A top union official is warning that there could be “significant delays” at Canada border points if travel picks up dramatically in the wake of travel restrictions being eased. Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said border agents are already slammed, and that a signiicant increase in travel will make things worse. The Canadian government announced on Monday that travel restrictions will be lifted on Saturday, October 1. That means an end to mandatory vaccinations for coming into Canada, no quarantine for sick visitors and no random testing. The controversial ArriveCAN app also will become optional Read more
Europe
Be prepared to pay more for the privilege of travel this winter. Experts say that while airfares have so far remained steady, experts predict a price spike for fall and winter flights as demand returns. Canadian Press reported earlier this week that experts feel demand could rise further if remaining COVID-19 restrictions such as vaccine mandates are lifted, encouraging travellers who were previously hesitant to fly due to the restrictions. “No doubt,” said Martin Firestone, president of insurance provider Travel Secure Inc. “My gut tells me with the removal of restrictions, more people than ever will travel.” Firestone told me Read more
Around this time in the bad old days of 2020, some experts projected that Canadian hotels wouldn’t get back to pre-pandemic levels until 2025 or even 2026. But the strong summer rebound in travel around the world has some observers suggesting a full rebound is only a few months away. Real estate firm CBRE says Canadian hotels will return to pre-pandemic revenues next year, two years ahead of its previous forecast. Canadian Press reports the firm is projecting the Canadian hotels market will end this year at 92 per cent of the revenue per available room achieved in 2019, before Read more
The MICHELIN Guide has announced that 74 restaurants made the inaugural Toronto selection, including 1 Two-Star restaurant, 12 One-Star restaurants, 17 Bib Gourmand restaurants, and 44 recommended restaurants. Toronto was announced as the first Canadian MICHELIN Guide destination in May and the sixth in North America. The country’s inaugural selection brings global attention to Toronto’s diverse culinary scene. The selection includes 27 cuisine types. Japanese food dominates the top picks, but the MICHELIN tasters also singled out fried chicken, smoked meat, and Jamaican food. The only two-star selection for Toronto was Sushi Masaki Saito. Receiving one star were Aburi Hana, Read more
Here’s a lazy Sunday Labour Day compendium of a few stories I found on the old Internet this morning about new world hotels, travel products for people with small children, Caribbean visits and more, plus a note about Toronto Pearson delays. First off, I’ve been tracking delays at Toronto Pearson Airport the past few days, and things aren’t a whole lot better. According to Flight Aware, here are the outgoing flight delay stats for the past few days. September 1: 205 delays (15 minutes or more), which is 33% of all outbound flights. September 2: 200 delays (34%) September 3: Read more
