Their timing was fabulous. Tourism folks from Meet Boston and VISIT FLORIDA, along with Elite Sports Tours, gathered in Toronto this week and treated a few lucky media and travel people to box seats for the Toronto Blue Jays. As a former baseball writer for the Toronto Star who covered the team for six years, attending at least 600-700 games, I always love a night at the ballpark. To be at games when the Jays are in the thick of a pennant race, like they are now, is doubly exciting. The home side didn’t fare well in the Boston game, Read more
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It was at the end of the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2019. The next year’s game was slated for Chicago, and someone had to take an NBA basketball signed by the legendary Michael Jordan and escort it safely to Chicago. Lisa Nucci, who’s now Chief Marketing Officer for the city of Chicago’s tourism office, Choose Chicago, was Director of Marketing for the Chicago Bulls at the time (she was later Senior Director and Executive Director of Marketing) and was given the task of shepherding the invaluable ball to the Windy City. So, how did she handle Read more
The smiles say it all. Canada’s not all the way back, but U.S. tourism reps at this year’s IPW conference in Los Angeles are pleased with how Canadians are returning to key states south of the border. Visit California statistics show Canada last year eclipsed pre-pandemic visitation levels, rising from 1.732 million visits in 2019 to 1.799 last year. Canadian visits to Florida last year were at 93% of pre-pandemic levels. Orlando says it attracted 1.256 million Canadians last year, a new, single-year record. For New York City, visitors from Canada were achingly close to 2019 numbers (995,000, compared to Read more
If you’ve ever seen the tremendous video of the poor “Zone One” boarding pass guy waiting to get on a plane, you might understand where I’m coming from with this piece. For those who don’t know it or don’t have time right now to watch it via this link, the skit involves a fellow who eagerly bounds to the front of a gate lineup as he’s holding a precious “Zone One” boarding pass. Of course, he waits for First Class, and then Business, and then elite rewards members and kids and folks in wheelchairs and is still standing in line. Read more
With the Canadian women’s soccer team about to start their quest for a FIFA World Cup title in Australia, here comes a great sale from Qantas. Qantas today released its Australian “Red Tail Sale” offering discounted airfares for round-trip nonstop flights between Vancouver and Sydney. Flights are available from $1,499 CAD.* The sale will run July 18-24, 2023 across all cabins for varying travel periods in 2023 and 2024. Selected travel dates and days apply. Onboard Savings & COVID Credits Qantas international fares include checked baggage, food and beverages, and in-flight entertainment as standard with every booking. Customers Read more
