Destinations

FAMILY IS EVERYTHING AT GRAND PALLADIUM HOTELS & RESORTS

The annual vacation down south can be a highlight for many families, but they’re made that much brighter when booked with Grand Palladium Hotels & Resorts, says Sunwing Vacations. With properties set across Mexico that feature a dedicated Family Selection resort area, including Grand Palladium Kantenah Resort and Spa, Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort and Spa and Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort and Spa, families are provided the perfect setting to connect and explore paradise with maximum comfort, ease and convenience.

JAPAN AIRLINES FREE FLIGHT OFFER

Canadian travellers booking an international flight to Japan with Japan Airlines (JAL) are now eligible for a complimentary domestic flight to any destination within Japan. The International flight and a corresponding domestic flight must be made within the same reservation via JAL’s website – separate bookings for domestic flights will not be eligible.

THE ELEPHANT CAMP: An African lodge you’ll never forget

When in Africa, one often hears passing reference to Zimbabwe’s famed hospitality, and there’s nowhere to appreciate it more than at the iconic World Heritage Site of Victoria Falls. Everyone smiles warmly and greets you like an old friend. They’re all genuinely delightful – and could they not be, living in such magnificence?

KEEPING VISITORS SAFE AT DEADLY PEGGY’S COVE

Japneet Singh, a security patroller at Nova Scotia’s famed Peggy’s Cove – a longtime treasure of Atlantic Canada’s coastline southwest of Halifax – is no stranger to the perils of the sea. Singh’s summer job is to watch over the black rocks overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, which are routinely slapped violently with salty waves, and covered in slippery algae that can take an unsuspecting visitor by surprise.

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON… TO ST. KITTS

In a travel world bursting at the seams with overpacked, over-touristed destinations, travellers could use a little St. Kitts and Nevis – two Caribbean sister islands that can bring a little calm to our frenetic lives – according to St.Kitts’ new tourist authority CEO.

NORTHERN IRELAND MINISTER TALKS TRAVEL IN TORONTO

As Belfast continues to celebrate a year-long program of culture inspired by Belfast’s designation as a UNESCO City of Music in 2024 and its well-known literary reputation, Northern Ireland’s economic minister called in Toronto last week to talk travel with the trade.

CHERISHED LOUISBOURG LIGHTHOUSE SHINES ON

To mark its 100th anniversary this year, the Louisbourg Lighthouse, which stands at the same location as the first lighthouse in Canada originally built in Cape Breton in 1734, has revealed a full refurbishment designed to help the historic structure on for another century

BEAR NAKED: Churchill looks to a future with no polar bears

When polar bears started coming to Churchill, tourists did too. And then suddenly, polar bears began to appear everywhere – from artwork to cushion covers and even on beer cans – as residents of this remote Manitoba town on Hudson Bay embraced their title as polar bear capital of the world.

MONGOLIA’S NEW KHAN-DO ATTITUDE

With its reindeer sleigh rides, camel racing and stunning landscapes with room to roam – not to mention status as the legendary land of Genghis Khan – Mongolia has launched a new tourism campaign it hopes will woo visitors who are truly looking to get away from it all.

VISIT ORLANDO BRINGS SUNSHINE TO OTTAWA, MONTREAL

Visit Orlando, along with its theme parks, attractions, hotels and transportation partners, will bring the Orlando Canadian Sunshine Tour to Ottawa (Oct. 9) and Montreal (Oct. 10) this fall.  

FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL: Notre Dame Paris readies for re-opening

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is getting its bells back, just in time for the medieval landmark’s reopening following a devastating 2019 fire. A convoy of trucks bearing eight restored bells – the heaviest of which weighs more than four tons – pulled into the huge worksite surrounding the monument late last week on an island in the Seine River.

WERE THE OLYMPICS A SUCCESS FOR FRENCH TOURISM?: It depends on who you ask

A surge of tourists for the Paris Olympics (including Paralympics) this summer has put France on the path to achieving record tourist numbers in 2024. According to government data released last week, some 1.7 million international visitors came during the Olympic period, up 13% compared with the previous year, and another 1.4 million French tourists visited the capital, up 26%. In addition, the Olympics drew millions more visitors who travelled to Paris for the day.

VIENNA VIEW: Austrian city a ‘powerhouse’ of arts and culture

Vienna, home of Johann Strauss, whose 200th birthday is being celebrated in 2025, serenaded the Canadian trade with news from the Austrian capital on Tuesday in Toronto. Accompanied by a classical music duo, and colourful montage artist, the city tourist board’s market manager for Canada Elke Bachner said Canadian visits to the city are surging, not least due to ample lift from Air Canada’s courtesy of its year-round direct flights from Toronto and Montreal.

EARN A TRIP TO ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: Inaugural event celebrates top Canadian producers

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is set to honour its top producing travel professionals – including 25 Canadians – at a gala event on island in December. The inaugural Antigua and Barbuda Black Pineapple Awards will celebrate “the outstanding achievements of hard-working travel agents from around the world,” culminating in a gala black-tie dinner and awards ceremony. 

REEFER MADNESS: Major Florida tourism project hits a snag

A Florida county is in talks to acquire a storied but aging ocean liner in a proposed deal that could create the largest artificial reef in the world. But the plan has hit a snag, after local officials in coastal Okaloosa County in the Florida panhandle postponed a vote on the plan to buy and purposefully sink the SS United States.

IS TREVI FOUNTAIN NEXT?: Rome considers charging tourists for access

City officials in Rome are now considering a plan to manage tourism to one of Rome’s most-visited sites by implementing a 2-euro fee to visit Trevi Fountain – a site that is typically packed with hoards of selfie-taking tourists eager to toss coins in the pool in a quest for good luck, or at least another visit to the Eternal City.

FAN-ATICAL ABOUT PHILLY

They’re versatile! Following a visit early this summer designed to highlight arts and culture (culminating in tickets to a performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra), delegates from the Philadelphia Visitors and Convention Bureau returned to Toronto Wednesday, this time (ball) cap in hand while hosting select members of the trade at a Phillies-Jays game at the Rogers Centre.

GRAPE ESCAPES: Unique places to discover Swiss wine country

With wine season (Sept.-Oct.) set to be uncorked, Switzerland’s Grape Escapes program offers around 60 special accommodation options – from chic boutique hotels to simple Räbhüsli, and “birdboxes” to “bubble” stays – where everything is included. What they all have in common is a connection to wine and the vines.

CHOOSING MAUI MEANS MORE

As Maui continues to rebuild after last year’s devastating wildfires, the island continues to welcome back visitors. While some parts of Lahaina have yet to reopen, several restaurants, businesses and activities, such as returning festivals, in Lahaina have resumed operations. And to encourage visitors, Hawaii Tourism has launched a new destination campaign with special discount offers for visitors.

‘WE WILL BE BACK’: Jasper’s rocky road to recovery

The road to recovery is starting to clear for businesses and the tourism in industry in Jasper, Alta., a month after some 25,000 visitors and residents were forced to flee a raging wildfire. While Jasper National Park and the town are still closed to visitors, late last week the park service reopened the road south through the Rocky Mountains that is a key draw for tourists.

SAFARI MEETS RIVERBOAT: It’s the only choice if Africa’s fragile ecosystem is to survive

The sun is a red orb sitting low on the horizon. The only sound is the eerie cry of an African Fish Eagle. It’s all rather splendid, quietly cruising on the Zambezi Queen by Mantis along the Chobe River, between Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and Botswana’s Chobe National Park, which together contain one of Africa’s densest concentrations of wildlife.

PIER PRESSURE: Summer tourists flock to waterfronts

Small businesses along popular vacation destinations like boardwalks and piers in the US say the number of tourists flocking to the waterfront is back to normal, meaning pre-2020 levels. But while the affluent are spending freely, lower-income vacationers are sticking to carefully planned-out budgets.

CANADIANS PLAY PART IN FLORIDA TOURISM RECORD

Florida welcomed a record-breaking 34.2 million visitors in the second quarter of 2024 – including an estimated 739,000 Canadians. This figure represents a 1.7% increase over the same period in 2023, setting a new all-time high for second-quarter visitation in the state’s history.

ARCH NEMESIS: Why are Utah’s famous rocks falling down?

A common line of questions has emerged from tourists in Utah’s Arches National Park since an iconic rock arch at Lake Powell known as the “Toilet Bowl” collapsed earlier this month. Are these arches also at risk of falling soon? What is being done to prevent their collapse?

EAT, STAY & PLAY: Montréal’s summer joie de vivre

Fresh from retaining its status as the country’s culinary capital on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, Montréal is riding high this summer with a dizzying array of activities and developments, from hot new restaurant and hotel openings to unique sporting events and vibrant festivals. We break it all down here.

JASPER AS WE KNEW IT MAY BE GONE

The town of Jasper will be rebuilt, but It could take more than a century for the freshly burned forest in Jasper National Park to regenerate into the postcard-perfect form that attracted Canadians from across the country, and visitors from around the world, a wildfire expert says. 

THE IN AND OUT CLUB: Posh Piccadilly hotel to revive historic London site

Cambridge House, the former In and Out Military Club, in Mayfair, London, will be managed by Auberge Resorts Collection, an award-winning portfolio of one-of-a-kind luxury hotels, resorts and residences when the historic property at 94 Piccadilly opens next year in the British capital.

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