This is another installment of my FUTURE OF TRAVEL series. Today I’m looking at a variety of topics, including closed borders. For all the talk of COVID-19 recoveries in some parts of the world, and it IS good news, it doesn’t mean we’ll be jetting off to Australia or Austria any time soon. In the words of The Eagles, “I’m stuck on the border.” The Canada-U.S. border, which is sometimes called the longest, undefended (for now, anyway) border in the world, has been closed since March 21. Only essential goods are allowed to cross, although people can go across if Read more
Canada travel
This is the second in an ongoing series of posts on the FUTURE OF TRAVEL. I listened in on a couple of very good webinars, but I want to instead today talk about a great study that really hits the Canadian market. Abacus Data, which has offices in Toronto and Ottawa, did a survey of more than 1,000 Canadians the other day and came away with some very interesting stats that should be encouraging for folks in Canadian tourism. The study, conducted April 2 to 7, posited the following question: “Assuming travel restrictions are lifted at the end of June, Read more
This is getting harder. Now that I’m travelling a lot more (and not tied to the desk as much as when I was the Toronto Star Travel editor, a post I left in August, 2013), my year-end “Jimmy Awards” are proving a little more tricky. I did a fair bit of travelling in Canada this year, hitting all the provinces except Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Which means I have a great many more things to single out than in previous years. Which is why I’m splitting up the Jimmy’s into two categories: Canada and the rest of the world. I’ll Read more
VANCOUVER – An unusual sushi spot, classic outdoor walks and an historic hotel. Despite what we might think of the weather out west, it does occasionally snow in Vancouver. Such was the case early last week, when my planned frolic in the canyons of North Vancouver and crossing of a couple of pedestrian bridges turned into something a bit chillier than I had planned. Mind you, it was extremely beautiful and not very cold by Ontario standards; around plus 4 Celsius. And the snow wasn’t particularly bad, only a few centimetres. I’d probably prefer to tour the canyons in good Read more
Welcome Rewards, the Hotels.com loyalty program, has just reached 10 million members and has redeemed more than one million free nights since its launch in 2008. In the program, customers can earn a free night at more than 100,000 hotels across the world for every 10 nights stayed, with no blackout dates. They issued a list today of where Canadians are using their points. And it’s mostly to stay close to home. Here’s the list of the top 10 redeemed destinations for Canadians in 2013: 1. Toronto, 2. Montreal, 3. Niagara Falls, 4. Edmonton, 5. Calgary, 6. New York City, Read more
