The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration says its preparing for a record Labor Day travel period. And the American Automobile Association says Labor Day bookings for this year are up 9% from 2023, while prices are down about 2%. That makes this a great time to plan your Labor Day weekend getaway in great destinations around the U.S. Here are some of my favourites. FORT MYERS, FLORIDA Fort Myers has a walkable downtown with fine outdoor dining, art galleries and boutique shops. Captiva and Sanibel islands are famous for collecting seashells. Don’t miss a boat ride to Cabbage Key, where the Read more
Texas
If you’re one of my American friends and are looking for a last-minute option for the Fourth of July, here are some of my fave places in the U.S., including California, New York State, Hawaii, Texas and Florida. VERMONT – Lovely villages with brilliant white church steeples and pretty mountain scenery. Also likely to be cooler than many U.S. destinations in July. Burlington is a great city to check out. DENVER – Not sure being a mile high will keep you cool, but there are always the nearby mountains to explore. Try an electric Tuk Tuk ride of downtown Denver Read more
SAN ANTONIO – Fort Myers is recovering nicely from Hurricane Ian. California is bursting with visitors. Washington D.C. wants more international travellers. And Philadelphia says like us or get out of town. Nearly a dozen U.S. destinations took to the stage at this year’s U.S. Travel Association/IPW convention in San Antonio to trumpet everything from world class cuisine to mosquito-chomping bats. There was also an actual trumpet player and a wonderfully talented poet laureate from Orlando. Here are some of the highlights from IPW press conferences this week, including some Canadian visitation information. FORT MYERS AND BEACHES Miriam Dotson, communications Read more
This was originally published in 2018. I’m back in San Antonio for a U.S. Travel Association meeting and thought I’d re-post this blog, with a bit of added information. SAN ANTONIO – Judith Ely is showing me around the San Antonio Museum of Art, a surprising spot with treasured art from around the world. She points to a mosaic on the floor in the ancient Italian/Greek section of the museum. “Look at this one,” she says. “It’s a rendering of an Italian wedding but there’s a lot of shenanigans going on. People are having sex and disrupting things. But then Read more
U.S. cities cleaned up in the latest ranking of the world’s top 100 urban places. New York City scored highest, with a number three ranking for the world. Los Angeles was 12th and San Francisco 14th, while San Diego finished in the 32nd spot and San Jose 74th. Texas has three cities in the top 50: Houston (42), Austin (43) and Dallas (47), while Florida has two (Orlando at 40 and Miami at 52). Resonance Consultancy has been tracking world cities for years. They rank them on many factors, including culture, restaurants and shopping and also look at user-generated reviews Read more
