One of rock’s greatest singers, Steven Tyler, has called it quits, succumbing to permanently damaged vocal cords, of which Aerosmith says, “it is clear that a full recovery is not possible.” The band’s legendary frontman injured his vocal cords while on tour in September and said at the time that the injury caused bleeding, but that he hoped the band would be back after postponing a few shows.
Regular readers will know there’s nothing Listening In likes better than a good choir. And suggestions from the flock. This week the two come together with Elvi Cal’s (TravelBrands) introduction to us of Choir! Choir! Choir! (C!C!C!), a unique Toronto-based initiative that started in 2011 as a singing event that interprets popular songs like David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” performed here at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
It was big news for a big state: Texas is getting its own Michelin guide. The welcome development for Travel Texas broke as representatives from the state visited Canada last week, talking up and recent developments and current trends in the Lone Star state in both Montreal and Toronto.
Big Bon Jovi hits can fill up most of your fingers, but we’re going to stretch that onto the toes this week with “Keep the Faith,” a lesser hit spawned from the 1992 album of the same name, an effort that was notable as the last recording by the original lineup of the New Jersey band, but also a turning point when the Jon Bon Jovi pop-rockers are deemed to become a little more serious.
Great concerts can become the stuff of legend, but those performances rarely make great records – usually unable to truly capture an electric live atmosphere, convey sound quality comparable to a studio setting, or, of course, present the artists’ visual hijinks. As such, it’s even rarer then when a band makes its breakthrough because of a live album.
A collective exhale from ACTA golfers in Ontario pushed the remnants of Hurricane Beryl just far enough to allow the association’s 34th annual tournament to get off the tee on Thursday, enabling a mostly sunny and typically enthusiastic event that allowed for a little welcome R&R for many members after what association president Wendy Paradis noted was a particularly challenging couple of weeks thanks to the aforementioned hurricane and WestJet strike woes.
With Caribbean destinations in Grenada, the Grenadines, Barbados and Jamaica picking up the pieces after devastating Hurricane Beryl, and several aid initiatives under to help those affected, one song, “We Got This,” performed by a collective of local artists, has emerged as a rallying cry for unity under duress.
It had been three years and eight months since I was last in Nassau. I can say that with definitiveness thanks to the cheery “welcome back” message I received on my WiFi log-in at the Grand Hyatt recently that indicated as much – although I would have recalled the precise timing of the visit since it was my last travel trip just before the pandemic struck. A lot has changed in the Bahamian capital in that time.
Canadian airlines typically don’t get no respect from many Canadians, as Rodney Dangerfield would say. But how do others see our airlines? Well, they’re not as bad as you might think, at least according to the Skytrax, which recently revealed its annual World Airlines Awards for 2024, otherwise known as the “Oscars of the aviation industry.” So, who are the best this year, and how did we (Canada) do? Read on, you’ll be surprised – and impressed.
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup helped invent rock ‘n’ roll. His 1946 song “That’s All Right,” would become the first single Elvis Presley ever released. Rod Stewart would sing it on a chart-topping album and Led Zeppelin would play it live. But despite being dubbed “the father of rock ‘n’ roll,” Crudup received scant songwriting royalties in his lifetime because of a recording contract that funneled the money to his original manager.
Bonnie Raitt has been turning out tunes for over 50 years and earned enough plaudits to warrant a long Wikipedia page. There’s been 13 Grammys – most recently in 2022 – induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and chart-topping success, which didn’t materialize until well into her career.
Canadians love the beach. And “The Beach” – the nickname adopted by Myrtle Beach, is a huge favourite. This popular destination has been attracting snowbirds and winter escape artists for decades. They love its fine weather, southern hospitality, year-round world-class golf (and mini golf), low-country cuisine, shopping, and, of course, the famed Can-Am Days in March, an annual celebration of the connection between Canada and the South Carolina city.
Even the biggest rock bands in the world had to start somewhere and, in this case, the year was 1978 and a first-ever appearance on Irish TV captured a teenage Paul David Hewson and David Howell Evans in their formative years, showing their chops, if not the style, that soon took them to the top of the pops.
If there was only one takeaway for travel advisors from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) event in Burlington, Ont., this week, it was to recognize the overwhelming variety of the destination – a sentiment stated succinctly by Sarah Chensky of MGM Resorts, who said, “There’s a different Vegas for different people.”
Land of the “pura vida,” natural Costa Rica is a consistently top destination for Goway, with the popular Central American country favoured by clients alongside Peru in Latin America, as well as ranking in the tour company’s top 10 globally.
Sometimes all there is to say is “wow.” It’s hard to match powerhouse vocalist Roger Daltrey, but Debo Ray makes it a conversation on this rendition of The Who classic “Love Reign O’er Me” in a performance from just last September.
Tahiti is preparing for its moment in the sun, when the eyes of the world will be on the French Polynesian paradise as it hosts the surfing competition for this summer’s Olympic Games. An overseas territory of France, the island seemed like a more natural setting for the competition than landlocked Paris.
While the communities of Greater Phoenix attract much of the attention in Arizona, nearby Tuscon has its own unique allure, not least over 300 days of sunshine a year and winter temperatures that are guaranteed to appeal to Canadian snowbirds and vacationers eager to escape the cold up north.
With Santa Monica having been a key partner at the recent IPW travel trade show – the destination dubbed LA’s “beach city” was the site of after-show festivities for delegates, including Canadian attendees, over the course of two nights – the timing was right last week for Team Santa Monica to follow up with their annual Canadian mission to engage and update the trade in this country on the latest happenings in the SoCal destination.
In his gargantuan task of attempting to consume and playlist the classic rock cannon in its entirely – from AC/DC to ZZ Top – my 20-something son has created a discerning category for some of his discoveries: albums where, in his estimation, every single song is great. A small list, his special first entry was Boston (by Boston). I agreed and offered another: The Cars (by The Cars).
Brand USA, the face of US Travel abroad, came calling in Canada this week, continuing its commitment to the US’s top international market and the trade that fuels it. Events were planned for Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary, with the centrepiece being a day-long event designed to connect tour operators and the media from this country with a delegation comprised fully of 30 destination reps from across the US.
DoubleTree is a well-respected hotel chain, but let’s face it, it’s really famous because of its chocolate chip cookies. A once unexpected and inconvenient overnight stay in Miami due to a missed connection is still remembered years later by my kids as a highlight of our trip on account of the warm, gooey, chocolatey confections they scored that night when we checked in.
With the stunning backdrop of the Cliffs of Moher, new talents Meadhbh (Maeve) Walsh and Sina Theil combine on the cherished Irish ballad “Grace.” They’re believed to be the first female duo to do the song, which is best known by Irish band the Wolfetones, though even Rod Stewart once gave it a go.
Chris Thompson has seen a lot during his 41 years in travel – wars, terrorist attacks, a once-in-a-generation depression, and – worst of all – a pandemic that shook the foundations of the travel industry, each in their own way resulting in profound changes in the way people see – and want to see – the world. And how they get there. But one thing the outgoing president and CEO of Brand USA knows hasn’t changed: the power of travel to transform lives, and how it might just save the world we live in.
With a colourful Jamaican vibe and a reggae beat – not least at the Sandals closing night gala beach party – the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) held its 42nd annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Montego Bay last week, attracting approximately 1,200 international delegates from 25 countries (including many Canadians) to the region’s “most important” event, which proved to be the largest since 2007, and similarly the biggest in the region since the pandemic, eclipsing last year’s gathering in Barbados.
The Blues Brothers movie from 1980 is one of my favourite movies, not least for its stellar list of iconic musical guests – Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, and Ray Charles amongst them. And, of course, blues great John Lee Hooker, whose appearance qualifies as more of a cameo than a performance.
As the global travel industry (including Travel Industry Today) gathers in Montego Bay this week for Caribbean Travel Marketplace, host country Jamaica reports that it has recorded an impressive 1.7 million visitors as of May 7 of this year – nearly five percent ahead of last year and putting the island on track to reach its goal of welcoming a whopping five million visitors by 2025.
Having operated for 106 years, Collette has stuck it’s toe into Canadian waters on plenty of occasions. But Wednesday’s visit seemed special as the Rhode Island-based tour operator gathered with close to 100 key members of the travel trade members in Toronto for the first time since the pandemic, and to be formally introduced to the company’s new CEO Jaclyn Leibl-Cote.
Of all the covers of “Love Shack” one might expect, a version by Brendan Hunt and Hannah Waddingham wouldn’t be among them. That’s because (for the uninitiated) the duo are better known as the beloved characters Coach Beard and Rebecca from the Ted Lasso TV show. But don’t be dissuaded, the talented pair absolutely nail the B52s’ classic.
In a move that resonates on many levels, the Sunwing Vacations Group has launched WestJet Vacations/Vacances WestJet Quebec (WVQ) in La Belle Province as a “new tour operator with new destinations” for Quebec consumers, starting next winter. It also represents the latest step Sunwing’s integration into the WestJet fold, though as a standalone division that will also operate WestJet’s overall tour operations.