J.D. Power’s latest study of U.S. and Canadian airports is pretty harsh when it comes to Canada. If you take this study at its word, we suck. We truly suck. But I don’t know if that’s quite true. The company’s annual airport review for 2024 ranks Toronto Pearson/YYZ as the second-worst mega airport in the two countries, ahead of only poor Newark-Liberty in New Jersey. J.D.Power ranked Vancouver International 15th out of 27 large airports, which is at least middle of the pack. But Calgary was 22nd and Montreal-Trudeau next-to-last at 26th. The 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, the Read more
Tampa
Domestic travel is up. But Canadian visits to Florida are still lagging slightly, new figures show. Florida tourism reps say 31.5 million domestic travelers visited the Sunshine State in the second quarter of 2024. That’s up 1.8% from the same period in 2023, and 8.7% higher than in 2019, the last full year before COVID-19. But CBS News reports Canadian and international visits are still down slightly from a few years ago. VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism-marketing agency, said there were 2.44 million overseas visitors in the second quarter of 2019, with 848,000 Canadians. In the second quarter of last Read more
Canadians have more ways than ever to get to great sun destinations, including Tulum, Sarasota, Saint Martin, Phoenix, Los Cabos and Punta Cana. Air Canada today (June 26) announced it is boosting its 2024-25 winter sun network, with increased frequencies and featuring new routes from Ottawa and Quebec City to Tulum and from Montreal to Saint Maarten. In addition, more flights are scheduled from Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to popular vacation destinations in Florida and the Caribbean. This winter, Air Canada plans to operate up to 50 flights departing Canada every day, serving a total of 55 Caribbean Read more
It’s officially spring as of 11:06 p.m. Eastern Time today, a time for new beginnings and new travel destinations. With that in mind, here are some of my fave places from the last few years that would make for a nice spring visit. QUIET CARIBBEAN Bequia, pronounced Beckway, this is a fabulous, laid-back Caribbean island that’s part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s about a one-hour ferry ride from Kingstown, St. Vincent, and a pretty ride at that. The Bequia Beach Hotel is a superb place to rest your head. SINGAPORE SHINES This Asian city is a terrific destination, Read more
TAMPA – The growing downtown skyline is impressive. The growth of the Tampa food scene is what really grabbed my attention. I recently enjoyed three full days in Tampa and sampled everything from Middle Eastern cuisine to Michelin-starred Italian, and from craft cocktails to maybe the best tuna poke nachos I’ve had outside Hawaii. And that was served up at a sports bar/brewhouse on Super Bowl Sunday, when you pretty much expect a diet of Budweiser and Buffalo chicken wings. I also checked out a fine art museum, took a ride on an electric boat on a brilliant sunny day, Read more
