The world’s most instagrammed (kind of) skylines, a contest for a free, two-night stay in downtown Toronto, and, as of today, a four-province travel bubble for Atlantic Canada. My July 3 Future of Travel blog.
World’s Most Instagrammed Skylines – Toronto Ranks Fourth
Resonance Consultancy’s 2020 city report lists Toronto as the world’s 17th best city. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I’m a bit dubious, but I’m giving this a mention as it’s a Friday and it’s a fun item.
A website called inkifi.com sent me a release that ranked the world’s most instagrammed skylines. There’s a caveat here, as they only ranked cities by the number of Instagram posts that specifically used the word “skyline” in the hashtag. I don’t know that’s the best way to do it, as I suspect people who take photos of the Eiffel Tower don’t use #ParisSkyline as a hashtag, which is probably why Paris finished in the 22nd spot on this list.
But it’s still interesting, and it’s nice to see my home city of Toronto ranked so highly, so here goes the top 20.
- New York City #nycskyline
- Chicago #chicagoskyline
- London #londonskyline
- Toronto #torontoskyline
- Dubai #dubaiskyline
- Miami #miamiskyline
- Frankfurt #frankfurtskyline
- Singapore #singaporeskyline
- Los Angeles #laskyline
- Sydney #sydneyskyline
- Hong Kong #hongkongskyline
- Melbourne #melbourneskyline
- Jakarta #jakartaskyline
- Shanghai #shanghaiskyline
- Las Vegas #vegasskyline
- Mumbai #mumbaiskyline
- Tokyo #tokyoskyline
- Doha #dohaskyline
- San Francisco #sanfranciscoskyline
- Bangkok #bangkokskyline
- Vancouver #vancouverskyline
- Paris #parisskyline
- Berlin #berlineskyline
- Barcelona #barcelonaskyline
- Madrid #madridskyline
Welcome to Your Bubble, Atlantic Canada
The giant lobster in Shediac, New Brunswick. – JIM BYERS PHOTO
The Atlantic Canada Bubble starts today, which means that, for the first time in three months or so, residents of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador can cross from one province to another without having to quarantine. I saw photos on social media this morning of long lines at the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, probably for folks heading to summer cottages but perhaps because so many Nova Scotia residents want to get their photo taken at the giant lobster in Shediac, N.B. I guess I’ll never know.
Anyhow, in all seriousness, this is a great thing for Atlantic Canada that should provide a bit of a tourism boost, especially if folks from Halifax, the only large city in the region, start moving around to smaller towns in PEI, New Brunswick and Newfoundland/Labrador.
I just wish I had a PEI drivers license, as I adore Atlantic Canada and would love to get back out there soon.
A Great Toronto Hotel Giveaway
The Holiday Inn Express Toronto Downtown. You could win a free weekend stay!
The Holiday Inn Express Toronto Downtown, which has a super convenient location in the heart of the city, is re-opening to the public TODAY (Friday, July 3).
To celebrate the occasion, they’re giving away a gift certificate for a FREE WEEKEND at the hotel for two people, with BREAKFAST AND PARKING INCLUDED.
The certificate will be valid until Dec. 30, 2020, so you can go almost any time in the next six months.
I haven’t stayed at this particular Holiday Inn Express, but I’ve stayed in several others and always find them comfortable and clean places to bed down for the night. They’re also quite good-sized, and that’s important to folks who travel a lot and like a bit of space around them. (It also helps if your spouse or special friend suddenly decides that a little physical distancing between the two of you is a good idea.)
All rooms have a fridge and a microwave, and there’s free Wi-Fi, too. They also promise the highest safety and cleaning standards, an important factor in choosing a hotel these days.
The hotel has 195 rooms so it’s not too big, and it’s right in the heart of the action at Lombard and Jarvis. That means you’re in the middle of the oldest part of the city, with cool, historic architecture and great restaurants and shopping. It’s only a short three block walk to St. Lawrence Market, considered one of the best in the world, and also an easy stroll to the Distillery District, Sugar Beach, the Toronto Island ferries, the Eaton Centre and much more.
Of course, we need a skill-testing question to make this legal. Since this is Canada Day and all, you need to tell me who wrote the famous song, “The Maple Leaf Forever.”
Drop me a line at jim@jimbyerstravel.com and BE SURE TO ANSWER the skill-testing question. I’ll do the draw on the weekend.
US Aid for Airlines: And Canada’s Help is Where, Exactly?
Interesting today to read headlines about the U.S. government providing xx for U.S. based airlines.
The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business today has a story from Reuters that lays out billions of dollars in loans being given to U.S. airlines by Uncle Sam.
Meanwhile, here in Canada, there has been NO money provided directly to airlines. They’ve had the benefit of some government employee assistance programs, but that’s not aid targetted directly at the airlines, who may be suffering more than anyone else.
Yes, Air Canada has managed to raise a good deal of capital, and WestJet has deep pockets thanks to its purchase last year by Onyx. But, there’s still Sunwing and Porter and Transat and smaller, regional airlines to worry about. Where’s the specific aid for them, Mr. Prime Minister?
merican Airlines Group Inc., and four smaller carriers have reached agreement with the government for billions more in federal loans, a sign of the industry’s desperate fight to survive a downturn in air travel caused by the virus pandemic.
The Treasury Department said Thursday that it had signed letters of intent for new loans to American, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and SkyWest Airlines.
All the leading U.S. airlines had previously accepted a combination of grants and loans to help cover payroll costs through Sept. 30. These five are the first carriers to tentatively accept loans from a separate US$25-billion kitty that Congress set aside under a US$2.2-billion measure to help companies hurt by the pandemic.
American Airlines said it signed a term sheet with Treasury for a US$4.75-billion loan, which would be in addition to US$5.8-billion that Treasury has already agreed to extend to American.
