So, this is interesting. A new study called the Tourism Sentiment Index has looked at the “most loved” destinations around the world, and it’s not at all what you might expect. Richmond, British Columbia was the top Canadian destination listed, coming 34th overall. Mississauga, Ontario was 42nd in the world and finished second in Canada. The company, which is based in Vancouver, said its findings were “drawn from more than 1.6 billion online conversations and content pieces publicly available about 21,330 global destinations.” “Our work with destinations is amassing a continuously expanding dataset within Tourism Sentiment Index,” the group said Read more
Palm Springs
Swoop, Canada’s leading ultra-low fare airline, has reaffirmed its commitment to the Edmonton region with the announcement of new service to one U.S. and eight domestic destinations from its Western Canadian base. The airline’s significant new investments were celebrated this morning alongside the unveiling of Swoop’s newest aircraft, which will fly with the name #Edmonton. The airline’s growth will see Swoop’s flight capacity in Alberta’s capital increase 76% compared to pre-pandemic levels, supporting the creation of 140 additional direct and spin-off jobs and an anticipated $120M of economic output activity in 2022. “This is a major milestone for Swoop as Read more
Winter could still throw a COVID-19 curveball as we move indoors, but there are some positive signs in the tourism and travel industry. Executives at IHG Hotels & Resorts say they’re encouraged by the business environment and the third quarter performance of their hotels, especially in the U.S. The website Hotel News Now quotes Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, chief financial officer and head of group strategy, as saying occupancy and average daily rate in some markets this summer were back to 2019 levels. According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travellers, the drop in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths Read more
Mandatory temperature checks for Canadian airline passengers are on the way. I also have news on a June 15 phase one re-opening for The Bahamas and a July 1st opening for Bermuda tourism, as well as reports on new marketing campaigns for Tahiti and Greater Palm Springs. My Future of Travel blog for Friday, June 12. BAHAMAS PHASE ONE RE-OPENING IS JUNE 15 The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation has announced the destination will begin Phase 1 of the Tourism Readiness and Recovery Plan on Monday, June 15, which welcomes international boaters, yachters and private aviation back to Bahamian Read more
Favourite Sign: This one in the Cayman Islands. It’s particularly notable for folks in the travel writing world, as “off the beaten path” is one of those phrases most of us would like to see banned from every travel story. If only I could have found a street called “Hidden Gem.” Most romantic sunrise: Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on the Norwegian Bliss on a TravelBrands SeaU cruise in October. I grew up in the Bay Area, so to see the bridge and sail under it like that was a big treat. I wish I had Read more
