The Michelin Guide people are famous for their restaurant ratings, but they also have been doing hotel ratings for a few years. They recently granted Michelin keys (restaurants get stars, hotels get keys) to 42 Canadian properties. Two Canadian hotels received three keys for superb service and quality, those being the remarkable Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland and Labrador, and also Clayuquot Wilderness Lodge in British Columbia. Another eight hotels received two Michelin keys: The Hazelton Hotel Toronto, Manoir Hovey in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Auberge Saint-Antoine in Quebec City, Four Seasons Resort and Residences, Whistler, Four Seasons Hotel Read more
Belize
As Canadians face the peak summer travel season, new research from Intrepid Travel suggests they are looking beyond crowded hotspots and social media-driven hotspots in favour of local connection, human expertise and experiences that positively impact the people and places they visit. The company’s Meaningful Travel Index, based on a national survey of 2,000 Canadians conducted by Wakefield Research found nearly all Canadians (93%) would consider changing their travel habits to help reduce overtourism, while 84% say it is important that their travel positively impacts local people and places. More than seven in 10 Canadians (71%) say overcrowding at popular destinations Read more
It’s a tough time to be a sun seeker from the US or Canada. In January, flights were disrupted to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) due to the US action in Venezuela. A few weeks later, flights to Cuba were halted because of an ongoing lack of aviation fuel, leaving Canadians and other visitors scrambling for alternative sun destinations. Many would-be Cuba visitors, including personal friends of mine, opted instead for Mexico. But some potential visitors are now spooked because of the violent outbreak in Puerto Vallarta on the weekend following the killing of a top Mexican drug Read more
The latest ranking of countries for travel and tourism puts Canada just outside the top 10. The 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index from the World Economic Forum gives top spot to the United States, followed by Spain and Japan. Canada came in 11th, receiving relatively low scores for tourism infrastructure, openness to travel and tourism, cultural resources and price competitiveness. Destination Canada and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada recently stated that Canada was recently ranked 13th (in 2021), and that they aimed to get the country into the top seven by 2030. The tourism index report states Canada Read more
A recent study has named Thailand the tropical destination Americans most want to visit. Costa Rica, Cuba and Australia also make the list. The study undertaken by the all-inclusive review site wereviewresorts.com analyzed the Google search behaviors of each state to pinpoint which tropical destination was searched for the most. The study looked at the Google search traffic for 156 tropical destination terms across every state in America to discover destinations with tropical climates Americans most want to visit. Thailand is the tropical destination that Americans most want to visit, generating more than 6,750 Google searches each month from hopeful Read more
