Britain as a visitor destination is in the global media spotlight with Her Majesty The Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations kicking off today, and VisitBritain is taking the opportunity to promote ‘destination Britain’ and inspire travel from Canada. With all international travel restrictions lifted for all passengers arriving in to the UK since March 18, boosting consumer confidence in visiting Britain, tourism businesses across the country are ready to welcome back Canadians and provide a stand-out experience. VisitBritain’s latest research shows pent-up demand for international travel from Canada. Seventy-seven per-cent of those it surveyed from Canada were keen to take Read more

I was chatting yesterday with Petra Roach, chief executive officer of the Grenada Tourism Authority, and mentioned how the island seems to be on the cusp of joining some of the region’s bigger tourism draws. I wouldn’t say she recoiled in horror, but she did look at me a little funny. “We really don’t want to be mainstream,” she said with a smile. “We’re what we like to call a boutique product, where you can get up close and personal with the community. “Grenada is a place where you can actually stop and take stock,” she continued. “You can almost Read more

In a ruling that should allow Flair Airlines to continue selling low-cost flights to Canadians and others, the Trudeau government has ruled that Flair qualifies as a Canadian airline. The Canadian Transportation Agency issued a statement on its website today, stating that the agency “issued its final determination and found that Flair is Canadian.” “It’s a fantastic day for team Flair,” president and CEO Stephen Jones said at a press conference today. “‘The question has been answered.” Global News reports that Jones said the Edmonton-based company “never doubted” that it was Canadian and the decision by the CTA is very clear: Read more

Tourism is rebounding strongly in cities across Canada. But most tourism officials say they’re not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, and that labour shortages could limit their ability to recover as quickly as they’d like. A review of tourism officials in several major Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, finds municipal leaders are generally in a positive mood as Tourism Week in Canada kicks off. “Right now … the occupancy is strong,” said Karen Soyka, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development at Destination Vancouver. “What we have (for figures) is really up to March, and what we’re seeing is Read more

Visit Scotland held a fine event in Toronto on Tuesday night, with tons of great information about a destination Canadians love to visit. I’ve somehow never been to Scotland as a travel writer, but I was there after I graduated from college and had a marvellous time in Edinburgh and up around Loch Ness. There are a remarkable 13 UNESCO sites in Scotland, and they’ve created a UNESCO trail so you can enjoy all of them, or sample from the ones you think look best. Of course, there’s also amazing history, increasingly fabulous food, Scotch whisky and gin, the Edinburgh Read more

May 29th to June 4th marks Tourism Week in Canada, and Burlington, Ontario is a great place to check out. “Travel has slowly started to return, and we look forward to welcoming more visitors to Burlington, Ontario this summer,” tourism officials said. “This is good news for Burlington’s tourism businesses, after two unprecedented years, and they look forward to serving residents and visitors.” Tourism in Canada was a $105 billion industry sector employing approximately 1.8 million workers, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many communities, tourism and hospitality was the first and hardest hit sector, which will take the longest Read more