The Caribbean tourism industry has shown extraordinary resilience in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, with data revealing a rapid rebound in travel bookings. Despite the initial impact of the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Grenadines on July 1, the region has experienced a remarkable turnaround, driven particularly by visits from the U.S., the region’s largest market. Comprehensive air travel data from ForwardKeys, analyzed in collaboration with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), reveals a short-term decline in Caribbean bookings immediately following the storm, followed by a solid recovery. Analysis of air tickets issued Read more

SAN DIEGO – Perhaps the most perfect weather in the world. Fantastic beaches. And a world-renowned zoo. Most folks conjure up those images when they think of this city perched in the far southwest corner of the U.S. But you’ll also find wonderful shopping, museums with a Canadian angle and some of America’s best craft beer. Lucky for Canadians, Porter Airlines has announced service will begin between Toronto and San Diego later this year. San Diego is a year-round route, starting Dec. 9, with four weekly flights.  Here’s a look at six great things to do and check out in Read more

A new look at the world’s safest and most riskiest cities for tourists puts Toronto in the top three. Forbes Advisor looked at a variety of criteria, including U.S. State Department advisories, crime rates, and health infrastructure. Cities were given numerical ratings from zero (most safe) to 100 (least safe) Singapore came out on top with a zero rating, which is pretty remarkable. Forbes said the island state has the lowest natural disaster rating and the second lowest health security risk, reflecting the level and quality of healthcare services and infrastructure. Air Canada recently began direct flights between Vancouver and Read more

The Paris Summer Olympics begin on Friday, July 26. And I’m very much looking forward to it. I covered the Toronto bid for the 1996 Summer Games (I seem to recall we lost to Atlanta) for the Toronto Star, and then the city’s (again) unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Olympics, which went to Beijing. It was a tad depressing, but then I handled the Star’s coverage of Vancouver’s winning bid (it was close, but they got it) for the 2010 Winter Games. Covering the bids, as well as the International Olympics Committee voting scandal in the early 2000’s, allowed me Read more

I love a good list. And this one’s pretty cool. Oxford Economics recently released a list of the top cities in the world. The list was based on five categories; Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance, which are aggregated to create a overall score for each city. Each category was comprised of multiple indicators (four to six, depending on the category), which aim to address some of the most important considerations within their respective categories. “As a result, the Global Cities Index provides a more complete comparison of cities, by ranking them not just on their economic Read more

The Paris Summer Olympics begin a week from tomorrow, on July 26. And I’m very much looking forward to it. I covered the Olympic Games for the Toronto Star for many, many years, including both of Toronto’s failed bids to stage the Games and then Vancouver’s successful gamble for the 2010 Winter Olympics I also was in Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Turin, Beijing and Vancouver to cover the Games in person. I haven’t covered any Olympics since then, but it remains a magical event that I tune into when I can. This year’s Games will be especially cool because Read more