Destination Canada Highlights Seamless Access to Canadian Events at IMEX America 2025

Destination Canada highlighted the country’s bold spirit of openness at IMEX America in Las Vegas, NV last week, underscoring Canada’s commitment to making international conferences and business events seamless and accessible.

Canada showed up strong with 40 Destination Partners and created a buzz with their bold brand presence. A key feature of this year’s presence was Destination Canada’s collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the federal department responsible for entry requirements. At IMEX America, an IRCC representative joined Destination Canada at its booth to share practical guidance on entry requirements and demonstrate how Canada simplifies visa processes for event organisers and their delegates.

As part of this ongoing collaboration, Destination Canada shared a video created with IRCC (check below) that clearly outlines how straightforward the visa process is for attendees and organisers of international events. The step-by-step guide helps event planners quickly determine whether a delegate requires an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), a visitor visa, or neither, and provides straightforward instructions to navigate the application process with confidence.

“Our destinations are diverse and vibrant, our infrastructure world-class, and our accessibility stronger than many realise,” said Virginie De Visscher, Executive Director, Business Events at Destination Canada. “By offering practical tools like this video and working alongside IRCC, we make hosting events in Canada seamless and replace current perceptions with a deeper understanding of a destination that is dynamic, inclusive, and ready to welcome the world.”

Event planners sometimes hold misconceptions that Canada is too difficult to access, creating hesitation when considering the country for international meetings and conferences. These ideas don’t reflect reality. Through the newly launched Canada, Naturally. brand platform and its ethos of open hearts, open minds, open spaces, Destination Canada is dispelling these notions by combining authentic storytelling with actionable resources, ensuring that organizers and delegates can plan with confidence.

These initiatives are part of a broader, ongoing programme aimed at reinforcing Canada’s competitive position in the global convention market, shifting the narrative from “Canada is hard to access” to “Canada is a welcoming, accessible destination for global business events.”​

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