Immigrants, their Visitors, and their Tourism Activity

About the Project

The common definition of VFR was challenged. Typically visitors are categorized as either Pleasure or VFR depending on their answer to the question “Why are you visiting?” However, many people who say “vacation” are categorized as ‘pleasure’ but are actually staying with friends or relatives, diminishing the perceived value and occurrence of personal relationships between residents and visitors. A more inclusionary understanding of VFR that includes the use of accommodation was applied to existing data on international visitors to Toronto to show how many visitors actually know someone in the city. In addition, qualitative interview with immigrants about their hosting experiences shed light on how they attract and direct visitors around their communities.

About the Researcher

Tom Griffin is an Assistant Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management and his work focuses on destination marketing and visiting friends and relatives travel.