From the 70th anniversary for Queen Elizabeth on the throne to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, there’s plenty to celebrate in Great Britain this year. On top of all that, they’ve eliminated all travel restrictions, so there’s no form to fill out, no test to take and no quarantine to fret over. “It’s like the gold old days,” I said in a chat this morning with Dame Judith Macgregor, chair of the British Tourism Authority. “Yes,” she replied with a laugh. “We just value it more, don’t we?” Amen to that. Macgregor, an engaging interview, said travel trends are very Read more
A new study of international travellers from American Express shows the world is ready to shake off the pandemic and hit the road again. The study, which looked at travellers from Canada, the U.S., Australia, Japan, the U.K, Mexico and India, found that 74% of respondents agree they are willing to book a trip for 2022 even if they might have to cancel or modify it later. That’s up sharply from 56% last year. The study also found that spending on travel could outpace pre-pandemic levels. Eighty six per cent of consumers expect to spend more or the same on Read more
Canada isn’t the happiest place on earth, but it’s top of the heap in North America. A World Happiness Report rankings, based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll, finds that Canada is #15 in the world on the happiness scale. That’s one spot ahead of the United States, and two ahead of the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Canada was tenth in 2020 and ninth in the world in 2019, so perhaps we’re slipping. For the fifth year in a row, Finland came in as the world’s happiest country, based on such factors as healthy life Read more
Critics of the Canadian government have long argued that Canada has been far too cautious when it comes to travel and the coronavirus. But here’s something to think about; Canada is enacting more lenient entry rules than the United States. The Canadian government on Thursday (March 17) announced that mandatory border tests for fully vaccinated residents and visitors will be dropped as of April 1. But the U.S. still requires anyone heading to the States by air (land borders and ferry crossings are exempt) to provide a negative test result. The U.S. accepts rapid antigen tests, but those Read more
Another popular destination for Canadians has lifted its travel testing requirement, which is great news for Canadian travel lovers and anyone who longs for a Caribbean holiday. The Caribbean twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has, as of March 16, 2022, lifted the travel testing requirement for fully vaccinated visitors to the destination. “Our aim is to continue to ensure travellers have a safe vacation in Antigua and Barbuda, in adherence with the covid-19 protocols created by the Government to responsibly manage the various stages of the pandemic and maintain the health and safety of the population,” said Antigua and Read more
Lynx Air, Canada’s new ultra-affordable airline, today announced a major expansion out of the Toronto region, adding four new destinations and five new routes to its network, as it continues its mission to make air travel affordable for all. Canadians living in the Greater Toronto Area will have access to Lynx flights out of both Toronto Pearson Airport and John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, with six destinations across the country to choose from: Halifax, St. John’s, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Canada is pretty much booming when it comes to low-cost airlines, with Lynx Air, Swoop and Flair. Canada Jetlines Read more
Published reports say the Justin Trudeau government in Ottawa is “expected to announce as soon as tomorrow that travellers entering Canada will no longer have to take a pre-arrival COVID-19 test.” The CBC today said sources with knowledge of the situation said Canada will remove testing requirements at airports and also at land border crossings. CTV News says the the federal government will be lifting the pre-arrival COVID-19 testing requirement at the border for fully vaccinated travellers as of April 1. “Passengers may still be subjected to random PCR testing at the airport, and travellers will still have to use Read more