U.S.A.

Porter Airlines  has launched three new routes between Ottawa International Airport and Boston, New York-Newark and Thunder Bay today, providing convenient travel links for the region.  The new routes are part of Porter’s broader expansion plan in Ottawa and its commitment to the region, including new maintenance hangars that are currently under construction at YOW. These will serve as a primary maintenance facility for the airline’s new E195-E2 fleet. Porter is the only airline providing year-round daily direct flights to Boston and Thunder Bay from Ottawa.  “This builds on our already extensive network in Eastern Canada and substantially increases the Read more

Brits are devouring a television show that features people racing across Canada, and Canadian tourism officials hope it will boost British visits to the country. An Amazing Race-style show called “Race Across the World” has contestants dashing from Haida Gwaii, the remote set of islands north of Vancouver Island, to St. John’s. But entirely by land or water; no air planes. The show is getting lots of attention, and a story in The Guardian says Canadian tourism officials are keeping a close eye. Great Britain is Canada’s number one overseas (not international, that’s the U.S.) market for visitors, but numbers Read more

Here are some new travel bits from today’s news, as well as a recap of some items from earlier this week that you might have missed. Canada’s Travel Guy, at your service. PORTER AIRLINES TRIMS SCHEDULE   The Globe and Mail today reports that Toronto-based Porter Airlines has made “extensive” cuts to its flight schedule. The airline in the last couple months has with great fanfare announced a series of new routes on its new Embraer jets, including Toronto-Calgary and Toronto-Vancouver. I spotted airline founder Bob Deluce at Toronto Pearson a few weeks ago and he said more big announcements Read more

I’m not sure what this means for travel and tourism, but it can’t hurt Canadian efforts to lure more American visitors – and American dollars – north of the border. A new poll by Angus Reid finds that Canadians are more unified than Americans in viewing their country as a caring and safe place to call home, and a positive contributor to the globe. Overall, four-in-five Canadians (78%) say their country is a caring society. Only one-in-three Americans say the same (36%). Nine-in-ten north of the 49th parallel say they live in a safe country (89%), while half as many Read more