Southern Ontario has a fabulous new attraction that the whole family can enjoy. After five years of planning and following an extensive fundraising effort that has seen more than $7.3 million raised to date, Muskoka Discovery Centre’s newly enhanced gallery space opened to the public this week. The 12,000 square foot gallery, The Muskoka Story: A Microcosm of Canada, features three unique exhibits, including the most significant contribution made to Indigenous culture in the region. Curated entirely by a circle of Indigenous elders, scholars and linguists representing four cultural groups including Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabek, Métis and Haudenosaunee, Misko – Aki: Confluence Read more
sustainability
Canadians’ holiday travel budgets are more than double what they were last year, a trend that bodes well for airlines and the tourism industry. IBM’s Holiday Shopping and Travel Report finds that, in response to economic disruption and financial strain, Canadian consumers are rethinking their wish lists, with many diverting their holiday budgets from shopping to travel. This holiday season, Canadians are more concerned about rising costs and inflation (64%) than COVID-19 (56%), and they are recalibrating their celebration plans accordingly. – Compared to last year, Canadians’ holiday travel budgets are up by 131%, significantly higher than the global average Read more
I found an item on Yahoo News today, and I think it’s appalling. Yahoo quotes the Wall Street Journal as saying some Las Vegas hotels are charging people up to $200 (that’s US dollars) to reserve a chair by the pool. Not a cabana. Oh, no. Those can cost $1,000. This is just for a chaise lounge or chair next to the pool (where it’s probably 100 Fahrenheit, by the way.) It’s disgusting, it’s greedy, and it shouldn’t be allowed. A lounge chair for $200? Why not charge for water from the shower? Or for adjusting the thermostat? Why not Read more
Canadians, Americans and other consumers are looking forward to more trips than last year and planning to spend more or the same on travel in 2022 compared to a typical pre-pandemic year, according to a new American Express study. The American Express Travel: 2022 Global Travel Trends Report, based on data from the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India and the United Kingdom, reveals consumers are traveling to see the people and places they love, celebrate important life events, embark on wish list trips, experience in-person events, and to seek greater wellness and self-care. In Q4 2021, global Card Read more
Canadian travellers are increasingly committed to sustainable travel, according to a new study from Booking.com. The company’s survey found that 62% of Canadian travellers say that they want to travel more sustainably over the coming 12 months; a 15% increase over what the company’s 2021 data found. With 76% of Canadian travellers confirming that sustainable travel is important to them, 41% of respondents cited that recent news about climate change has influenced them to make more sustainable travel choices. To that end, a quarter (26%) of Canadian travellers say that the sustainability efforts of accommodations and transport providers play a Read more
