dubbed “the polar bear capital of the world,” and in July and August it’s possible to see both polar bears and beluga whales on the same day.
Standout incentive experience: a luxury Arctic safari where guests stay in heated expedition tents on the shores of Schmok Lake.
Shelley Levitt is
Any thoughts, opinions, or news? Please share them with me at vince@meetingsevents.com.
Photo by Ben Johnson for Destination Canada
