Hawke’s Bay in New Zeaand today was named a Great Wine Capital of the world, setting it alongside eleven other prestigious wine regions such as Bordeaux, Napa Valley California and Adelaide, Australia. Admission to the Great Wine Capitals program (Hawkes Bay is the 12th Capital worldwide) comes after a stringent selection process that looks at a region’s winegrowing industry, its history, its wine tourism, educational opportunities, business, and travel, as well as the cities and region itself. In announcing the news, Hawke’s Bay Tourism CEO Hamish Saxton said the significance of being named a Great Wine Capital of the Read more
Australia/New Zealand/PAC
Time Magazine (remember them?) is out with a list of its top 50 destinations for 2023. Some of my fave places made the list, including Vancouver, Vienna, surprising Tampa and the Caribbean island of Dominica, where I spent five days in January. Also making the list on the Canadian side of the ledger was Churchill, Manitoba, which I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting. For Australia, placements went to Kangaroo Island in South Australia and Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. There are six U.S. places on the list but none from the United Kingdom or Ireland, which is a little Read more
As someone who’s been going to Maui’s Ka’anapali Beach for 50-something years, I was pretty happy to see Trip Advisor name it as the best beach in the U.S. in this year’s Travelers’ Choice Awards. It’s a fabulous, three-mile stretch of sand with great snorkeling, paddleboarding, boogie boarding and swimming. It’s also fronted by a long foot path lined with towering palm trees, and has some of the island’s best hotels and resorts, as well as the delightful, open-air Whalers Village Shopping Center. Among my fave hotels on Ka’anapali are the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel, the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa Read more
With travel back in full swing, (41% of Canadians are planning to, or have already booked a flight for 2023 ), it’s safe to say that Canadians are eager to travel again, and long-haul destinations are back on their wish lists…including Australia. With so much to do down under, we’ve narrowed down the top five reasons to visit Australia in 2023 highlighting some of the key moments including: FIFA Women’s World Cup (our Canadian team will be present!) NEW Hot Springs experiences NEW Hotels Opening in 2023 Kimberley Wild Expeditions 4-wheel drive wild tour Discover Aboriginal Collection Experiences FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD Read more
Are Canadian airlines worse about losing luggage than American or Australian carriers? New data from Compare the Market reveals that one-in-four Australians and Americans, and almost one-in-three Canadians, report having had an airline misplace or lose their luggage. Using survey data from more than 3,000 adults across all three nations, Compare the Market also investigated whether they got their belongings back, how much they were compensated by the airline, if at all, and how travel insurance payouts compared. Asked if they had ever had their luggage lost while flying, 24.5% of Australians said yes, compared to 27.6% of Americans and Read more
