It’s been a rough go for Hawaii of late. Visits from Canada are down, and they’ve struggled to regain their once super-strong Japanese market. There’s also, of course, the devastating fire that destroyed most of the lovely, funky town of Lahaina. Maui in 2023. On top of all that, the state suffered a series of devastating rainstorms over the past couple weeks when a Kona low, an unusual low-pressure weather system, parked itself over the island for days on end. There was some damage to roads and infrastructure, but I’m happy to report that the skies are sunny again and Read more
LGBTQ
A new Flight Centre survey shows that flight delays and cancellations top the list of travel pet peeves for Canadians (58%), followed by lost luggage (52%) and disruptive passengers (41%). The findings also reveal generational divides: Gen Z is the most frustrated by lack of Wi-Fi (me, too) and talkative seatmates, while Baby Boomers cite middle-seat discomfort (ugh) and flight delays as their biggest pain points. Here’s a list of the biggest flight bugaboos, as found in the Flight Centre survey conducted by YouGov: Flight delays or cancellations – 58% Lost luggage or baggage concerns – 52% Disruptive passengers (e.g. Read more
Booking.com’s most extensive LGBTQ+ travel research to date spotlights the steady progress, as well as the recent setbacks, for these communities when it comes to travel. Despite the travel industry’s growing recognition of the scope and variety of LGBTQ+ experiences, many travellers today still face enormous challenges. With a background of polarizing political decisions in the past 12 months, personal safety has never been more of a focus, with four fifths (78%) of Canadian LGBTQ+ travellers reporting that they must consider their safety and wellbeing as an LGBTQ+ person when picking a destination – up significantly from 68% last year. Read more
News about LGBTQ+ travel, plus a Nova Scotia golf update and European train travel item. My news roundup for today. Canada Ranked Safest Country in World for LBGTQ+ Travelers Canada ranked at the top of the 2023 list as the most LGBTQ+ country in the world for the third year in the row. Journalists Lyric and Asher Fergusson run a travel site dedicated to LGBTQ+safety. At the beginning of March, they published a report called “The 203 Worst (& Safest) Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel in 2023.” CIC News says they reviewed every country’s individual laws and gathered data from Read more
Either the world is changing, or Gen-Z is getting older. A new study finds Gen-Z travellers are more interested in food or, gasp, sightseeing than they are in hitting the nightclubs. Maybe they’re becoming their parents. A new global report from StudentUniverse, a Flight Centre Travel Group company and the world’s largest student and youth travel marketplace, today’s Gen-Z travelers are more culturally aware, open to new experiences and willing to dig deeper into the places they visit. Compared to past generations, the biggest appeals now for young travelers are sightseeing (70%) and experiencing new culture (68%), followed by trying Read more
