With just under 100 days until the World Cup, the countdown is officially on to lock in a place to stay for the games. Hotel rates and searches are surging among Canadian travellers around Team Canada match dates in host cities – and even in surrounding areas – according to data from Hotels.com. Team Canada Match in Toronto on June 12 • Travellers can expect to see rates 2 to 3 times higher in Toronto across hotel types with some 2-star hotels charging regular 5-star rates around the match date (versus March 2026, according to Hotels.com) • Accommodation searches are Read more
World Cup
Bloomberg recently came out with nice recommendations on great places to travel in 2026. Among their suggestions were Taipei, Corsica, Lake Louise, San Francisco and Scotland. I’m a big fan of Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean I visited back in 2009. The food (especially the wine, cheese and seafood) is quite good, the coastline magical, and the surprisingly rugged mountains great for hiking. Bloomberg noted a growth in new boutique hotels and called the island “the perfect blend between private luxury and uncrowded, European summer bliss.” Notwithstanding those comments, I’d aim for a visit in late April or Read more
National Geographic, one of the biggest names in travel, has issued a list of 26 top places to visit next year, and Canadian destinations scored big. Banff was named Readers Choice destination for next year in the magazine’s 2026 hot spot list, while Nat Geo editors put the province of Quebec and the city of Vancouver on their list. Also making the charts were Maui, Australia’s most famous Outback destination, Manila, Rio de Janeiro, the Caribbean island of Dominica, Route 66 in Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and the Dolomites and Milan in Italy. Here’s a closer look, with comments from Nat Geo. Read more
Europeans are avoiding the U.S. and increasingly looking at trips to Canada, Ontario and Toronto, a new study says. According to a new Europe Pulse Study conducted by Context Research Group (CRG) on behalf of Destination Ontario and Destination Toronto, more than half of leisure travellers from the United Kingdom, Germany and France are considering a trip to Ontario in the next two years. Although some people might think Canada and the U.S. are much the same, the study said Europeans feel Canada is culturally and experientially distinct from the States. The study found that half of the European travellers who were surveyed are considering Read more
Many Canadians are avoiding trips to the U.S. right now. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of new things to see do and places to explore. The U.S. is always unveiling new experiences and destinations, and Brand USA invites visitors to explore them all. Looking ahead to 2025 and into early 2026, travellers can expect a wave of new additions, major milestones, and exciting developments across the country. “There are so many reasons to visit the USA and even more reasons to return,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of Brand USA. “The joy of travelling to the U.S. Read more
