Many destinations are just beginning to get back to pre-pandemic visitor levels. The Palm Beaches left its 2019 numbers in the dust some time ago. Tourism representatives from The Palm Beaches touched down in Toronto this week for a cocktail meet and greet with advisors, industry officials and the media. Some 2.8 million visitors came to The Palm Beaches during Q1 of 2023, up 8.5% from last year, said Erick Garnica, Associate Vice President Global Leisure Sales. Canadian numbers were even more dramatic, with 153,000 first quarter visits; up 28% from last year and up 16% from 2019 levels. Canada Read more
golf
One of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. Engaging locals. And, coming soon, what looks like one of the most spectacular golf courses on the planet. There are so many great things to see and do on Saint Lucia, one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. Senior representatives of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority rolled into Toronto recently for a rooftop lunch at 1 Hotel Toronto to show off what’s great and new on the island, and I was given a one-on-one interview with Tourism Minister (and Deputy Prime Minister) Dr. Ernest Hilaire and tourism authority CEO Read more
Hawke’s Bay in New Zeaand today was named a Great Wine Capital of the world, setting it alongside eleven other prestigious wine regions such as Bordeaux, Napa Valley California and Adelaide, Australia. Admission to the Great Wine Capitals program (Hawkes Bay is the 12th Capital worldwide) comes after a stringent selection process that looks at a region’s winegrowing industry, its history, its wine tourism, educational opportunities, business, and travel, as well as the cities and region itself. In announcing the news, Hawke’s Bay Tourism CEO Hamish Saxton said the significance of being named a Great Wine Capital of the Read more
News about LGBTQ+ travel, plus a Nova Scotia golf update and European train travel item. My news roundup for today. Canada Ranked Safest Country in World for LBGTQ+ Travelers Canada ranked at the top of the 2023 list as the most LGBTQ+ country in the world for the third year in the row. Journalists Lyric and Asher Fergusson run a travel site dedicated to LGBTQ+safety. At the beginning of March, they published a report called “The 203 Worst (& Safest) Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel in 2023.” CIC News says they reviewed every country’s individual laws and gathered data from Read more
Business travel is back in a big way. American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), the world’s leading BTB travel platform, told company investors on a recent fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call that they expect total business travel spending to grow by 24% in 2023 to reach over a trillion dollars. Expectations for a strong year are supported by data from the company’s vast customer portfolio and studies from across the industry. According to the Global Business Travel Association’s Q1 2023 Business Travel Outlook Poll published at the end of January, domestic and international bookings are currently at 67% and 54% Read more
