It only seemed fitting that on day when Canadian travel numbers were revealed to be skyrocketing, that former US astronaut John Bennett Herrington was invited to be a guest speaker at the 14th annual Discover America Media Day and trade luncheon in Toronto.

A real-life rocket man, in town for a premiere of Brand USA’s film “Into Nature’s Wild” in which he is featured, Herrington was the first native American in space when he visited the Space Station and might be considered an “ultimate tourist.”

Berrington mesmerized the audience with tales and images of his 13 days in space (try sleeping while floating weightless, for example), but also his inspiring path from the Chickasaw nation in Oklahoma to being one of the few humans to reach Earth’s outer limits, and his current post-NASA activities and unique insights on life on the ground as influenced from above.

(He once told a US senator who was pushing the space program to focus on humanity’s migration into space, for example, that rockets can’t launch if they’re under water on earth).

Meanwhile, as the audience pondered the future of (space) tourism, Expedia Group’s sr. regional manager for Canada Raina Williams revealed more immediate trends and insights from the company’s recent quarterly index report, a massive deep dive into Canadian numbers that revealed, amongst other things, that 50% of Canadians are planning at least two leisure trips in the next two years.

Another encouraging insight from Expedia is that “despite rising prices and operational challenges, Canadians are still finding a way to make travel happen.”

Williams reported that travel searches by Canadians are steadily rising, suggesting consumer confidence in travel, and that Expedia is now starting to see bookings made further out (90- and 180-plus days), for longer durations, and for longer-hauls (flights over four hours, i.e. internationally). Also, that family travel has recovered to pre-pandemic levels (about 25% of bookings).

She also revealed that in Q2, Expedia set a record for the highest number of hotel bookings in its history.

Top destinations amongst Canadian was good news for the US suppliers in attendance: New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Orlando.