One of the world’s best beaches is getting bigger. Much bigger.
I recently caught up with Brian Lowack, president and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater; one of the top destinations in Florida. He told me a beach renewal project that stretches from Sand Key on Clearwater Beach to St. Pete Beach will add 2.5 million cubic yards of sand, with roughly 200 feet of width.
“It’s already great, but it’s going to be the most beautiful beach in Florida,” he told me in Toronto, where Visit St. Pete/Clearwater hosted media and travel agents at a Blue Jays-Yankees game.
The cost is a whopping $130 million, he said, and will be paid out of the region’s hotel tax fund. The work should be finished by next spring.
Pier 60 at Clearwater Beach.
Lowack said there was some damage in the St. Pete area from Hurricane Milton last October, but that 98% of the region’s hotel rooms are open. The luxurious Don Cesar hotel on St. Pete beach reopened in late April.
The Opal Sol Resort, a partner hotel to the Opal Sands, opened on Clearwater Beach last year, and there are new boutique hotels in St. Pete, he said.
The region also was given four awards in the Michelin guide to Florida restaurants; three in St. Pete and one in Safety Harbor, which is adjacent to Dunedin.
Lowack didn’t have the latest figures with him, but he said St. Pete/Clearwater is faring better than most of Florida in terms of Canadian visitors, and that Florida is ahead of most U.S. states.
Having the Toronto Blue Jays play well this summer also could be a boost, as it might increase the number of fans seeking tickets for spring training games in Dunedin. Lowack said he was the number of Canadian visitrors at spring training games was down slightly this year, but that it was due to a variety of factors, including the U.S.-Canadian dollar exchange rate and the team’s struggles in 2024.
Lowack said the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team may have a new owner but that it’s not clear if the team will build a new stadium in St. Pete or Tampa. The team’s former home on the edge of downtown St. Petersburg was damaged by Hurricane Milton.
TOP TEN WORLD CITIES
The Telegraph newspaper/news outlet in the UK recently canvassed readers on their favorite cities in the world.
Note that Japan grabbed two spots in the top five, and that there were no U.S. cities on the list. Vancouver, however, did finish a tidy seventh.
Table Mountain and Cape Town’s harbour from the Victoria and Alfred Hotel. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Here’s their list:
- Cape Town (one of the world’s most beautiful cities from a natural beauty point of view)
- Seville (somehow have never been)
- Sydney (also an amazing natural setting)
- Tokyo (fascinating place, and perhaps the world’s best food destination)
- Kyoto (so beautiful)
- Copenhagen (only there for one day and that was almost 50 years ago)
- Vancouver (see Sydney and Cape Town notes)
- Venice (crowded, but so distinctive)
- Porto (also never been. Sniff, sniff)
- Singapore (fabulous, inexpensive food and a great cultural mix)
AIR CANADA ADDS KINGSTON AIRPORT-TORONTO PEARSON BUS SERVICE
Air Canada today announced the expansion of its multi-modal Landline service, which will enable customers at Kingston Norman Rogers Airport to easily connect with its global hub at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The new luxury motorcoach service, with features such as spacious leather seats and fast, free Wi-Fi, will begin operating September 23rd with two return trips daily that are conveniently timed for connections to and from flights across Air Canada’s worldwide network.
“We are delighted to be reconnecting customers in Kingston and the surrounding region to our global network. This is a premier example of the new opportunities our growing partnership with The Landline Company unlocks. Customers travelling between Norman Rogers Airport and Toronto Pearson on Landline’s premium motorcoaches will enjoy the same benefits as those making air-only connections, including the convenience of a single itinerary and through-tagged baggage when departing Kingston, disruption protection, and Aeroplan earning opportunities,” said Ranbir Singh, Director, Regional Airlines and Markets, at Air Canada.
