Here’s a lazy Sunday Labour Day compendium of a few stories I found on the old Internet this morning about new world hotels, travel products for people with small children, Caribbean visits and more, plus a note about Toronto Pearson delays. First off, I’ve been tracking delays at Toronto Pearson Airport the past few days, and things aren’t a whole lot better. According to Flight Aware, here are the outgoing flight delay stats for the past few days. September 1: 205 delays (15 minutes or more), which is 33% of all outbound flights. September 2: 200 delays (34%) September 3: Read more
San Francisco
An insurance company called Luko has looked at the most bike-friendly cities in the world, and Europe came out smelling like a rose. Nine of the top ten bike-friendly cities were in Europe, led by Utrecht, Holland. North American cities fared poorly, with Montreal the only entry in the top 20 (16th overall). Vancouver came 37th, while San Francisco was the top U.S. city in 39th position. Portland, Oregon was 41st and Seattle 50th. Cities were ranked on a variety of issues, including bike accident rates, theft rates, weather, bike usage and infrastructure. Holland had two cities in the top Read more
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
Now that the U.S. has lifted its COVID testing requirements, San Francisco is now that much easier to get to for Canadians looking to experience one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the United States. San Francisco was named the “Best City in the World” by Time Out in 2021. A host of direct flights will bring Canadians to the temperate climate that makes San Francisco a year-round favourite – never too cold, and never too hot – which will be a welcomed escape as the summer heats up! Effective public transportation, walkability, and a bike-friendly environment also 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
