Expedia Group bookings for the second quarter of this year were the highest in history, and travellers around the world are taking more long-haul flights to traditional, top destinations. Expedia Group’s second quarter report for 2022 revealed a 40% increase in stayed room nights and a nine per cent increase in stayed average rates. That means significantly more travel despite higher rates, a sure sign of the pent-up demand for travel around the world. The study revealed that the global demand for long-haul flights (more than four hours) soared by more than 50% during the second quarter, compared to last Read more
Rome
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I know. But sometimes I can’t help but get riled up about silly travel lists. For example, there’s this that I found today on a website called mentalfloss.com. The story says a group called Online Mortgage Advisor looked at something called the Golden Ratio (yeah, I’ve never heard of it, either), which measures shapes and building sizes that are pleasing to the eye, and then ranked world cities based on that. It’s interesting, and there are some worthy candidates on the list. But simply focusing on pleasing architectural shapes warps things so Read more
To celebrate the return of Pride around the globe, Airbnb is revealing the top 50 worldwide Pride celebrations this summer. Three Canadian cities made the list. Toronto finished seventh, Montreal was 25th and Vancouver 28th. This ranking is based on total nights booked over respective Pride weekends worldwide, looking at bookings made on Airbnb from January to May 2022. The list uncovers nights booked in each respective city over their Pride weekends this year, with bookings hitting a significant milestone: tens of thousands of nights have already been booked over the top 50 Pride weekends for this summer, bringing Pride weekends in Read more
WestJet this week launched its long-awaited service from Calgary to Rome with the departure of WestJet flight 32 from YYC to Italy. This first scheduled connection between Calgary and Rome, operated on WestJet’s 320-seat 787 Dreamliner, marked a major milestone in the recovery of Alberta’s travel and tourism industry. “The launch of our highly anticipated Calgary-Rome service is an incredible milestone for both WestJet and our guests, as we’ve been looking forward to this moment, for more than two years,” said Angela Avery, WestJet, Executive Vice-President, External Affairs. “With its rich history and culture, it is no surprise that our Read more
Air Transat is pleased to be back in Barcelona, Venice and Brussels, after several months of forced suspension due to COVID-19. Back in Barcelona The airline will operate this weekend its first flight between Toronto and Barcelona (TS248), which will be offered twice a week at the height of the season. Until the end of October, the airline will operate these flights with its new-generation Airbus A321neoLR aircraft. Air Transat offers a selection of direct routes to Spain from Montreal and Toronto: Departure city Destination Starting # of direct flights per week* Montreal Barcelona April 13 3 Montreal Madrid Read more
