A look at a lovely hotel and a fantastic attraction on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, a look at new Hyatt hotels across Canada, and a taste of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region in Toronto. Oh, and an Explora Journey’s Black Friday cruise sale! All in today’s blog post. O’AHU NORTH SHORE: A COOL HOTEL AND THE FAB POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER Tourism representatives from the north shore of O’ahu were in town recently, giving me a chance to hear more about a terrific part of Hawai’i. I’ve been to the north shore many times, including a visit to the Polynesian Cultural Read more
cruising
I stopped in at a recent Scenic/Emerald workshop in Toronto to hear more about the magnificent Emerald Yachts from Emerald Cruises. There are three at sea now, the Emerald Azzurra, the Emerald Sakara and the new Emerald Kaia, which launched in April of this year. Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara each have a capacity of 128 passengers and have nearly a one-to-one guest to crew ratio. Emerald Kaia has up to 95 crew members. Because the ships are relatively small, they can get into ports that other ships can’t. A monster cruise ship with several thousand passengers might have to dock Read more
More women travelling solo and more multi-generational trips. More Canadians staying home. And no slowdown in sight for luxury travel. The Virtuoso Luxe Report Canada was revealed at a Virtuoso media event in Toronto this week. The briefing provided an in-depth look at the booming luxury travel market and a bevy of travel trends. It also provided a few surprise facts about how Canadians are making choices that differ from other travellers. The Luxe Report was issued as part of Virtuoso’s On Tour event, which saw dozens of advisors on hand to meet with destinations, hotels, cruise Read more
I’ve often been an advocate for travelling to popular places in shoulder season. Europe, in particular, is jammed with visitors in summer. But it can be just as delightful in April or May, or in October or even November. Places like the Algarve in southern Portugal and Sicily in southern Italy are delightful most of the time in winter, and Spain’s Canary Islands usually sport January temperatures in the low 20s, which makes it a great destination all year long. I received an email this week about Spanish tourism, and it said nearly half of Spain’s tourism activity (47%) now Read more
With Pride Month almost here, I noticed a recent study of the world’s best destinations for LGBGT travellers, as well as for women and people of color. The study by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, a long-standing travel insurance firm, put The Netherlands on top, followed by Canada and France. Canada was cited for its low crime rate, secure transportation, healthcare for all, diversity and economic stability. Here’s their full top 10: The Netherlands Canada France Australia Austria United Kingdom Ireland Iceland Japan Switzerland TURKISH AIRLINES EXPANDS CANADA FLIGHTS, SPONSORS CANADIAN OPEN GOLF Following a successful inaugural year, Turkish Airlines is Read more
