More than nine in 10 visitors to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto said they are likely to return to Ontario for a leisure trip within the next two years, according to a visitor intercept study released today (Sept. 2) by Destination Ontario. Conducted in partnership with Destination Toronto and Context Research Group Inc., the study surveyed visitors during the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto and found high visitor satisfaction, positive perceptions of Ontario and strong intent to return. It remains to be seen if those opinions translate into actual visits, but it’s quite encouraging to see numbers like Read more
Shanghai
MSN Travel has come up with a list of the world’s safest cities. Each city was looked at for a variety of factors and given a numerical ranking. The United Arab Emirates cleaned up, notching the top three spots and five of the top six. The Netherlands had four cities in the top 20, while Switzerland, Norway and Croatia each had two in the top 30. The only North American cities in the top 30 were Merida, Mexico and Quebec City, Canada. No U.S. cities made the cut. Here’s the full top 30. Abu Dhabi, UAE, 88.9 Ras-al-Khaimah, UAE, 86.6 Read more
Canadians have easier ways to get to great European and Asian destinations this summer. Starting in June, passengers from Montreal will be able to fly direct on Air Canada to Nantes, an historic city on the Loire River in the Normandy region of France. It’s the first time Air Canada will fly to Nantes, which also is served by Air Transat. Air Canada next month also will begin flights from Montreal to Palma de Mallorca in Spain, and Catania, Sicily. TravelPulse Canada reports customers in June also will be able to fly direct from Toronto to Shanghai, China, resuming flights Read more
A new list of top hotels from Forbes. Tourism jumps for Anguilla, Curacao and Shanghai. A new Marriott hotel in Barbados. And a continued drop in Canadian visits to the States. That plus a Cuba tourism update and TPC Sawgrass PGA Tour golf in today’s travel report. FORBES HOTEL, SPA, RESTAURANT AND CRUISE RATINGS FOR 2026 Forbes has come out with its annual list of top hotels, restaurants, spas and cruise ships around the world. Totaling 2,422 properties, the winners include 343 Five-Star, 708 Four-Star and 679 Recommended hotels and 82 Five-Star, 138 Four-Star and 80 Recommended restaurants. They also Read more
Canadians are looking for trips to Asia for March Break, but Florida also is high on the list. According to data from KAYAK, the world’s leading travel search engine, Asia continues to be the top trending spot for Canadians over spring break, with a 14 per cent increase in flight searches since last year. And with overall airfare costing less (down 12% in cost) in 2024 compared to 2023, now may be the time to take that trip. Their study found that Shanghai is the top trending March Break spot, but that the best deals are for Tampa. Read more
