The Bahamas says it will officially open for visitors July 1. Meanwhile, Italy on Monday opened its doors for tourism. I also have updates on re-openings for Hawaii and Portugal, as well as news about renting an RV in Canada for a great road trip and a US poll that suggests folks are getting ready to travel more. All in today’s Future of Travel blog. BAHAMAS MAKES IT OFFICIAL: RE-OPENING IS JULY 1 The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation, along with the Tourism Readiness and Recovery Committee, a group comprised of public and private sector partners, announced today a Read more
Portugal
Spain, Edmonton, Aruba and Universal Studios Hollywood wouldn’t seem to have a lot in common. But the latest report from the folks at Expedia Canada says those are some of the hottest places for Canadians using Expedia to book their trips. When it comes to analyzing travel trends, Expedia has a leg up. Being one of the world’s largest online travel brands means being able to uncover themes across air travel, hotel stays, searches and bookings, even experiences – all in the pursuit of arming Canadian travellers with everything they need to travel smarter in 2020. And today the results Read more
Lonely Planet says folks should choogle on down to Chile next year. But they also should slide over to South Korea and check out Portugal, Djibouti and New Zealand. The popular travel guide and publishing company today (Oct. 24) issued its annual book of top places for experience-hungry travellers to dine in and explore in 2018. Last year Canada was all over these kinds of charts owing to 2017 being our 150th birthday. This year we’ve slipped off the radar and nearly disappeared, at least in the Lonely Planet Guide. Canadian destinations failed to appear in the list of top Read more
London’s prices are falling down. But you’re still much further ahead if try Prague or Bangkok. A new study of hotel prices by hotels.com shows that the Brexit vote has had an effect on hotel costs. The study found that Canadians last year paid an average of $254 a night for a hotel in London, England. That’s down 9% from the 2015 average price of $278. It’s a sizable drop, but $254 Cdn. per night is still a hefty price to pay for a night’s sleep. The hotels.com Hotel Price Index study found you’re much better off in Paris, where Read more
I spent a great deal of time in Canada and the U.S. in 2016. I also had visits to several Caribbean Islands, including small spots like Mayreau on a Sea Dream Yacht Club cruise and larger islands such as the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, Barbados and St. Martin. I had week-long visits to both Australia and New Zealand. And I managed time in Portugal, England, Italy, Germany and several other countries on my Viking River cruise. Here are my Jimmy Awards for top travel spots of 2016 outside Canada and the U.S. Best Beach Surprise: Playa Rincon, Dominican Republic. Reached via Read more
