Expedia has come out with its list of top world destinations for 2025, and there are some great picks. Here’s their top nine for the upcoming year. A Catalonian culinary haven Girona, Spain As Catalonian capital Barcelona hits the headlines for record-breaking tourism numbers, conscious travellers are keeping visits short and sweet, basing themselves primarily in nearby Girona, a hill-top medieval showstopper just 40 minutes away via the new Avlo high-speed train service. In gastronomic circles, Girona has been an insider secret for years, with 12 Michelin-starred restaurants in the region, snapping at San Sebastián’s crown as Spain’s culinary Read more
Japan
A new report on travel preferences for residents of Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa names Perth as the world’s top city, and Portugal as the most attractive country. Meanwhile, a new American Express business travel study names New Jersey, western Michigan, North Carolina, Honolulu and Sacramento, California as top emerging markets for biz travellers. This year’s Amex Trendex report reveals a surprising shift towards less traditional destinations that are becoming increasingly attractive to corporate travelers. For the first time, Amex identified five trending U.S. destinations based on commercial customer spending: Princeton, New Jersey; Durham, North Carolina; Southwest Read more
A new look at the world’s safest and most riskiest cities for tourists puts Toronto in the top three. Forbes Advisor looked at a variety of criteria, including U.S. State Department advisories, crime rates, and health infrastructure. Cities were given numerical ratings from zero (most safe) to 100 (least safe) Singapore came out on top with a zero rating, which is pretty remarkable. Forbes said the island state has the lowest natural disaster rating and the second lowest health security risk, reflecting the level and quality of healthcare services and infrastructure. Air Canada recently began direct flights between Vancouver and Read more
New and enhanced flights to exotic destinations such as Singapore and Stockholm, plus 120 destinations in North America. Air Canada has released its plan for the busy summer travel season, and it features a 30% growth in capacity to the Asia-Pacific region, including flights to Osaka, Seoul and Singapore. There’s also a 25% boost for key leisure destinations in Southern Europe compared to last year, including flights to Stockholm and Madrid. “We continue to see strong demand for southern European destinations, and have increased capacity to countries such as Italy, Greece and especially Spain for this summer,” said Mark Galardo, Read more
Some fun items for today’s post, including some interesting lists of great destinations for budget travelers, top hotels for baseball fans, the coolest hotels in Canada, and great new hotels around the world, and a look at the most inviting towns in California. Let’s get to it. TOP DESTINATIONS FOR BUDGET TRAVELERS Here’s an informative item I found about places where your dollar (be it American or Canadian) will go farther. Given the ravages of inflation, that’s an important topic for just about everyone these days. This list comes from the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Read more
