swotc-bwc-leaderboard-728x90-3

Bangkok

/     Air Canada announced today the expansion of its international network with the addition of Bangkok, Thailand, the carrier’s first non-stop service to South-East Asia. The airline will also be resuming flights to Mumbai, its second destination in the strategic India market. Air Canada’s seasonal service to Bangkok will operate from its trans-Pacific hub at Vancouver International Airport, while the carrier’s Mumbai flights will operate from Toronto via London-Heathrow. Both routes are subject to receiving final government approvals. Officials say they expect to operate at 81% of their 2019 international capacity this winter. “We are extremely pleased to Read more

{ 0 comments }

I always like to support Canadian products, and that includes tourism and related companies like Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which has its world headquarters in mid-town Toronto. I’ve been lucky enough to stay at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts around the world, including Maui, Hawaii Big Island, New York City, Santa Barbara, Chicago and other places. They’re all different but they all raise the bar in terms of rooms, style, food, drinks and service. So I’m always happy to give them a little bit of attention when I can. I got a note from their public relations team today Read more

{ 0 comments }

Hong Kong makes sense. Certainly Tokyo. But Athens? And how does my home city of Toronto end up fifth best for food in Canada? Booking.com today released a list of the top destinations its travellers enjoy for great food. There are some obvious inclusions and some surprising exclusions, if you ask me. (Which you technically didn’t). Here’s what booking.com customers came up with for a ranking of the food scene in Canada: 1. Vancouver 2. Montreal 3. Halifax 4. Winnipeg 5. Toronto I don’t want to get all parochial here, but there’s not a chance Toronto is only the fifth Read more

{ 0 comments }

London’s prices are falling down. But you’re still much further ahead if try Prague or Bangkok. A new study of hotel prices by hotels.com shows that the Brexit vote has had an effect on hotel costs. The study found that Canadians last year paid an average of $254 a night for a hotel in London, England. That’s down 9% from the 2015 average price of $278. It’s a sizable drop, but $254 Cdn. per night is still a hefty price to pay for a night’s sleep. The hotels.com Hotel Price Index study found you’re much better off in Paris, where Read more

{ 2 comments }

Have Canadians thrown off our love affair with the U.S. in favour of exotic Asia? A new report from hotels.com suggests that could be the case. The study of bookings made by Canadians on their site in 2016 found that Los Angeles dropped from the 8th most popular international destination in 2015 all the way down to 20th, while Washington D.C. dropped from number 19 in 2015 to 35th last year. Some U.S. cities still did extremely well. New York was number one and Las Vegas was number two overall for bookings by Canadians, while Orlando was fifth. (The other Read more

{ 0 comments }