The World Economic Forum has come out with its biannual list of the world’s best countries for tourism and travel. And the news isn’t great for Canada. The highly respected group looks at factors and policies that enable sustainable and resilient development in the travel and tourism space, under broad pillars like air transport structure, price competitiveness and safety and security and then comes up with a Travel and Tourism Development Index. Japan, which is seemingly near the top of everyone’s travel list these days, came out on top, rising from number three last year. The U.S. was second (the Read more
Asia
I had the good fortune of spending some time on a call this week with Shin Kawai from Japan Communications. Kawai represents the Japanese island of Kyushu, and also works with Tokyo. Our chat was focused on Kyushu, which is in the far southwest of Japan, just southeast (maybe 135 miles or 215 km’s) of South Korea and has a subtropical climate. The island is home to Nagasaki and several other major cities, including Fukuoka, which is home to Kushida-jinja, a beautiful 8th-century Shinto shrine. I was also quite interested to hear about Yanagawa, which has a series of canals Read more
It’s that time of year again. No, not autumn leaves tumbling to the ground or skeletons hanging from the neighbours tree, but travel list time! Lonely Planet got things started this week with their look at 50 top places in th world to visit in 2027. It’s a nice list that includes some of my fave spots. Here’s a look at a few of their options, followed by the full top 50. FRENCH POLYNESIA – One of my fave places in the world, with dreamy, tropical landscapes, amazing food and welcoming locals with great stories to tell. The main island Read more
New routes to China, Ireland, France, Croatia, and Norway. New daytime flights from Toronto to London. And more flights to Shanghai, Lima and Tenerife. Air Canada today (Sept. 3, 2026) announced a significant expansion of its global network for Summer 2027, adding five new international destinations and seven new routes, along with increased schedules on key routes. From its Vancouver trans-Pacific hub, Air Canada will be launching year-round services to Guangzhou, China. From its Toronto global hub, Air Canada will begin service to Oslo, Norway; Shannon, Ireland; and Nice, France, while resuming the London Heathrow Daytripper, boosting its Shanghai flights Read more
More than nine in 10 visitors to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto said they are likely to return to Ontario for a leisure trip within the next two years, according to a visitor intercept study released today (Sept. 2) by Destination Ontario. Conducted in partnership with Destination Toronto and Context Research Group Inc., the study surveyed visitors during the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto and found high visitor satisfaction, positive perceptions of Ontario and strong intent to return. It remains to be seen if those opinions translate into actual visits, but it’s quite encouraging to see numbers like Read more
