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TIME magazine has unveiled its ‘The World’s Greatest Places’ list for 2024. The annual accounting of “extraordinary destinations to visit and stay this year” expands in number (to 100 from 50) and scope (to include hotels, cruises, restaurants, attractions, museums, parks, and more) over last year, and runs the gamut from other-worldly art to active travel and engaging communities to “learning more deeply about ourselves.” And, yes, Canada is represented.

Air Canada Vacations and Azamara combined for what they called a “landmark” incentive trip with Expedia Cruises, while Travel Only advisors donated to Hurricane Beryl victims with the help of One Caribbean Canada, and Virtuoso member attended a series of cruise ship tours.

Imagine planning a vacation and not being able to check Airbnb or another online booking site for an apartment in which to spend a few days walking, shopping and eating among the locals.

The devastation of Jasper by wildfire is just the latest sign that climate change “cannot be ignored,” says the Canadian Association of Tour Operators, which has urged the tourism industry to “prioritize sustainability and take proactive measures to address the challenges posed by climate change.”

A surprise eruption of steam in a Yellowstone National Park geyser basin sent people scrambling for safety as basketball-sized rocks flew overhead, highlighting the US parks hydrothermal activities that attract millions of tourists annually are dangerous and not as predictable as Old Faithful, which erupts “like clockwork.”

Canada’s passport was ranked among the best in the world in this week’s round-up; also, Southwest is breaking a 50-year tradition; Carnival Cruise Line ordered three more massive ships (biggest in the world); WestJet announced free onboard internet; dog owners at the US border got a reprieve; and (in case you might have missed it), the Summer Olympic Games kicked off, putting the spotlight of the world on France.

Among the throngs of tourists in cowboy attire who flock to Nashville’s famed downtown honky-tonks, a small but unsettling group has distracted locals and visitors from the neon lights lately with Nazi salutes and white supremacist rhetoric.

Welcome aboard, hope you are standing comfortably. For the horses on the US eventing team, the journey to France for the Paris Olympics was – quite literally – a four-legged journey.

Canadian passport holders can enter 187 of the world’s 227 destinations visa-free, placing this country in 7th place on the respected Henley Passport Index, which rates the world’s most powerful passports based on visa-free accessibility. Canada’s ranking edged ahead by one over 2023, when it ranked 8th on the list.

Polar adventures outfitter Quark Expeditions is offering travel advisors the chance to win an Arctic FAM of a lifetime. The ‘Ultimate Summer in The Arctic Sweepstakes’ will reward 10 agents, selected at random, with a spot on its a 13-day “Ultimate Arctic Voyage from Svalbard to Jan Mayen to Iceland,” hosted by one of the company’s Business Development Managers, in July 2025.

Venice officials say that the city’s new day-tripper tax netted 2.4 million euros ($3.6 million) during a test phase this summer, during which the 5-euro ($7.50) tax was paid 485,062 times over the 29 test days, mostly weekends and holidays, from April 25 to July 14. The final numbers included paper access tickets sold to bus tours, cruise ships and some tour operators, accounting for about 1,000 entrances on each of the test days.

Multiple wildfires in the Canadian Rockies’ largest national park sent up to 25,000 visitors and residents fleeing west over the last open mountain road Tuesday, navigating through darkness and soot following a government alert during the area’s busiest tourist time of the year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control will not require onerous forms for dog owners crossing the border from Canada this summer. The agency had announced new rules in May that were aimed at keeping rabies out of the country.