Hawaii is open for business. I met with Hawaii Tourism officials on Monday at the IPW U.S. tourism event in Denver and that was their overwhelming message. Yes, there is some volcano activity on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii. But it’s limited to 10 square miles of an island that’s more than 4,000 square miles in all. Erin Kinoshita of The Anthology Group, which does public relations for Hawaii tourism, said there’s been no significant impact on the city of Hilo, which is only a half hour’s drive from the eruption site. It’s almost 100 miles Read more

STRATFORD, ONTARIO – It’s a gorgeous spring day in southern Ontario, one of those days when the entire world seems to have woken up from its winter slumber and taken to the streets; discovering flowers in bloom and new smells and the feeling of sunshine on its collective faces. I’m standing near the Queen’s Jubilee Statue in the centre of town when a young woman in fashionably torn jeans (think Meghan Markle) and a black t-shirt decorated with a white skeleton on the front comes skipping along the sidewalk, looking for all the world as if she’s eight years old Read more

NEAR SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – I’m hiking through the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, less than an hour from Santa Fe. Above me are swooping, surging, curving walls that bend and bulge in wild patterns of pale sand and dusty orange. There’s a tiny sliver of robin’s-egg-blue sky slipping through an overhead crack in the canyon walls. I step through a narrow gap in the rock and stroll into a wider opening with sweet-smelling evergreens and tiny plants clinging to life in the harsh desert climate. Suddenly a small monarch butterfly slides past my ear. I look up as Read more

LAS VEGAS – A fashionable hotel carved out of a Vegas classic. One of the top celebrity chefs on the planet. And a bit of CSI crime scene investigation at a museum dedicated to the mob. Great destinations are constantly on the go; firing up new attractions and opening new hotels and restaurants and re-making their current stock. And there are few destinations that can rival Las Vegas. TravelPulse Canada recently returned from a three-day, action-packed, VIP-themed visit to one of the destinations Canadians love to visit most. Here’s a look at some of what we found, and some previews Read more

Air Canada is taking its service to a whole new level, and is giving other North American airlines something to seriously think about. Canada’s largest airline today announced its new “Signature Service,” including lie-flat seats on some flights. Available today for international customers and, starting June 1 on select flights within North America, the new service makes Air Canada the first North American airline to designate aircraft with lie-flat seats for premium customers on select non-stop, transcontinental flights within Canada and to the U.S., including overnight daily flights from Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco to Toronto. I don’t know Read more

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, FLORIDA – One of you wants style. The other wants space. Travellers often are forced to make tough choices when booking a holiday hotel. One of you craves modern, artful surroundings, a bright, modern restaurant, and a sexy pool. The other wants a couple of rooms so they won’t have to step over bulky suitcases on the floor or so that the kids can have their space. You won’t have that kind of issue if you bed down at the Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club on beautiful Anna Maria Island. I recently had a couple of Read more