Europe

A new report looks like bad news for tourism and the business travel industry. My travel notebook also has good news for tourism in Las Vegas, Vancouver, San Francisco, Toronto, Bali, and Halifax. I also have news about Emerald Cruises in the Caribbean. BUSINESS TRAVEL: WILL IT EVER RECOVER? A company called Morning Consult surveyed more than 16,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region between October 2021 and summer 2022. It found that two in five Americans who used to travel for work three times a year say they will NEVER take another business trip. People’s intentions Read more

An insurance company called Luko has looked at the most bike-friendly cities in the world, and Europe came out smelling like a rose. Nine of the top ten bike-friendly cities were in Europe, led by Utrecht, Holland. North American cities fared poorly, with Montreal the only entry in the top 20 (16th overall). Vancouver came 37th, while San Francisco was the top U.S. city in 39th position. Portland, Oregon was 41st and Seattle 50th. Cities were ranked on a variety of issues, including bike accident rates, theft rates, weather, bike usage and infrastructure. Holland had two cities in the top Read more

Data analysis by Trip.com has revealed a huge surge in US travellers flying to Europe, with inbound visitor numbers up by nearly 250% in the first six months of this year. The significant rise shown by Trip.com’s data highlights the healthy rebound in transatlantic travel, which appears to signal a return to near pre-pandemic travel levels. Flight bookings from the USA to key European markets were up 246% in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. That means more than triple the number of US visitors this year compared to last. The most significant leap Read more

Canadian airlines are offering excellent deals for travel within Canada this fall. Flights to Europe are priced reasonably, but Caribbean flights appear to be expensive. A look today at aircanada.com reveals one way tickets from Toronto to Vancouver in mid-November (hardly the peak of travel season in Canada) for just $143 one-way. WestJet’s website shows flights from Calgary to Toronto in mid-November from $118. The deals aren’t quite as good for Europe, but they’re not bad. Air Canada shows flights from Toronto to London from Nov. 18-21 for $769 round-trip (about $385 one-way), and return flights between Montreal and Paris Read more