Time Out has just issued its annual list of the world’s 40 coolest neighborhoods. Of course, it’s entirely a judgment call; what I call cool might be considerably different from what you like. Still I enjoy these lists. So here are some highlights that include some of my fave countries and U.S. states to visit. UNITED STATES California impressed with two spots in the top 30. The vibrant and funky Arts District in Los Angeles was 13th overall and second in the U.S. only to the Mid-City district of New Orleans. Here’s a Vancouver Sun story I wrote that talks Read more
Canada
If you’ve noticed air fares are more reasonable these days, you’re definitely onto something. The latest StatsCan report states that consumers paid less for air transportation (21.1%) in September on a year-over-year basis. That coincides with a gradual increase in flights offered by airlines over the previous 12 months, the agency said. Robert Kokonis, president and managing director at AirTrav Inc., told me that the StatsCan figures estimate the average change of airfares within Canada and between Canadian cities and international destinations. “I am not surprised given the growth of seat capacity recovery over the past 12 months, particularly in Read more
Sports travel has become big business around the world, and Canadians are doing their part. We’re also seeing a good deal of Canadian interest in visiting the U.S. A report released today by Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo finds that almost half (42%) of Canadian sports fans were more likely to travel and see a game on the road rather than attending a game at home or in their closest sports city1. The Sports Travel Road Game Report also found that the average fan takes approximately three sports trips per year, and that 80% of fans are looking to take either Read more
A new, high-frequency rail corridor for eastern Canada, a splashy new W Hotel in Sydney, and a Jamaica travel expo for Toronto. Today’s travel notebook. HIGH-FREQUENCY RAIL BETWEEN TORONTO AND QUEBEC MOVES CLOSER I’ll believe it when I see it, but the Canadian government today announced the launch of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for what could be a future, high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City. The RFP process will be ongoing until summer 2024. Following the evaluation period, the government will select the group who will become the private developer partner to work collaboratively with VIA HFR Read more
Airlines, cruise lines and tour operators have temporarily halted service in Israel as war rages in the Middle East. Air Canada and other major airlines have temporarily halted flights to Israel, and the Canadian government is warning citizens to avoid all but essential visits in response to the surprise Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli government’s retaliatory strikes. Some 900 people have been killed in Israel and roughly 650 have died in Gaza due to retaliatory air strikes, CNN reports. The official government of Canada travel advisory site says Canadians should “avoid non-essential travel in Israel, the West Bank Read more
