WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – Canadians are flocking back to Florida in near-record numbers. Following nearly three years of declining numbers, Canadian visits to Florida are very nearly back to 2019 levels, tourism officials have announced. Speaking to media at this year’s Florida Huddle tourism event in West Palm Beach, VISIT FLORIDA executives said a surge in Canadian visits to the Sunshine State last fall resulted in 1.04 million visits from Canada. That’s just 4.5% below the fourth quarter figure of 1.09 million for 2019. It’s also the first quarter since the start of the pandemic that saw Florida attract Read more
Fort Myers
For years now, I’ve posted travel blogs that point out what other websites suggest for places to visit the following year. This time, I’m happy to mention a few of the major travel publications, but I’m also providing my OWN list of places I think travellers should explore. Without further ado, here are my Jim Byers Travel suggestions for cool places to check out in 2023. I’ve listed ten, with a bonus pick at no extra charge. WESTERN AUSTRALIA I visited in May of this year, and it was one of the best trips of my life. Perth was a Read more
Southwest Florida was slammed recently by Hurricane Ian. Here’s a statement put out today by local authorities. “The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (Fort Myers – Islands, Beaches & Neighborhoods) is working closely with state, federal and local officials to assess the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall on September 28 as a Category 4 near Cayo Costa, an island just off the coast of Fort Myers. Search and rescue efforts continue throughout the region. Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers has reopened for limited operations. Visitors are asked to put travel plans to the Read more
The Fort Myers airport is slated to open for limited traffic today, but that doesn’t mean tourism will be back any time soon in Southwest Florida. A spokesperson for Fort Myers tourism told me on Tuesday that limited flights will begin today and that Air Canada is tentatively scheduled to fly in and out of Fort Myers on Friday. A few hotels could open soon, but rooms are being set aside for utility workers and other responders. Hurricane Ian did tremendous damage to Florida and other parts of the U.S., as well as to some Caribbean islands. The death toll Read more
NAPLES, FLORIDA – I’m only a few minutes away from one of the top destinations in Florida on a bright, clear morning. But the only sounds I hear as I wander along a wooden boardwalk at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary are the shrill warbling of tiny birds in overhead pines and a light wind tickling the fronds of a palm tree. Below my feet, the water likes flat and shiny blue-back beneath my feet. Spiky bromeliads, neon-green plants that grow from the trunks of trees, shine in the dappled morning sunlight and tiny insects scurry across the dark surface of Read more
