Things are a little tense these days when it comes to Canada-USA relations, and many Canadians say they intend to stay home for their holidays this year. With that in mind, I’m doing a series of “Canada Strong” travel stories to provide some ideas. Today I look at five great national parks across this great country of ours. Thanks for reading, and as we Canadians are prone to say these days, Elbows Up! KLUANE NATIONAL PARK, YUKON This is a rugged, starkly beautiful spot a couple hours northwest of Whitehorse. The drive to get here is nothing short of Read more
Canada
If you’re a Canadian, this is a great time to visit the country’s biggest city and support local tourism. If you’re an American or someone else who’s not lucky enough to be a Canadian, it’s also a great time. The weather is getting warmer, and the low Canadian dollar makes the city a relative bargain. (As of today, March 15, $100 U.S. bucks will get you a tidy $143 Canadian dollars. One hundred Euros will get an even more attractive $156 Canadian dollars.) With that out of the way, here are some great things to see and do in downtown Read more
This tariff war is not an easy thing to watch, particularly for a dual U.S./Canadian citizen who has called Canada home for 43 years and 45 weeks. Canadians are booing the U.S. national anthem at some sporting events and are calling off visits to the States. Americans seem embarrassed at the way their president is behaving, but appear helpless to stop the “51st state” nonsense or the ongoing tariff battle. With that as a painful backdrop, it’s nice to see the tourism folks in Detroit reaching out across the border with a friendly nod and a firm handshake to let Read more
Major awards for three Canadian airports. A nice Air Canada sale. New hotels for Maui. Turkish Airlines becomes third busiest in the world. A new marketing plan for Fort Lauderdale. And a spiffy new Fairmont hotel/resort in Spain. Today’s blog post covers a lot of ground! TORONTO, VICTORIA AND ST. JOHN’S AIRPORT AWARDS Toronto Pearson Airport, along with airports in Victoria, B.C. and St. John’s, have won awards from Airports Council International (ACI). As part of ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality awards, The Montreal-based group handed out three “Best Airport Awards” for North American facilities that serve Read more
The tariff spat between the United States and Canada may be having an effect on cross-border travel. Statistics Canada says the number of Canadians who returned to Canada from the U.S. by car last month was down 23% from February of last year, falling to 1.2 million. The number returning by air was down 2.4% to 1.8 million. “It doesn’t surprise me that we’re seeing a reduction in discretionary travel to the States,” Avery Campbell, the Director of Advocacy and Industry Relations for the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors, told me. Given that people usually book their Read more
