It's Toronto - May/June 2017

See It All
and Save
A Toronto CityPASS
will take you where
you want to go
By Sarah B. Hood
Canada marks its 150th birthday this year, but for
Toronto visitors, there’s another anniversary worth
celebrating. This year (March 1, 2017 to Feb. 28,
2018) is also the 20th anniversary for CityPASS, the unique
North America-wide pass system that offers discounts on admissions
to the most popular attractions in 12 destinations.
CityPASS was founded in 1997 in Seattle and San Francisco
by Mike Gallagher, who worked in destination marketing at
Marine World/Africa USA (which became Six Flags), and
Mike Morey, head of a research firm specializing in theme
parks, museums, zoos and aquariums.
“San Francisco completely bombed, and Seattle took off like
hotcakes,” said CityPASS’ vice president of communications
and public relations, Deborah Wakefield. “We went back and
did some research. The number-one thing people want to do in
San Francisco is ride a cable car, so one of our owners met with
San Francisco’s public transit authority 25 times. He doesn’t
take no for an answer!”
As soon as the cable-car ride was added, “Sales for San
Francisco took off, too,” she said. Since then, CityPASS has
expanded to 12 destinations, including New York City, Boston
and Chicago. Toronto has been part of CityPASS since 2004.
“Our concept was designed around taking the stress out of
planning a vacation,” said Gallagher. “People worry that travel
is too expensive, so we made it more affordable. They worry
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8 • It’s Toronto