Toronto is Canada’s most welcoming city and is the top 15 in the world, according to a new study by TravelBird. With the United Nations celebrating World Cities Day today (Oct.31), TravelBird looked at the top 500 tourists destinations around the world and then took into account factors that can lead to a visitor feeling welcome, including the happiness of locals, openness to tourists, airports and other issues. They gave Singapore the highest rating, with a mark of 8.22. Next were Stockholm (8.02), Helsinki (8.01), San Francisco (8.00) and Rotterdam (7.98). The next five were Lisbon, Tokyo, Oslo, Zurich, and Read more

BARBADOS – There are certain places in the world that just kind of hit me the minute I arrive. One of those is the Crane Resort on Barbados, an island and a hotel/resort I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying for three full stays and a brief day visit. It’s one of the outstanding resorts in the Caribbean; a gracious and beautiful property that sits on a bluff overlooking the quiet and rugged southeast coast of the island. One of the best things about the resort is the way they’ve encompassed so many historical elements. A hotel was originally built here Read more

Younger Canadian travelers focus on crossing off destinations on their bucket list and embrace the You Only Live Once attitude. But baby boomers in Canada enjoy worry-free, all-inclusive resorts and cruise trips. They also travel for longer periods of time. So says a study by Expedia Media Solutions, the advertising arm of the Expedia group. The study looked at Canadian Gen Z and millenials and compared their travel attitudes and spending habits with older members of the boomer generation. Expedia Media Solutions found that millenials take the most trips per year; 3.1. Next were Gen X’ers at 2.8, Boomers at Read more

Canadian millennials would rather take grandma on their bucket list trips than a movie star. Hotels.com surveyed Canadian millennials and found that 40% would rather complete their bucket list trips with their parents or grandparents than anyone else. Only 11 % said they’d want to complete their trips with a celebrity. 28% said they’d want to go with a sibling and 25% said they’d like to go alone. As well, almost one-in-five millennials (18%) said they get their travel inspiration from parents or grandparents. I don’t know about you, but in these days of negative news I love that millennials Read more

I was in Edmonton earlier this year and wrote about the great food scene for the Postmedia chain of newspapers. In case you missed it, I was raving about great food and drinks at places like Bar Clementine, Baijiu, Rge Rd and Rostizado. The headline on the story? “Why your next foodie trip should be Edmonton.” That was back on June 20. Here we are four months later and the folks at Air Canada seem to agree. The 2017 Air Canada listing of the top new restaurants in Canada names three Edmonton places: Bar Clementine fifth, Café Linnea in sixth Read more

Canadians are checking out the beauty of Brazil, the marvels of Montego Bay and the lush nature on Kauai, says a new study from KAYAK. A look at the top trending destinations (those with the biggest increase in traffic) for the upcoming holiday season shows a whopping 53% rise in interest in Montego Bay, Jamaica; the largest percentage increase of any destination in the study. Next was Kauai, perhaps the most lush and natural of the Hawaiian Islands, and vibrant Sao Paulo, Brazil, both with a growth of 49%. Not only does KAYAK keep track of the destinations Canadians are Read more