This story originally appeared in the Dallas Morning News travel section earlier this week. NEW YORK CITY – The biggest names in food are making a splash in The Big Apple. Not that New York City really needs the help, but an infusion of top celebrity chefs has helped boost the city’s already red-hot profile for food lovers. New additions include Wolfgang Puck’s first Manhattan foray and a stunningly designed spot by Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio at one of the city’s newest and sexiest hotels. Here’s a look at some of the latest openings, plus a few to come. Read more

That bucket list vacation you’ve been mapping out could be a little bit closer today. Aeroplan, Canada’s favourite rewards program, has announced that members can now earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles on all car rental in Canada, the U.S. and around the world with Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental. Those are two of the largest car agencies in the world. Aeroplan also announced members will be able to earn and redeem miles with Payless Car Rental in the coming months, adding yet another way to earn valuable points. Aeroplan members previously were able to earn and redeem points Read more

Have Canadians thrown off our love affair with the U.S. in favour of exotic Asia? A new report from hotels.com suggests that could be the case. The study of bookings made by Canadians on their site in 2016 found that Los Angeles dropped from the 8th most popular international destination in 2015 all the way down to 20th, while Washington D.C. dropped from number 19 in 2015 to 35th last year. Some U.S. cities still did extremely well. New York was number one and Las Vegas was number two overall for bookings by Canadians, while Orlando was fifth. (The other Read more

Canada’s renewed investment in tourism seems to be working. The low Canadian dollar and U.S. politics also might be helping. Figures released today by Destination Canada show that arrivals into Canada last year jumped 11% to our highest level in 14 years. Visits from the U.S. reached 13,899,814; up 10%, while international arrivals jumped a whopping 16 %. In total, Canada attracted 19,979,334 visitors; the second highest amount ever and the highest since 2002. This year could be even better given it’s our 150th birthday, with parties planned coast to coast, and the continuing low dollar. There also are reports Read more

The world and I are one. A recent Expedia poll of travellers finds that two of my biggest pet peeves about travelling are exactly the same things that bother most of you, namely seat kickers and seat reclining slammers. Sixty four per cent of respondents said rear-seat kicking is their biggest pet peeve. Next on the annoy-o-meter was the seat slammer, mentioned by 59 % of those surveyed. Other big no-no’s on the list were “aromatic” passengers; those with too much cologne or not enough time in the shower, as well as excessive booze hounds and folks who think we Read more

THIS ITEM ORIGINALLY APPEARED JAN. 11 on POSTMEDIA AND SUN MEDIA SITES IN CANADA. The loonie remains in the doldrums. But winter’s getting you down and you’re dying to hit your favourite U.S. getaway spot. Lucky for us, there are still some great American destinations that aren’t too expensive. There also are ways to save on visits to cities and places you might think of as outside your budget. Here are some suggestions. ST. PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER This is a favourite area for Blue Jays fans, as the Jays play their spring training games in nearby Dunedin. Dunedin is a great spot Read more