That more Americans are visiting Toronto is good news. The fact they’re staying longer and spending more is even better. Tourism Toronto released its 2015 visitation numbers today, showing a five per cent rise in overnight visits and a 10 per cent hike in U.S. numbers. Overall, Toronto attracted 14.03 million overnight visits last year, the first time they’ve gone over the 14 million mark. The city’s previous best was in 2014, with 13,365,800 overnight visits. Montreal earlier this month announced they attracted 9.6 million visitors last year, while Vancouver said they brought in 9.4 million folks. Numbers from the Read more
Ontario travel
The entry of the big boys from Trump and Shangri-La and the new Four Seasons Hotel and the fairly new Ritz Carlton has garnered a lot of attention in Toronto hotel circles. So much so that we (meaning in this case, I), sometimes forget about a very sleek and very convenient hotel right downtown: One King West. The famous tower in the historic (almost 100 years!) bank building at King and Yonge has 330 hotel rooms; all suites with kitchens for the convenience of guests. They do a fair bit of leisure travel, as it’s very convenient to attractions like Read more
ALONG THE FRENCH RIVER IN ONTARIO – “Alex is picking some people up at Five Fingers Rapids, you should take a boat ride with him.” I had just settled in for some serious note taking on the screened in porch of my fabulous cottage at the Lodge at Pine Cove, overlooking the French River west of North Bay, near the town of Noelville. I’d only been on the property an hour or so but when the owner of a lodge suggests I take a boat ride I usually find there’s a reason. And who doesn’t love riding a boat on Read more
WAWA, ONTARIO – My last night on the shores of Lake Superior, and it was quite something. The Rock Island Lodge is a small, cozy affair directly on the shores of the greatest of Great Lakes, a short drive down an easy to handle dirt road outside of Wawa. I stayed in a basic but perfectly fine room off the main dining room, with a nice bath and views out to the lake. It’s part of the Naturally Superior Adventures paddling centre, which offers everything from paddleboard lessons to short canoe rides on the next-door Michipicoten River to long kayak Read more
ROSSPORT, ONTARIO – I arrived in this small village on the shores of Lake Superior on Monday at 4:30 p.m.. I had notes to pull together from the day’s touring. It was raining lightly. I had a pounding headache. And a 6 p.m. appointment to go out on the lake in a zodiac boat, one of those ones with the rubber-ish bumpers they use on whale watching tours. I did not feel like a zodiac tour and mentioned to Dawn, who runs the tidy Willows B and B in Rossport and my home for the night, that I might skip Read more
