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!)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
By Michael Baginski/ Casey Canevari, the late Brand USA Director of Global Trade Development (Canada), was bestowed with the title “honorary Canadian” as he was remembered – and celebrated – at a special Discover America Canada event in Toronto late last week.
By Michael Baginski/ The Tourist Office of Spain celebrated an “amazing” 2025 for the destination out of Canada at an event in Toronto Wednesday night – a year that proved “even better than we thought,” according to the office’s Canadian director Isabel Martín Benítez.
By Michael Baginski/ Big surprise and what took so long? New Orleans has been designated a ‘creative city’ for music by UNESCO, joining a distinguished list of 75 other global places, and second in the U.S. (after Kansas City).
By Michael Baginski/ One of the true characters of the Canadian travel industry has died. Duncan Bureau reportedly had a heart attack Dec. 2 in Mexico, age 58. Having started his career at Greyhound Bus Lines, he was most recently chief commercial officer at the Farenexus travel services company.
By Michael Baginski/ With new Air Canada flights to Guatemala from Montreal now flying high, there’s no reason now for Canadians not to discover the Central American country, hope Guatemalan tourism execs, who point out the Central American destination has it all – from beaches to ancient Mayan ruins and lush rainforests to active volcanoes.
By Michael Baginski/ The Aruba Tourism Authority is eager for Canadians to discover – or revisit – the destination dubbed “One Happy Island,” but with a caveat: a commitment to helping preserve the very reason they go there in the first place: white sand beaches, vibrant culture and history, and unparalleled outdoor activities.
By Michael Baginski/ It may appear self-serving, Eric Rodriguez admits, but the best way to help Jamaica and Jamaicans recover from Hurricane Melissa is for people to travel there. And Sunwing’s executive VP President of Partner Development says the company is all in on facilitating that – and more.
By Michael Baginski/ As Dominica’s game-changing cable car – the longest detachable cable car in the world at 6.6 km. – prepares to open in December, the Caribbean island continues to aim high when it comes to tourism and punch above its weight with respect to its tiny size.