Eastern Townships tourism ad goes viral after offering hugs to Americans travelling to Canada

An ad from the Eastern Townships Tourism office has gone viral after inviting Americans in for a "hug."

An ad from the Eastern Township Tourism office has gone viral and got a celebrity endorsement from an Academy Award-winning offer by offering hugs to Americans coming to Quebec.

In the spring, tourism agents in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region say they saw fewer travellers from south of the border.

Stats from the border showed almost a five per cent drop in U.S. entries into Canada compared to the same time in 2024.

“We were hearing real concerns,” said Eastern Townships Tourism director of visitor services Catherine Carignan-Lavasseur. “Americans were actually, literally calling our hotels and attractions asking, ‘Am I still welcome? Are people going to be nice to us if we come? Are we going to be served in English?’ In regards to, obviously, the political and economic context that kind of started at that period of time, so that kind of sparked a red flag.”

Carignan-Lavasseur said Americans represent six per cent of visitors to the Eastern Townships, generating nearly $73 million a year in economic impact.

The answer was the “Come Hug It Out” ad campaign, where a sheepish American approaches a Ripplecove Hotel and Spa clerk in Ayer’s Cliff, Que.

“Sorry, I don’t speak French. I’m just visiting,” he says.

He then whispers, “I’m American,” and the clerk reaches under the desk to push a red button.

The button opens the desk counter top, and she goes and gives him a hug.

“The ad is a warm, humorous 30-second ad, but it’s also truly an invitation,” said Carignan-Lavasseur. “It’s a symbolic hug to our American neighbours, and it really reflects who we are in the Eastern Townships: approachable, kind and authentic.”

Tourism Eastern Townships said it is planning a mid-season assessment in August, but said it has already seen an 83 per cent increase in traffic to its English-language website, with over 90,000 unique visitors since May 26.

The numbers are also up 137 per cent from the U.S., and the ads on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook have been viewed over 5.5 million times, the organization said.

Academy Award-nominated actress Sharon Stone was among those who left comments on the Instagram post.

“Thanks,” the Casino star wrote. “We need a hug.”

“We actually have a lot of Americans calling us, emailing us, saying that they were hesitating in visiting Quebec in the Eastern Townships this summer, and that actually seeing the ad had given them more confidence in doing so, and they decided to keep their travel plans,” said Carignan-Lavasseur. “There is a rise in reservations. There’s a presence of Americans in the Eastern Townships, and also we’re seeing Americans coming from not only the New England region, but from all over the United States.”

She said that the ad was meant to be less about encouraging Americans to visit due to the beneficial exchange rate, and more a message of human empathy.

“We’re really aware of all the hundreds and hundreds of comments that we see on the ads that are published on the web, Americans saying, ‘Thank you. We needed this.’ Americans getting emotional after seeing the ad, also seeing Canadians responding, saying, like, ‘Hey, you’re really welcome here,’” she said.