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British tourists rate Canada best destination: Readers warm to long-overlooked attractions London - Thursday 14 September 2000 - Canada was voted the world's best country to visit by readers of the British edition of Conde Nast Traveller magazine. The 30,000 British readers polled also rated Banff Springs Hotel as the second-best "overseas hotel/spa destination." In a questionnaire inserted in the May edition of the 50,000-circulation magazine, readers were asked to award points for scenery, culture, climate, environmental friendliness, accommodations, safety, and hospitality. "I'm ecstatic," said former (Ottawa) mayor Jim Watson, now the head of the Canadian Tourism Commission. "You can't buy this kind of positive publicity." The award complements a Sept. 18 article in Time magazine about eco-tourism in British Columbia, said Mr. Watson. The results of the survey were released at a reception in London on Tuesday, where Canada was given the Readers' Travel Award. British readers of Conde Nast have warmed their hearts to Canada since 1998, when Canada didn't even make the top 10 list of the same survey. But last year, Canada came in second place with a total score of 97.98, hardly falling below 90 in any criterion. "We used to be overshadowed by countries with larger promotional budgets. The beauty of our country was once a well guarded secret, but that's changing," said Mr. Watson. The fastest growing market for Canadian tourism promoters is Asia, according to the Canadian Tourism Commission. Visits to Canada from Asia increased by almost 10 per cent in 1999 from 1998. More than 500,000 Japanese visited Canada in 1999. The number of British visitors increased by almost five per cent in 1999 to 780,300. Although almost 20 million foreigners made overnight trips to Canada in 1999, most came from the United States. More than 15 million Americans crossed the border in 1999, a three-per-cent increase from the year before. Patricia Bailey The Ottawa Citizen "http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/000914/4510844.html" janet paterson 53 now / 44 dx cd / 43 onset cd / 41 dx pd / 37 onset pd tel: 613 256 8340 url: "http://www.geocities.com/janet313/" email: [log in to unmask] smail: POBox 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada