Okay. I didn’t get out as much as I normally would. Not even close. But I did manage several trips this year, including visits to Switzerland, California and several cool spots in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Here’s a look at my annual Jimmy Awards for best travel experiences of the year. Today is focused on food and drinks; later I’ll write about hotels, experiences and attractions. Cheers, and here’s to a better 2022! Best U.S. Winery: Darcie Kent Vineyards in Livermore, California. Superb reds and great, friendly people. Best U.S. Salad: The Farmer’s Super Food Salad at Danville Harvest Read more
Vancouver
Flair Airlines continues to expand and change the face of the Canadian aviation market as it introduces nonstop, low-fare flights to Cancun and Los Cabos, Mexico, from Vancouver, Abbotsford, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Kitchener-Waterloo. “Starting in February, Canadians will enjoy affordable, sunny winter getaways to Cancun and Los Cabos without breaking the bank,” said Garth Lund, Chief Commercial Officer, Flair Airlines. “We can’t wait to get our customers to the beach.” “The average February temperature in Canada is -6 °C; the average temperature in Cancun is 28 °C, so February seemed like a good month to start service,” he added. Starting Read more
The new Forbes hotel, spa and restaurant rankings contain good news for travellers in Canada and for Canadian properties. The Forbes people today put out a “sneak peek” of their 2021 ratings. As part of the 2021 awards selection, six hotels and spas from Toronto-based Four Seasons were awarded new five-star ratings, adding to the existing 2020 award winners. A total of 46 Four Seasons hotels and resorts, 13 spas and two restaurants have received the five-star designation. Three Four Seasons properties received a new five-star designation this year, including Four Seasons Hotel Montreal and Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia Comcast Read more
The Trudeau government says Canadians shouldn’t expect open borders anytime soon. Also, Air Canada is teaming up with the Cleveland Clinic, a look at the best hotels in Canada as voted by Travel + Leisure, and new social distancing rules for cruise ships. My Future of Travel blog for July 9. Canada’s Borders Staying Shut For Now BNN Bloomberg has this report on the Canadian border situation: Finance Minister Bill Morneau says he doesn’t expect Canada to lift travel restrictions with the U.S. set in place to curtail the spread of COVID-19, and opening the border would create “additional risk” Read more
Air France says it’s re-instating flights from France to cities around the world, including some in North America. Sunwing, meanwhile, will launch its Canadian domestic service again this summer. The province of British Columbia and the Caribbean island of Aruba also are opening up for visitors. I’ve also got news on British tourism and United States cruises. Oh, and a crazy quote from the head of the Dubai Airport that will make you think twice about flying any time soon. Here’s my May 19 Future of Travel report. SUNWING CANADIAN DOMESTIC SERVICE FOR 2020 Seeing the great sights of Canada Read more
