By Michael Baginski/ Chris Allison simply wants to say, “G’day, Canada!” And Tourism Australia’s VP for The Americas was in Toronto last week, accompanied by a delegation of tourism partners, to say just that on an annual trade mission designed to show his country’s appreciation of this one, and the 100,000-plus Canadians it welcomes annually.
Monday is St. Patrick’s Day, but festivities of course will transpire throughout the weekend. For some of us the days of drinking (swilling?) green beer may be long past, but dancing a jig or two to a fine Irish tune will never be out of fashion.
Sandals Resorts has a lot of friends, and close to a thousand of them turned out for a gala gathering in New York Tuesday evening to celebrate all things Sandals, but notably major news that its Beaches all-inclusive family brand is embarking on a US$1-billion expansion over the next five years.
VisitBritain hosted a blockbuster film-inspired reception for travel trade in Toronto in support of its new global screen tourism campaign this week. The event followed similar gatherings in Dubai and Australia, with over a dozen more to come to launch the ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign, which features a star-studded film drawing on iconic film and TV moments made in the UK.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a strange connection to perhaps this country’s most admired band, Rush. It stems from having attended the same high school (Newtonbrook in the Toronto suburb of Willowdale) as Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson (though they were a bit before my time); but it’s more than that.
Supertramp is synonymous with the ‘70s with a still memorable string of hits like “Give a Little Bit,” “The Logical Song,” and “Breakfast in America,” but the first was “Dreamer,” the British band’s initial hit from what was to become arguably their best (if not top-selling) album, “Crime of the Century.”
Once coveted as a Canadian province (how does that feel now?), Turks and Caicos bears no ill will. Quite the opposite in fact, as Canada rates as the Caribbean islands’ second largest market after this country’s current would-be colonizers, the US.
On an average day, approximately 47% of Air Canada’s flights and 46% of its customers pass through Toronto Pearson – the airline’s global hub. Because many of its aircraft and customers connect through Toronto at some point in the day, the airline says a disruption at Pearson can impact flights elsewhere in the system, creating a domino effect that can also affect flights not immediately travelling to or from Toronto.
As the snow was piling up at home, even in the torrential rain California was a more desirable place to be than Canada. Such was the case earlier this month as Visit California and some 35 destination partners hosted a couple of dozen members of the Canadian trade for a reverse mission in San Diego, followed by post conference FAMs throughout the state.
A relative pause in Middle Eastern tensions in Israel and the easing of Egyptian visa processing is seeing Canadians flocking back to the Land of the Pharaohs in 2025, according to Goway, which reports that bookings are up 250 percent in the past few months compared to the year before – a year blighted by full-fledged war between neighbouring Israel and Gaza.
“Let it snow,” Saint Lucia tourism execs exclaimed while visiting Toronto this week, as the city (and much of the eastern part of the country) continued to dig out from far too much of the white stuff. And to be clear, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority CEO Louis Lewis smiled, there is no snow on his Caribbean island. “Absolutely none!”
Paul Simon was in the news this week. Not only did the incomparable singer-songwriter appear on the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special performing “Homeward Bound” with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Sabrina Carpenter, but he also announced that he plans to tour again – seven years after he said he was calling it quits.
2025 will be a year of continuing momentum for France, according to Atout France, which is rolling out across Canada this week with annual roadshow events in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. The forecast is no surprise after a robust 2024 when the country cracked the “magic” 100-million visitor mark thanks to such landmark events as the Summer Olympics in Paris, 80th anniversary of D-Day, and the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
It’s been a long time since Led Zeppelin rock and rolled: Dec. 7, 2007, to be exact, and that was 27 years after their last concert with the original foursome in 1980 (before John Bonham died). But fans can now relive the era of arguably rock’s best band with the release of “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” a new documentary that opened last week at IMAX theatres, but debuts in regular theatres today (Friday).
Set in the ancient Wychwood forest in the Cotswolds (about 30 minutes from Oxford), TreeDwellers takes modern accommodation to new heights with seven eccentric “treehouses” that seamlessly blend both luxury and nature.
Renowned as a “City of Spires” and for its historic university, Oxford has never suffered for profile, notably as a daytrip delight for visitors from London. And in recent years, the city has attracted a new cohort of Harry Potter fans intent on seeing sites used in the smash film series – namely Christ Church college and the Bodleian Library.
Great Scottish band The Waterboys are set to release their 16th album on April 4. Including such stellar guests as Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Fiona Apple. ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ is said to be “the epic story of the trailblazing American actor and rebel told through a song cycle depicting not only Hopper’s story but the saga of the last 75 years of western pop culture.” Hmm.
Ecuador’s rich natural heritage, diverse culture, and wide range of adventure activities – with natural wonders including the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos Islands, and the Avenue of the Volcanoes – is no secret. But with so many options, what is right for clients? A handful of Goway’s destination expert are eager to share their insider’s tips to help insure they get the most out of their South American adventure in one the world’s most remarkable destinations.
Braving tariff-related sentiment, a travel trade mission from the state of Colorado called in Toronto Tuesday night inviting Canadians to discover – or return to – a state with an endless, and sometimes surprising, array of attributes for visitors.
Lynda Falcone is retiring after a remarkable 48 years in the travel business. Having served for the past 17 years as national travel trade manager for VisitBritain, Falcone plans to say cheerio in April (actual date TBA).
From Paddington Bear to Harry Potter and James Bond to Mr. Bean, Great Britain has a long history of marketing the destination through TV and film. Indeed, Britain is never far from viewers around the world through an endless list of cinematic mainstays that are uniquely British, such as Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, Dr. Who, Mary Poppins, and Sherlock Holmes – not to mention productions that simply borrow Britain as a backdrop, like Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones/House of Dragons.
Everyone knows the U2 classic “One,” so if you’re going to cover it, it better be good.
And this one certainly is, with Florida cover kings Boyce Avenue teaming up with the revelatory Jennel Garcia.
Charles Darwin was so inspired by the Galapagos Islands that he came up with his theories of evolution and natural selection there. No visitor to the archipelago arriving after the British naturalist in 1834 has made such a significant mark in the history of human thinking… but most, no doubt, have been equally awed.
‘The Wall’ was arguably Pink Floyd’s best album, and ‘Mother’ arguably it’s best song (though we’ll accept votes for ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and ‘Comfortably Numb’ respectively). There is, however, no argument that the classic Roger Waters’ tune, as rendered here by Sinead O’Connor, isn’t equally as compelling.
From the jungles of the Amazon to the ecologically unique islands of the Galapagos in the Pacific, and the Andes mountains in between – not to mention the name-giving Equator running through it – Ecuador packs unprecedented diversity into its small frame. And that, says Goway Travel, makes it a wonderland for travellers, not least those drawn to adventure and the natural world.
If I didn’t know before, I know it now: I want to live in Tahiti – as do, I’ll warrant, the three dozen or so travel advisors who turned out on the coldest day of the year (can you say polar vortex?) in Mississauga Tuesday to get the latest news on the South Pacific destination courtesy of The Islands of Tahiti, a collection of a dozen suppliers whose job it is to inspire people, if not to live, but at least visit the idyllic islands.
A new poll has named “On the Road Again” and Willie Nelson as the top travel song and musical artist for the fourth consecutive year. Following “On the Road Again”, as the favourite travelling song, was “Africa” by Toto, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver and, making the list for the first time, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers.
On Wednesday (Jan. 8), Elvis would have turned 90 years old, prompting a week-long memorial celebration of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll at Graceland that included the opening of a new year-long exhibit featuring 90 curated artifacts designed to give unique insight into key moments in both Presley’s professional and personal lives.
An undiscovered gem in the mid-Atlantic that boasts European culture and style, lush landscape with plentiful outdoor activity options, great food and wine, year-round moderate climate, and direct air service from Canada (with free stopovers!) – what’s not to love about Portugal’s amazing Azores islands?
Probably the most common question I’m asked is, “How do you pick your music videos?” That no one seems to ask why a travel trade publication publishes a music column at all just shows how established and – dare I say – beloved our “Listening In” feature is every Friday. Before I go on, today’s video is the great British ska-pop band Bad Manners.