The man in charge of bringing visitors to Vancouver doesn’t seem terribly happy about the state of tourism in his city. Speaking to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade last week, Royce Chwin, the CEO of Destination Vancouver, said there is a “great dearth” of new tourism experiences and attractions in Vancouver. The Daily Hive reports that “the last major attraction that opened in Vancouver was almost exactly a decade ago in 2013, when FlyOver Canada opened within the former IMAX theatre space at Canada Place.” The website said the city also has a shortage of hotel rooms, and that Read more
Santa Monica
By Jim Byers, Member, Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) SANTA MONICA – Elegant. Beachy. Classy. And sometimes even cheesy. This is a California city that has a little bit of everything. You can relax at a renowned hotel and dine 17 floors in the sky, with fabulous cuisine, craft cocktails and a view of the Pacific Ocean, but you can also take advantage of happy hour at a casual Mexican place. You can go for a $200 treatment in a hushed, luxurious spa, but you can also stroll the beach for free or pose for photos at the western Read more
I wrote yesterday about how Air Canada Vacations and Lufthansa both are moving forward with new flights. Now I see Southwest Air in the U.S. is doing the same, and that Disney is looking at how it will re-open Walt Disney World with new social distancing measures. I think we can safely say that we’re moving into the early stages of recovery for the travel and tourism business. The steps are small, but they’re happening across a spectrum of businesses. And that’s great to see. Disney Recovery Plans My friends at TravelPulse in the U.S. have a story in their Read more
SANTA MONICA – The beach you probably know about. And maybe the famous pier, which marks the western end (or beginning) of Route 66. But Santa Monica is increasingly known for its amazing food scene. I was in town for a couple days in February and managed a delicious lunch at a new Mexican place run by two well-known chefs and a fantastic dinner at a new restaurant run by a Michelin-starred chef. Less than an hour after touching down at LAX on our Air Canada flight, my wife and I were chatting with Mary Sue Milliken at Socalo, a Read more
Nobody will ever agree – ever – with anyone else’s list. That almost goes without saying. What you think are the top 10 wines in the world are almost certainly not mine. And I’ll never understand Academy Award or Grammy Award voters. So it’s probably not surprising that I take a bit of umbrage (and that I’m also dissatisfied) with CNN’s list of the top 100 beaches of the world. Before I launch a miniature rant, let me say I’m actually pretty happy with this list. I usually think of CNN as pretty U.S. focussed, but this is a very Read more
