Author name: Michael Baginski

LISTENING IN: If Stevie and Lindsey were Irish

By Michael Baginski/ If you frequent the Internet, you’ll no doubt have come across the new “if such and such was performed by so and so” trend. Pink Floyd as Dire Straits, Perry Como as Metallica, and so forth. Don’t hate me, but I’ve pulled one of these stylistic AI remakes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) this year: Fleetwood Mac if it was an Irish folk song.

LISTENING IN: McCartney a man on the run

A collection of Paul McCartney instruments, outfits, handwritten lyrics, unseen photos and tour memorabilia will be part of an exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this summer, billed as the first major museum show to feature McCartney and Wings.

OOKY WEATHER IDEAL FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE SHOW

By Michael Baginski/ There wasn’t a foot of snow and bitter cold like at the recent Golf show, but rain, slush and general ookyness in Toronto over the weekend made an equally compelling case for winter-weary visitors to the annual Outdoor Adventure Show to find their inspiration to go somewhere else.

LISTENING IN: That hypnotizin’ David Wilcox

By Michael Baginski/ I’ve certainly never forgotten David Wilcox, but it took a Petro-Canada commercial during the Winter Olympics backed by “Do the Bearcat” to nudge the Canadian treasure back into my current consciousness.

KUNG HEI FAT CHOY: Hong Kong welcomes Year of the Horse

By Michael Baginski/ Few cities embrace the Chinese New Year with the same energy and colour as Hong Kong. It even extends to foreign lands, including Canada, where the Hong Kong Tourism Board celebrated last week with a lengthy list of trade friends atop the Scotia Plaza in Toronto.

LISTENING IN: Boston and 1976 still more than a feeling

By Michael Baginski/ In case you missed it, I regret to inform that 50 years have transpired since 1976 – a fact I myself realized when I read that it’s been half a century since Boston’s classic debut record, but also a year that featured dozens of bands and songs that still resonate today (read on!)

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON: Brand USA affirms commitment to Canada

By Michael Baginski/ With the likes of Arizona, Colorado, Miami, and Myrtle Beach in town over the past week, the time was perfect for Brand USA to tag along on its own trade mission to Toronto – an effort designed to help “keep the lights on,” according to the US destination marketing organization.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: Colorado feeling festive in 2026

By Michael Baginski/ Colorado is set to double down on the festivities this year: not only is the Rocky Mountain state celebrating America 250, the country’s 250th anniversary, but the state has its own 150th birthday on the calendar.

RAISING ARIZONA: ‘We’ve been coming here for years,’ state reminds Canada

By Michael Baginski/ The Arizona Office of Tourism called in Canada this week – an annual reverse migration to Toronto and Vancouver designed to emphasize the state’s long-standing relationship with this country, unperturbed by any other rhetoric that may be emanating across the 49th parallel.

READY WHEN YOU ARE: Miami ‘something different’ in the U.S.

By Michael Baginski/ The salsa dancing inside contrasted with the foot of snow and bitter temperature outside the Lula Lounge in Toronto last week as a small delegation representing Miami tourism reacquainted with close to 80 members of the Canadian travel trade who brave the weather for a colourful evening.

GETTING IN THE SWING OF THINGS: Golf show inspires weary-winter Canadians

By Michael Baginski/ With two feet of snow and wind chill of -30 outside, a young Canadian’s fancy turns to thoughts of… golf. And so it was over the weekend at the Toronto Golf and Travel Show, where the travel trade from this country, and further afield, turned out to inspire thousands of winter-weary attendees dreaming of escape to a sunny destination – and an emerald green golf course.

LISTENING IN: Eagles Greatest Hits soars to unprecedented heights

By Michael Baginski/ The Eagles have landed… the best-selling album in the history of the United States. Always mooted as one of the top-selling albums of all time, The Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits (1971-75)” was officially certified by the Recording Industry Association of America this week for having sold 40 million copies – quadruple diamond – the first record to have done so.

CAN-AM DAYS 2026: Myrtle Beach’s ‘secret sauce’ that keeps Canadian coming back

By Michael Baginski/ It’s a love affair that’s been going on for 65 years. That’s how long Myrtle Beach has been hosting – and Canadians attending – Can-Am Days in the coastal South Carolina city. Of, course, Canadians were acquainted with the Grand Strand long before the 1961 festival launched, but that’s when the relationship got serious.

LISTENING IN: How do we sleep while our beds are burning?

By Michael Baginski/ Rob Hirst, the drummer for Midnight Oil, died this week at age 70, but the great Aussie band had already been in the back of my mind for awhile now. In these crazy days of Trump, wars, kidnappings, wild weather and “cats and dogs living together” (as Bill Murray said in “Ghostbusters”), it really does seem like our “beds are burning.”

BUST OR BOOM FOR CARIBBEAN HOTSPOTS?

By Michael Baginski/ Some Canadians are rethinking plans to visit parts of the Caribbean in the wake of military action and threats from the United States in the region. Among the affected destinations are Aruba and Curaçao, two islands off the coast of Venezuela, where the U.S. launched a strike and captured its president about two weeks ago.

LET IT SNOW: Will winter storm warm up Canadians’ Caribbean travel desires?

By Michael Baginski/ As up to 30 cm. of snow was dropping my head (and all southern Ontarians) on Thursday, I was reminded of the travel wisdom of a long-ago president of Signature Vacations, who exclaimed: “We’re hoping for a lot of snow – but not so much that people can’t drive to the airport to leave.”

LISTENING IN: This song is about Carly

By Michael Baginski/ It doesn’t seem right that it was only as recently 2022 that the great Carly Simon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. After all, the New York (City)-born singer had 13 top 40 hits in the 1970s and ‘80s, notably including the theme song for the James Bond film “Nobody Does It Better” – song that summed up her career

CUBA REASSURES CANADIANS AFTER TRUMP COMMENTS

By Michael Baginski/ It’s been quite a time for Cuba: blackouts, hurricane, mosquitos, and now Donald Trump, the latter vowing this week to cut off Cuba’s oil supply from Venezuela (amongst other vague threats) in a bid to damage the country’s economy.

FOR LAUDERDALE ROLLS OUT WELCOME MAT FOR IPW: No. 1 Canadian trade invited

By Michael Baginski/ U.S. Travel’s signature inbound travel trade show IPW – running since 1969 – is set to take place for the first time ever in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and organizers are putting out the welcome mat for Canadians for an event that organizers promise will be like none before.

LISTENING IN: Hallelujah for this stunning, unexpected duet

By Michael Baginski/ “Hallelujah,” the ubiquitous Leonard Cohen classic, has been covered countless times (ok, there’s been over 300 versions identified), with the likes of Jeff Buckley, k.d. lang, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson and Willie Nelson being considered among the best.

WHY TRUMP WAS TOPS IN TRAVEL IN 2025

By Michael Baginski/ Donald Trump, and by extension all things relating to Canadian travel to the U.S., dominated our news feed, and reads, this year. Sure, AI and its applications in travel emerged in full force in 2025, generating its fair share of fears and cheers.

TOP FEATURE STORY 2025: NYC & Me – Why I’d go back to the Big Apple in a New York minute

By Michael Baginski/ I recently spent a minute (several, in fact) in New York – a visit that transpired during the nascent times of tariffs and the 51st state. Perhaps not surprisingly, I was asked by some why I went, and what my experience was like. Simply put, it was New York – no more, no less. Frenetic, mesmerizing, limitless, a world unto itself. And utterly unconcerned, even oblivious of my Canadianness and critical gaze.

LISTENING IN: Keen listeners will remember this twisted Christmas tune

By Michael Baginski/ Robert Earl Keen may not be as famous as his old college roommate Lyle Lovett, but he’s no less accomplished. A consummate storyteller, the Texas troubadour suitably has a keen sense of humour, as evidenced by his holiday classic, “Merry Christmas from the Family.”

AIR CANADA’S 12 DAYS OF HOLIDAY CHEER

By Michael Baginski/ With 2025 coming to a close, Air Canada hosted a VIP industry gathering in Toronto late last week to say farewell to a successful year, as well as VP of global sales Lisa Pierce, who is retiring at the end of the month after a 40-year career with the company.

LISTENING IN: A Triumphant return

By Michael Baginski/ Earlier this year we were missing Triumph (as one does) and dusted off a video of Rik Emmett performing an acoustic version of the band’s signature song, “Magic Power.” Maybe the universe heard, since the Canadian power rock trio has just announced they’re reuniting for the first time in 30 years and embarking on a tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

ORLANDO ‘100%’ COMMITTED TO CANADA

By Michael Baginski/ Visit Orlando and a dozen of its top theme park, attraction, hotel and transportation partners delivered a dose of Orlando sunshine to Hamilton and Toronto last week for the destination’s annual Canada trade mission, demonstrating that the destination has “not taken it’s foot off the pedal” when it comes to the Canadian market.

RIU REVELS WITH AGENTS AT ANNUAL SUNWING PARTNER PARTY

By Michael Baginski/ For the 11th consecutive year, Sunwing and RIU Hotels & Resorts hosted their annual holiday season partners trade lunch last week, combining a chance to share the latest news from the popular resort chain with an opportunity to enjoy some exquisite (and way too much) food, while schmoozing with colleagues and starting (or furthering) this season’s holiday spirit.

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