Canadians are still paying more for groceries, but the cost of airline tickets is dropping. New Statistics Canada figures published this week show the average air ticket in January of this year cost 14.3% less than in January 2023. January average airline prices also were down 23.7% from December of 2024, StatsCan said, “as holiday demand gave way to stay-at-home habits,” The latest news continues a trend for air prices in Canada that began last spring. Airline prices in December of 2023 were 10% lower than in December 2024. Prices in November of last year were 17% lower than the Read more
Australia/New Zealand/PAC
For all those who have always had Australia on their bucket list, 2024 is the year to start vacation planning to your dream travel destination. Tourism Australia has created a great list of top things to do in Australia in 2024, recommended by local Aussies. Given the increasing enthusiasm among Canadians to explore Australia, evident in a remarkable 94% recovery rate compared to 2019, it’s clear why this destination is swiftly becoming a top choice for travelers. I just returned from a fabulous visit to Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia. On previous trips I’ve been to Queensland, Victoria Read more
As a long-time (50 years this year, wow) journalist, I do occasionally consider the dark side of things. When I see a list of the safest cities in the world to visit, for example, I always wonder who finished at the bottom. That isn’t very nice, I suppose. But I guess it’s human nature. With that in mind, I was delighted to see that a recent study of the most welcoming countries in the world was followed up with a list (from a different source) of the LEAST welcoming nations in Europe. It it may not be very scientific, and Read more
A little bit of this and a little bit of that today. SAFEST EUROPEAN CITIES A story at InsiderMonkey.com lists the safest cities in the world, which is an important topic any time but seemingly more so now given global events. Using data from the Global Peace Index, they assigned cities with a safety score. In this, the lower the number the more safe the city is deemed to be. Here’s the top 25 in descending order 25. Vilnius, Lithuania, 1.671 24. Rome, 1.662 23. Bucharest, 1.649 23. Madrid, 1.649 21. Sofia, 1.643 20. Warsaw, 1.634 19. Stockholm, 1.625 (very Read more
The annual Trip Advisor Best Beaches List is out again, and there’s plenty to like. For the world, Trip Advisor users named Baia de Sancho on the idyllic island of Fernando de Noronha in Brazil as the top beach, followed by Eagle Beach in Aruba and Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia. I haven’t made it to Cable Beach, but I can tell you that beaches in Western Australia are some of the best – and least crowded – in the world. In world voting, Grace Bay in the Turks and Caicos was fifth, Varadero Beach in Cuba ninth and Read more
