Leave it to a Montrealer to propose a municipal “menage a trois” to promote tourism. Speaking at an Air Canada program at the Montreal airport Marriott Hotel on Thursday, Tourisme Montreal President and CEO Yves Lalumiere noted that a tourism roundtable group hasn’t been able to convince the federal government to loosen intra-provincial regulations and encourage more tourism across Canada. Lalumiere said he’s working with Tourism Ottawa and Destination Toronto on a “cheat on your city” campaign that would encourage a kind of unofficial bubble of tourism between the three cities. Ottawa folks could cheat on their town by visiting Read more
Toronto
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines have come up with a new health and safety initiative to help the industry respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. MSC Cruises also has launched a new blue-ribbon expert group. I also have a story pointing to tourism trouble for the Caribbean and a note about tough times in Alberta tourism. My Future of Travel blog for July 6. Canadian Wineries Offer Special Weddings August 1 Here’s a great concept. With the traditional big wedding stepping aside due to COVID-19, many Canadian couples who planned to wed this summer have made the difficult choice of Read more
The world’s most instagrammed (kind of) skylines, a contest for a free, two-night stay in downtown Toronto, and, as of today, a four-province travel bubble for Atlantic Canada. My July 3 Future of Travel blog. World’s Most Instagrammed Skylines – Toronto Ranks Fourth I’m a bit dubious, but I’m giving this a mention as it’s a Friday and it’s a fun item. A website called inkifi.com sent me a release that ranked the world’s most instagrammed skylines. There’s a caveat here, as they only ranked cities by the number of Instagram posts that specifically used the word “skyline” in the Read more
Re-openings in Bermuda and the Bahamas, as well as France, the legendary Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa. I also have news from Toronto, Hawaiian Airlines, Viking Cruises, Booking.Com and PAL Airlines in Eastern Canada. My Future of Travel Blog for July 2. Everybody Sing Along: Bermuda, Bahamas, Come On Pretty Mama…. Great news for lovers of sun and sand: both the Bahamas and Bermuda re-opened for visitors on Canada Day, July 1. The Bahamas today issued a release to say they have a new travel app available. The Bahamas Ministry Of Tourism & Aviation’s new, free mobile app provides Read more
My old Toronto Star friend Josh Rubin has a great story in today’s Star Business section about how some folks in the Canadian travel and tourism biz are suggesting that Canada partially open its borders to try to rescue the summer season. Rubin writes that the head of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, Beth Potter, believes that, even if the U.S. border doesn’t open, Canada should still be allowing visitors from other countries. Rubin notes that the European Union this week announced it was opening borders to visitors from 15 countries, including Canada, but not the U.S., Brazil or Read more
