Pot tourism in the U.S. began shortly after recreational cannabis was legalized. The trouble was, visitors were left to their own devices, trying to figure out where to go and what to get and even where to legally smoke — since many cities banned smoking cigarettes years ago. Since then, the tourism industry has caught wise and there are now a few options when traveling to cannabis destinations, including luxury pot tourism. Now that Canada legalized at the Federal level, there are a wide variety of tourism options available, and luxury weed tourism is the country’s newest trend. After all, consumers are expected to spend billions on Canadian cannabis in the next year.
Sure, anyone can travel to Canada and walk into a dispensary and get what they need, but then what? Curated travel, provided through travel agents and tourism companies, takes visitors on a guided experience. That experience could include trips within the country, plus live entertainment, food, music and meetups. In the case of luxury cannabis travel, it could be a huge new growth avenue for Canada. The country expects billions to be spent on cannabis after legalization passed, and the luxury segment is gearing up for a piece of that pie.
Canada is graced with both natural beauty and some excellent cities, both of which make for great tourist destinations. However, luxury tourists are all about unique experiences. That’s caused tour operators to create new things to see and do for their clients. One easy win: Food. Cannabis-infused dinners can go for $175. Or, how about a hemp massage? That one’s just a little cheaper. But luxury tourism isn’t about “cheap.”
More than a few cannabis tour companies have arrived, including Canada High Tours and Canadian Kush Tours. Want to have a cannabis wedding? Just $3,000 for the starter package with all the weed you need for your big day. A cannabis cooking class is just $225 (all prices are CAD). Canada High has complete packages based on the cities of Montreal, Ottowa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. Most of these include trips to a dispensary, some lounge time, and obviously include some sort of food choices. Some of the tours include video game packages, as gaming in any city is worth a go if you’ve never tried it while high.
These are of course just the beginning — and we expect to see more cannabis tourism packages. Canada expects billions in cannabis transactions over the next year or so, and why not? It’s an easy trip for Americans, and an easy win for tourism purveyors. Until the U.S. legalizes at the federal level, Canada will remain a beacon of cannabis sanity, which will continue to provide it with tourism dollars from those seeking that sanity.
