Canadians are booking trips to Europe and the U.S.. Cruise companies are expanding rapidly. And new hotels are being built in Canada around the world. The latest RBC consumer tracking figures for Canada finds that travel spending recently touched pre-COVID levels for the first time as pandemic restrictions eased. “The domestic tourism recovery continues to outpace international travel but Canadian spending on restaurants and hotels abroad has also been rising,” RBC said. Meanwhile, the American Automobile Association this week said cruise bookings during the past four weeks are twice as high as this time last year. Just 612 Canadians visited Read more
Europe
Air Canada today said it will be donating $10 for every booking made on aircanada.com to support Ukraine relief aid, with a total donation of up to $250,000. This $250,000 donation will complement the $170,000 contribution recently made by Air Canada’s employees and the Air Canada Foundation to the Canadian Red Cross and other charities, as well as the ongoing humanitarian aid destined to Poland and Ukraine transported through Air Canada Cargo. Additionally, Aeroplan Members may donate Aeroplan points at Ukrainian Relief Fund, with 100% of points to be redistributed to various charitable organizations supporting relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees Read more
From the 70th anniversary for Queen Elizabeth on the throne to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, there’s plenty to celebrate in Great Britain this year. On top of all that, they’ve eliminated all travel restrictions, so there’s no form to fill out, no test to take and no quarantine to fret over. “It’s like the gold old days,” I said in a chat this morning with Dame Judith Macgregor, chair of the British Tourism Authority. “Yes,” she replied with a laugh. “We just value it more, don’t we?” Amen to that. Macgregor, an engaging interview, said travel trends are very Read more
Canada isn’t the happiest place on earth, but it’s top of the heap in North America. A World Happiness Report rankings, based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll, finds that Canada is #15 in the world on the happiness scale. That’s one spot ahead of the United States, and two ahead of the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Canada was tenth in 2020 and ninth in the world in 2019, so perhaps we’re slipping. For the fifth year in a row, Finland came in as the world’s happiest country, based on such factors as healthy life Read more
WestJet today announced its 2022 summer schedule, marking a significant milestone in recovery through the restoration of its network to near pre-pandemic levels. Making significant investments in its transatlantic network, the airline will offer a multitude of connections to Europe this summer, with more non-stop service options across the country from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax. WestJet also announced new, daily service between Toronto and Chicago beginning May 19, 2022. “We know Canadians are ready to make their highly anticipated return to travel this summer, so whether it’s reconnecting with friends and family, or taking that long overdue trip, we Read more
