As a junior reporter at City News Service in Los Angeles in the late 1970s, I was once assigned to cover a meeting of the group planning the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. I had grown up watching the Games on TV, and it was pretty cool to be at an Olympics organizing committee press conference. I had no way of knowing it, but that assignment was, to paraphrase “Casablanca,” the beginning of a great relationship. Ten years later I was reporter at the City Hall Bureau for the Toronto Star, covering Toronto’s bid for the 1996 Summer Games, which Read more
Olympics
The U.S. will host nearly 80 World Cup contests this year, including the semifinals and finals. It’s also the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. and the 100th anniversary of America’s most iconic road, Route 66. By all rights, U.S. travel and tourism officials should be booking rooms left, right and centre (sorry, center). But ongoing political issues, rising prices for visas for some visitors, and a general reluctance to visit the States by residents of many countries (including Canada) has some questioning whether a golden opportunity will slip out of their fingers this year. Travel Weekly recently Read more
When to book your flights, the increasing power of sports tourism, the debut of the new MSC World America cruise ship, and great hotels in Toronto. Without further adieu, I bring you today’s Jim Byers Travel blog post. TRAVEL TIPS AND TRICKS FROM KAYAK Flight delays and cancellations can really kill the vacation vibe before your trip gets started. KAYAK, the world’s leading travel search engine, is urging Canadians to brace themselves for a possible increase in delays. KAYAK’s travel experts are helping Canadians save their summer with these tips and tricks for avoiding delays and cancellations, even before Read more
The Paris Summer Olympics begin on Friday, July 26. And I’m very much looking forward to it. I covered the Toronto bid for the 1996 Summer Games (I seem to recall we lost to Atlanta) for the Toronto Star, and then the city’s (again) unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Olympics, which went to Beijing. It was a tad depressing, but then I handled the Star’s coverage of Vancouver’s winning bid (it was close, but they got it) for the 2010 Winter Games. Covering the bids, as well as the International Olympics Committee voting scandal in the early 2000’s, allowed me Read more
The Paris Summer Olympics begin a week from tomorrow, on July 26. And I’m very much looking forward to it. I covered the Olympic Games for the Toronto Star for many, many years, including both of Toronto’s failed bids to stage the Games and then Vancouver’s successful gamble for the 2010 Winter Olympics I also was in Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Turin, Beijing and Vancouver to cover the Games in person. I haven’t covered any Olympics since then, but it remains a magical event that I tune into when I can. This year’s Games will be especially cool because Read more
