BBC’s Race Across the World stirs Canadian hopes of UK tourist boom

The series three Race Across the World team: Monique and Ladi, Tricia and Cathie, Claudia and Kevin, Zainib and Mobeen, and Marc and Michael. Photograph: Mackenzie Walker/BBC

Canada’s tourism industry this week expressed hopes for a rise in UK visitors after the third series of BBC’s Race Across the World launched in the UK to rave reviews.

The reality show, in which five couples travel 10,000 miles (16,000km) from one side of Canada to another on a shoestring and without flying, could be a boon to the country’s recovering tourism sector. Arrivals were down 40% in 2022 from their high in 2019, but there are hopes for an increase with UK viewers inspired by the epic scenery and charmed by helpful Canadians.