Author name: Michael Baginski

It’s the most iconic landmark in Texas, but for many, initial impressions prompt the question: “Is that it?” After all, the historic site – famed site of the Battle of The Alamo in 1836, where Davy Crockett and others lost their lives fighting in the Texas Revolution – is squeezed into a downtown square in San Antonio that lacks the epic scale of most other national moments in the US.

Calling the recent move by some US civil rights groups to issue a “travel advisory” for visitors to Florida a “stunt,” members of the state’s tourism trade are taking exception to the claim that the destination is “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”

On a day when a toddler was shot in the head by a stray bullet while playing outside at daycare in Utah – just another day in the life of a country where gun violence has claimed nearly 17,000 lives in the first half of 2023 alone – the US Travel Association gamely tackled the issue of gun violence in America at last week’s IPW travel trade event in San Antonio.

Declaring the pandemic now endemic, Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization, opened IPW 2023 last week showcasing the country as an unrivalled travel destination that is poised for a historic year in travel.

From a boat-float parade along its famous River Walk to a closing night gala at The Alamo, delegates will long remember this year’s IPW in San Antonio as US travel officially emerged from the pandemic.

Four years after buying a bust for $34.99 at a goodwill store in Austin, Texas, Laura Young said goodbye this week to a friend as the priceless 2,000-year-old Roman artifact headed home to Europe.

Last week we looked at a host of SoCal destinations – some familiar, some less so – whose delegates attended the recent visit California sales mission in Niagara on the Lake, having put the insiders on the spot to tell us one thing they wished a Canadian knew about their region. Here’s Part 2, covering the middle and northern parts of the Golden State (starting north of Los Angeles).

Canadian travel agents are helping the Caribbean reach record levels of tourism this year – boosted by a whopping 132% increase in bookings by travellers using retail travel agents – far ahead of the international norm.

It didn’t take The Mamas and the Papas to start Canadians dreaming about California. Indeed, with visitation numbers from this country expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this year – and surpass them in 2024 – many Canadians are ready to turn dreams to reality again and return to the Golden State.

Travellers may have little say on how climate crisis affects the places they visit and love, but they could play a more prominent role in helping them recover from environmental calamities if a bold idea by Jamaica’s tourism minister takes hold.

With travel to the Caribbean at 99% of pre pandemic levels the region is in a “pretty fantastic” place, the president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association told delegates at last week’s 41st annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Barbados.

The UK will be rocking tomorrow (May 6) with the coronation of Charles III. But if you’re not already in London, odds are there’s a TV remote with your name on it. But not all is lost: the capital, and the rest of the country, will be celebrating for weeks and months to come, and visitors will find a host of special events and exhibitions, experiences, hotel packages, plus food and drink – all dedicated to the UK’s royal history, and the remarkable milestone of its present king.

Bounteous Belize, a colourful combo of Central America and the Caribbean,
is reporting a positive outlook for its tourism sector and expects to come close to full post-pandemic recovery this year, in part with the help of the Canadian market.

Today, May 3, is an auspicious day. It is national lumpy rug day. Tomorrow, national Star Wars day, Friday tuba day, and so forth, until packaging design day at the end of the week. But in the annals of national day lore, the first Wednesday of May is also, most importantly, Travel Agent Appreciation Day.

Sleepy (and chilly) Niagara on the Lake, Ont., got a healthy dose of California tourism sunshine last week as the state’s tourist board checked into town for its annual Canadian sales mission, attracting close to 40 members of the Canadian travel trade, along with an equal cohort of destination and supplier representatives from the Golden State.

If there is anything good that’s come out of the pandemic, says Uniglobe Travel Eastern Canada President Dean Dacko, it’s this: appreciation and respect for travel agents has never been greater – from both consumers and suppliers.

Whether you’re going to the London for the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6, or just happen to be toddling through town at the time, the historic event is guaranteed to be an all-encompassing experience for both residents and visitors, with both pleasures and annoyances certain to reveal themselves in the days leading up to, and during, Coronation Weekend.

In the face of the world of travel becoming increasingly more “complicated” and, in particular El Al suspending service to Canada as of last October, Israel’s tourism consul for Canada says the tourist board wants to help those selling Israel move forward and succeed – and has introduced new programs to help them do so.

A vintage event space on Toronto’s King Street was a long way from sunny Santa Monica, California – but maybe that was the point as tourism partners from the Los Angeles-area community rolled into town recently on their annual Canadian sales mission, the first since the pandemic.