Muscat, Oman has the world’s best airport, Minneapolis is best in the U.S., and Calgary is tops in Canada, a new study from AirHelp says. The company ranked 200 world airports for on-time performance, customer opinion (based on surveys) and food + drink, then issued a final score. AirHelp puts on-time performance as the main component, worth a full 60% of an airport’s final score. A score of 8.5 indicates 85% of flights arrived on time. They count a plane as on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival. Customer opinion (they were asked about wait Read more

I had some wonderful visits in the U.S. and Canada this year, including a monumental train trip from Colorado to Utah, a wonderful six days in Prince Edward Island and great stays in Los Angeles, southwest Ontario, southern Florida and northern California. I also got to visit one of my fave islands, Molokai, and spent four nice but sobering days on Maui to see how they’re recovering from the devastating and still unfathomable wildfires. It wasn’t all pretty, but I had many a remarkable experience and more than a few great meals along the way. Thanks to everyone who helped Read more

There’s a new action plan to boost Maui’s economy following the deadly August wildfires. The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Board of Directors has furthered its ongoing commitment to mālama (care for) Maui and support the island’s recovery by approving an immediate six-month action plan for 2024 to help address major challenges confronting residents, small businesses, visitor industry providers, Maui’s economy, and families seeking housing. The action plan is designed to fulfill tourism’s responsibilities in alliance with the leadership established by Governor Josh Green, M.D. and within the broader scope of Maui’s recovery efforts being conducted by the State Department of Business, Read more

A new study by photo wall art creator StoryBoards revealed that Italy is the most popular destination for a Christmas trip for Americans.  The study analyzed travel-related keywords such as “flights”, “restaurants”, “ski facilities”, and more next to 43 popular vacation destinations to discover where Americans are interested in spending their holidays the most.  Italy takes the crown with almost 93,000 average searches from September to December 2023. One of the most popular destinations for Americans all year long, Italy can be especially magical during the winter months and Christmas, with markets scattered around the country, as well as offering Read more

New research has revealed the most picturesque beaches in America, with California’s La Jolla Cove coming out on top. Florida and Hawaii also cleaned up.M The study by hotel company Westgate Resorts analyzed the number of Instagram hashtags for the most visited beaches across the country. These hashtag numbers were then compared with each beach’s length to see which beaches had the highest number of hashtags per meter. California’s La Jolla Cove takes the crown as the most Instagrammable beach in America, with a whopping 4,257 hashtags per meter. The beach has had 366,068 hashtagged Instagram posts made about it, and Read more

I had some great visits outside of Canada and the U.S. this year, visiting Sydney, Tasmania, Western Australia, Dominica, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Scotland and England. Here are some highlights. BEST RENTAL CAR EMPLOYEE My reservation was all messed up and the Budget Rental Car counter was closed when I landed at the airport in Esperance, Western Australia. I called the phone number for after hours help and reached a very kind woman named Hope. She was about to head off to a gender reveal party but said she could drive out and get my car set up for me, which Read more