Summer 2025 is shaping up to be a good one for Canadian travellers, with homegrown nature, European escapes, and meaningful experiences leading the way. Booking.com has uncovered new data on Canadians’ summer travel plans. Here’s a snapshot of what’s shaping the season: Travel optimism is high. 72% of Canadian leisure travellers feel excited about exploring the world this summer, and the same amount (72%) expect to spend more on travel than they did in 2024. Canadians are keen to take advantage of our renowned green spaces and biodiversity. 42% of Canadian travellers express a desire to explore natural Read more
June 2025
I checked my Apple map. This seemed to be the right place. But where was my hotel? My wife and I were booked for two nights at Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame in Old Montreal. Our Uber driver stopped on Rue Notre Dame, just steps from Notre-Dame Basilica, but I didn’t see our hotel. I know enough French to understand Le Petit means small hotel, but I literally couldn’t see it. Finally, I spotted a small (ahem) sign in a window of a building on the north side of the street that said “Petit Hotel.” We got our carry-on bags Read more
The District of Muskoka is hoping to reconnect southern Ontario cottage country with Toronto cottage owners and would-be visitors. Porter Airlines was the last to offer commercial flights to Muskoka Airport with 35-minute service from Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport during summer 2019 and 2022. Yours truly was able to try the flights a couple times, and thought they were outstanding. The route was suspended during the pandemic and officially cancelled in early 2023, As reported by my friends at Open Jaw, “with travel patterns shifting and demand for domestic getaways rising, local officials say the time is right for a Read more
SOUTHAMPTON, ONTARIO = Sometimes it takes a while to appreciate the nuances of a hotel or resort. But other times you take one look and say, “Holy cow.” My wife and I were recently invited to check out the South Beach Motel in Southampton, Ontario. We visited the town maybe 30 years ago, renting a home near the beach that was decorated in a design you might call “old person casual” and festooned with photos of such Toronto Blue Jays as Ernie Whitt and Buck Martinez. I figured things in Southampton had changed a bit over three decades, but I wasn’t Read more
A coordinated statewide effort to support Maui’s tourism recovery is now underway, with the launch of a $6 million Maui Emergency Marketing Campaign funded by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA). With Maui’s visitor arrivals still 21% below pre-pandemic levels, the initiative addresses critical recovery needs that impact the entire state’s visitor industry ecosystem. By focusing efforts where they are needed most, the campaign will stimulate travel demand as early as this summer and through the end of 2025—supporting local businesses, preserving jobs, and restoring visitor confidence in the state’s most important economic driver. (Some people worry about the cost of Read more
