Ongoing unrest in the Middle East has triggered global flight disruptions, impacting leisure and business travellers worldwide. That situation became considerably worse today (March 2) when Air Canada announced it has extended its suspension of flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv through March 22. Canada’s largest airline says the flights will not resume until March 23, at least for now. Since Saturday, the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA) says nearly 6,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide related to the Middle East conflict. The Dubai International (DXB) airport, the world’s busiest international airport for 12 consecutive years and the busiest globally by seat capacity, has been closed since February 28th. Airspace in the region Read more
Asia
It’s a tough time to be a sun seeker from the US or Canada. In January, flights were disrupted to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) due to the US action in Venezuela. A few weeks later, flights to Cuba were halted because of an ongoing lack of aviation fuel, leaving Canadians and other visitors scrambling for alternative sun destinations. Many would-be Cuba visitors, including personal friends of mine, opted instead for Mexico. But some potential visitors are now spooked because of the violent outbreak in Puerto Vallarta on the weekend following the killing of a top Mexican drug Read more
Florida tourism set a new record last year, welcoming 143.3 million visitors, according to data released by Visit Florida. That represents an increase of 0.2% over 2024 and represents the highest yearly total in state history. Domestic tourism represented nearly 92% of all visitors. Overseas visits were up 4%, with almost 9.3 million visits. But visits from Canada were down a substantial 14.7%, reaching roughly 2.9 million for the year. Visit Florida, which markets the Sunshine State to the world, says it’s engaging in talks with Canadian travel groups in an effort to change that. But it may not be Read more
Visiting China is about to become a lot easier for many Canadians. As of tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026), holders of Canadian passports can travel to China without having to pay for a visa. A China travel visa currently costs about $140 CAD, so this would mean a savings of almost $300 for a couple and more than $550 in savings for a family of four. The CBC reports Canadian passport holders will be “exempted from visa to enter China and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.” The policy also applies Read more
A new Flight Centre Canada national YouGov survey suggests the shift away from U.S. travel for Canadians isn’t going away. It also says three times as many Canadians are interested in a Europe trip as they are in a visit to the States. The study found that 62% of Canadians say they are less likely to visit the U.S. in 2026 compared to last year. The U.S. also placed fifth on the list of where Canadians would like to go this year, finishing far behind trips within Canada and trips to Europe and slightly behind visits to Mexico and Asia. Read more
