It’s been a tough year for tourism on Maui, but positive signs are emerging. Virtuoso, a luxury travel agent network that books exclusive vacations around the world, said its sales for Maui resorts are up 4% for the first six months of the year. For the winter holiday or “festive” season, sales are up a whopping 66%. A network spokesperson on Monday, Aug. 12 said that West Maui/Lahaina bookings are about 7% lower than Wailea, which makes sense given the incredible fire damage to Lahaina in August of last year. “Even with the noticeable impacts on tourism to Maui, we Read more
Belfast
Lonely Planet says folks should choogle on down to Chile next year. But they also should slide over to South Korea and check out Portugal, Djibouti and New Zealand. The popular travel guide and publishing company today (Oct. 24) issued its annual book of top places for experience-hungry travellers to dine in and explore in 2018. Last year Canada was all over these kinds of charts owing to 2017 being our 150th birthday. This year we’ve slipped off the radar and nearly disappeared, at least in the Lonely Planet Guide. Canadian destinations failed to appear in the list of top Read more
Such a big world. So many great places to go. The Internet is filled (well, not quite) with year-end stories that look ahead to great places to visit in 2016. I’ve found some nice suggestions from folks such as Frommer’s and Conde Nast, as well as Lonely Planet, which singled out Quebec City. But they’re not me, so I’ve come up with my own suggestions of cool places to check out in the New Year. Happy travels to all! CALGARY The city has quietly become a hotspot for cutting edge cuisine, as evidenced by the recent naming of Pigeonhole as Read more
Most everyone who goes to Europe wants to see London and the Louvre. Not to mention Rome. But there are so many great places to go that aren’t quite as obvious. So here are five of my favourite cities and countries you should check out on your next European trip. VALENCIA A very under-rated city, I think. You’ll find a huge beach fronted by lovely cafés serving all kinds of great seafood, including paella; a favourite in this part of Spain. I love the beach, but I think the city centre is even nice. Here you’ll find one of architect Read more
