It could take another three years for Ontario’s tourism industry to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a major new study says. A report from The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, released today, calls for sweeping changes, including keeping the Ontario staycation tax credit, boosting cannabis tourism, providing better train and rapid transit service, giving indigenous tourism a push, and boosting affordable housing for workers. The study says tourism businesses in Canada’s most populous province are generating less than two-thirds (64%) of the revenues they saw in 2019, and that 70% have taken on debt Read more
Wi-Fi
Messy, smelly rooms, thin toilet paper and outrageous parking charges are some of the things that drive us crazy about hotel stays. A company called PhotoAiD surveyed more than 1,000 travellers to find out what drives them crazy about hotels. The biggest pet peeve for hotel visitors was an unclean room, cited by 48.85% of respondents. Closely behind, and directly related, was a hotel room with a bad smell (48.65%). (Our kids still laugh at the time we were driving home to Toronto from a March break visit to Florida and stopped at an inexpensive chain hotel for the night. Read more
Air Canada today announced a comprehensive range of new product improvements to elevate the customer experience. The changes will have something for everyone, including upgraded Economy dining, more in-flight entertainment and connectivity options, and enriched Premium offerings. Beginning in November, customers will see new and restored services in Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and in Premium cabins onboard, a new Economy Class dining service with a celebrity chef entree internationally plus fresh, new Bistro choices in North America, and in a first for a Canadian airline, complimentary, high-speed Wi-Fi when travelling Premium Rouge. Starting in 2023 (perhaps in time for Read more
Leaving our hats in the bedroom closet. Forgetting our passports. And leaving our kids’ favourite toys under the bed at home. Just in time for the Christmas holiday season, the folks at booking.com have released a fun survey that shows the most common mistakes Canadians make when they leave for a winter vacation. We’re pretty good at remembering to take our kids with us (no Home Alone situations, thank goodness), some 88% of Canadians routinely forget to take their child’s favourite toy or comforter/blanket when they go away. This is easy to do when one has to remember travel documents Read more
As if mountains and Mounties and our 150th birthday party next year weren’t enough, now the world has another reason to visit Canada. A survey from Booking.com finds that Australia is the only country in the world with a reputation for friendlier and happier locals than Canada. Respondents in the survey were asked to name the planet’s cheeriest and most relaxed locals. Australia came first with mentions by 35 % of respondents, followed by Canada (33), Italy (29), Spain (25), the U.S. (24), Thailand (20), Japan (20), France (20), New Zealand (20) and Brazil (19). The survey of travellers around Read more
