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
Canada
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
Nearly two of three Canadians is planning to travel internationally in the next little while. But hotel rates will continue to climb in 2024. Two reports from different divisions of American Express provide valuable insights for consumers. An AmEx Global Business Travel report says inflation could cause hotel prices to increase by double digits in cities such as Paris and Chicago, while slightly more modest hikes are expected in Canada. Another American Express report says 63% of Canadians plan to travel internationally this year, and that almost 80% of Canadian Gen Z’ers turn to social media for travel inspiration. Here’s Read more
Victoria, British Columbia has been named the world’s best city in this year’s Conde Nast Travellers’ Readers Choice Awards, while Canada owned the top three picks for world’s friendliest cities. Victoria was third in the friendly category, while Edmonton came second and Calgary was first. Dublin, Ireland was fourth and Quebec City fifth, giving Canada four of the top five spots. I might push for St. John’s or Saskatoon or Regina as the friendliest city in the country if I had a vote, but I suspect Conde Nast readers aren’t as familiar with them as they are with the winning Read more
California is about to get easier to reach than ever. Porter Airlines is launching its first two western U.S. destinations in California with daily roundtrip service connecting Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Both flights will begin service in January, 2024. The new routes will be operated by the Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, featuring a 132-seat, all-economy, two-by-two configuration. There are no middle seats on any Porter flight. All passengers receive celebrity treatment with Porter’s elevated economy experience. Free, fast WiFi let’s passengers stream their favourite movies and shows Read more
