A new report looks like bad news for tourism and the business travel industry. My travel notebook also has good news for tourism in Las Vegas, Vancouver, San Francisco, Toronto, Bali, and Halifax. I also have news about Emerald Cruises in the Caribbean. BUSINESS TRAVEL: WILL IT EVER RECOVER? A company called Morning Consult surveyed more than 16,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region between October 2021 and summer 2022. It found that two in five Americans who used to travel for work three times a year say they will NEVER take another business trip. People’s intentions Read more
Halifax
Things don’t seem to be improving a whole lot at Toronto Pearson. With the summer travel season winding down and kids heading back to school, it seems Canadians are still flying a great deal. And still getting delayed. Using stats from flightaware.com, I tracked outbound delays at Toronto Pearson for five consecutive days, August 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28. I found cancellations are quite low, which is good news. But delays remain stubbornly high. Here’s what I found for OUTBOUND flights, courtesy of Flight Aware. August 24: 12 cancelled (1%). 168 delayed (27%) August 25: 7 cancelled (1%), 223 Read more
As airline passengers continue to struggle with baggage issues, delays and cancellations, stay close to home this August and hit the open road with Marriott Bonvoy. Take advantage of special end of summer savings that include perks such as food and beverage credits, parking, attraction passes and complimentary gas cards up to $100 in value. So pack up the kids, curate your own playlist and explore all that Canada has to offer at these participating hotels*: Toronto Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto (I especially love the Delta on Bremner Boulevard; a relatively new and very stylish hotel just a few Read more
In a move it hopes will modernize and expedite the travel experience at Canadian airports, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is now providing travellers the option to submit their customs and immigration declaration up to 72 hours in advance of their arrival in Canada through ArriveCAN. The Advance CBSA Declaration optional feature is currently available for international travellers arriving at Toronto Pearson, Montreal-Trudeau, and Vancouver international airports. In the coming months, the optional feature will also become available to travellers arriving at Winnipeg, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Billy Bishop, Ottawa and Quebec City international airports. By submitting their customs and Read more
Seeing Canada through the window of a train is one of the best ways to experience the country. Not only are the views exceptional, but trains are comfortable, low-stress, relaxing and allow you to just sit back and take your time to get to your destination. Train trips can be multi-day adventures from one end of the country to the other, but they can also be small getaways to nearby destinations. While most people are familiar with VIA Rail, there are a number of train companies offering their services across the country, including the Indigenous owned and operated train line, Read more
