By Camille Aubin
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A recent survey by Expedia ranked Radium Hot Springs the friendliest destination town in Canada.
Expedia, a world-leading travel agency, has created a list of the 20 friendliest towns in Canada, based on traveller votes, and Radium Hot Springs came out on top of the list.
“I believe that we are living the dream, and we are sharing it with others,” said mayor Clara Reinhardt adding, by way of explaining why she thinks her town topped of the list, that “if you think about the effort that we put into beautifying our community…the effort we put into events and activities and things like disc golf and public art and parks. All the work that gets put into making our municipality an attractive destination. I think that hard work on everybody’s part is paying off as people have fun when they get here. It’s easy to be friendly to people who are having fun.”
Expedia described Radium Hot Springs as “a perfect spot to experience the great outdoors, and for those that enjoy hiking, there are many trails in the area to explore.”
The list was compiled by Expedia based on reviews from January 2019 to December 2020 that included references to “friendly, friendliest, amicable” and other related linguistic connections.
“Did a local provide an outstanding dinner recommendation? Were you greeted with smiles and hellos (or at least smiling eyes over a mask)? Was there just overall feel-good energy? These might be some of the random acts of friendliness that earned these cities and towns (their rank),” said Expedia.ca in a news release announcinig the list.
Other B.C. locations that made the list include Whistler (11th), Osoyoos (12th), Nanaimo (14th) and another town from the East Kootenay, Fernie, which came in 20th.
The full list, reaching coast to coast across Canada, from Atlantic to Pacific, was as follows:
1. Radium Hot Springs, B.C.; 2. Digby, Nova Scotia; 3. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario; 4. Baddeck, Nova Scotia; 5. Drumheller, Alberta; 6. Saint John, New Brunswick; 7. Gatineau, Quebec; 8. Thunder Bay, Ontario; 9. Banff, Alberta; 10. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; 11. Whistler, B.C.; 12. Osoyoos, B.C.; 13. La Malbaie, Quebec; 14. Nanaimo, B.C.; 15. Mont-Tremblant, Quebec; 16. St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador; 17. Gananoque, Ontario; 18. Canmore, Alberta; 19. Stratford, Ontario; 20. Fernie, B.C.