4 Trends Highlighted at The Outdoor Adventure Show 2024 in Toronto
On the weekend of February 23-25, over 320 exhibitors representing brands associated with outdoor adventure gear (paddling, hiking, backpacking, camping, etc.) and various outdoor travel destinations gathered at the International Centre in Toronto for The Outdoor Adventure Show.
The show claims to be “Canada’s largest showcase of outdoor gear and adventure travel experiences,” so, of course, we had to check it out!
While there, we spoke with brand representatives, sparked conversations about pet-friendly travel and kept our eyes open for any trends we believed would interest our pet-loving adventure community.
It took me a bit to review my notes and the PILES of information I collected (SO MUCH INFORMATION) …
But I have finally compiled this blog post, sharing the trends and details I believed would resonate most with our fantastic community.
Here are the biggest trends and lessons we took from the 2024 Outdoor Adventure Show:
4 Pet-Friendly Travel Trends We Saw at The Outdoor Adventure Show
More Ontario Locations Openly Accepting Pet-Friendly Travellers
While browsing the show and introducing ourselves to the various tourism boards and destinations, it was clear that more locations than ever were interested in welcoming pet-friendly travellers.
Most of these locations were specifically talking about canine companions.
However, we also discovered that the people we met were interested in discussing the possibility of allowing cats to join in the fun, too.
In recent years, we have seen a shift in pet-friendliness at Ontario Parks with the addition of dog-friendly roofed accommodations. But this is just the start of a pro-pets trend.
Parks Canada has also taken steps to start introducing pet-friendly travel.
John and I have spent significant time in the Windsor/Essex area, even hiking Point Pelee National Park on several occasions. At that time, dogs weren’t permitted in the oTENTik accommodations, so it was day trips only for us.
Since then, two oTENTiks (numbers 8 and 9) have been made pet-friendly, allowing up to 2 pets to stay with you during your stay.
We noticed a similar trend when speaking with representatives from various hotels, resorts, and tour companies – all willing to entertain dogs (and some open to cats) in at least some of their business operations.
For example, when visiting the Haliburton Highlands booth, an area we have shared previously we love with our review of Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve, we had the opportunity to speak with a representative from the Lakeview Haliburton hotel.
She was excited to learn that so many pet-friendly travellers in the province are looking for new destination options.
As a dog lover herself, she was happy to talk with us about how incredibly welcoming they were for those travelling with their furry best friends.
In terms of pet-friendly travel, our province is a long way from perfect. But it’s certainly headed in the right direction!
Pet-Friendly Travel Outside of Ontario
In addition to speaking with many representatives from areas across Ontario, we also had the pleasure of connecting with others outside the province.
We had some great discussions with representatives from Sépaq (Société des établissements de plein air du Québec, the parks system in Québec).
The area has been well-known for the number of dog-related restrictions at their locations. But we learned this is changing, especially in the parks closer to the Ontario border.
We encourage those in our community interested in visiting Québec to check out:
*Note: There are still restrictions to the areas where dogs are allowed in these parks, so be sure to do your research before making the trip.
We also had great conversations with organizations from Yukon and the North-West Territories.
The information we gathered from them at the time was very introductory and basic, but they provided us with resources to connect with and learn more. So, more on that to follow…
Pets Are Being Welcomed in More ‘Types’ of Outdoor Travel
In the past, we often saw a divide between pet-friendly travel options and the other interests that outdoor lovers may have.
When planning a trip, we were forced to choose…
Did you want to plan a pet-friendly getaway with your favourite travel companion by your side, OR were you heading to a location to learn about the history, visit restaurants and breweries, or take a guided tour to learn more about what it offers?
We learned quickly in our conversations that a growing number of destinations are focused on finding a way to combine these in fun and unique ways.
Some tourism boards were quick to discuss lists of dog-friendly patios in their most popular towns and cities. Others directed us to tour companies that offered pet-friendly tours if you looked closely at their schedules.
We had a great conversation with representatives from Six Nations Tourism, an organization dedicated to sharing the rich history of Six Nations, located on the Grand River just outside of the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
They shared some possibilities for combining pet-friendly travel with learning more about our province’s indigenous history, something we want to prioritize in our future travels!
If this interests you, I highly recommend you contact them. However, I can promise that more about this will be coming here on the blog as we delve more into that aspect of outdoor travel ourselves.
Many Pet-Friendly Activities are Still Unknown (Unfortunately)
You may be surprised to learn that many pet-friendly activities and destinations already exist and simply aren’t talked about often enough.
In fact, we found out at the show that there are pet-friendly events we don’t even know about despite our work in the pet-friendly outdoor travel space.
For example, as we have shared many times, we visit Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve every September with our dogs to celebrate our anniversary.
We apparently didn’t know that there was an event called Hike Haliburton that same week.
(That’s right, we are in town for a hiking festival, have been for several years, and didn’t know…)
Canada’s largest hiking festival, it encourages people to get out and hike together at any one of over a dozen hiking trails across Haliburton Highlands (including on-site at Haliburton Forest).
The trails to choose from include a broad spectrum of lengths and levels of difficulty, with many being pet-friendly options.
It leaves us wondering how many other events, activities, and destinations are begging to be discovered – a mission for us here at The Kas Pack moving forward!
What Would We Like to See Moving Forward?
Looking back on our experience at the show, what were our final thoughts? Are there things that we would like to change?
The show was well organized, with many great brands and destinations represented.
We enjoyed browsing the show and speaking with exhibitors and other attendees, including those of you who took the time to say hello (thank you for that).
Everyone we spoke with was excited to see the conversation about pet-friendly travel being brought to the forefront – both from the angle of options for pet-friendly travellers as well as how to be responsible when travelling with your pet.
Some brands had photos of dogs in their travels, which made us smile.
However, we would have loved to see more pet-related representation at the show, especially in the area of pet-friendly travel gear.
For example, it would have been great to have pet life jackets in the paddling area of the show.
It would also be great to see a presentation or two helping to encourage pet lovers to include their pets in their travels safely and respectfully. This is an excellent opportunity to spread the word!
Moving away from the pet-friendly focus, we would also have loved seeing more hiking/backpacking/camping brands.
There was a significant focus on paddling, which makes sense with so many great places to paddle in Ontario. But the camping section felt like it was primarily just one brand (Johnson Outdoors, aka Eureka! and Jetboil).
But we greatly enjoyed our experience and look forward to returning in 2025!
Did you attend The Outdoor Adventure Show this year? If so, what did you think of the show? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
