DIVE RIGHT IN
Satisfy your urge to submerge
For scuba divers, Greater Fort Lauderdale is the place to be. The ocean temperature ranges from 22° C in the winter to 26° C in the summer – just perfect for exploring the area’s 76 artificial reefs and the largest collection of warm-water wrecks in the Western world. MORE
ONTARIO PLEDGES TOURISM SUPPORT
Members of Ontario's tourism industry welcomed the province's tailored aid for the struggling sector as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens a second summer. The Ontario budget calls for $400 million in spending over the next three years on the tourism industry, on top of previously announced investments of $225 million in the sector, after the pandemic forced would-be patrons to spend much of the last year at home. MORE
PLEASE RELEASE US
Cruise lines urge CDC to lift ‘no sail’ order
The esteemed Engelbert Humperdinck once sang, “Please release me, let me go; for I don’t love you anymore.” Fifty-plus years later, CLIA is channeling its inner crooner and urging the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lift its “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order” (CSO) and allow for the planning of a phased resumption of cruise operations from US ports by the beginning of July. MORE
PANDEMIC, WHAT PANDEMIC?
US airlines return to old ways
Southwest Airlines has gone back to boarding passengers in lots of 30, middle seats on many airlines are again being sold, and snacks and drinks are increasingly being served again, prompting many passengers on US airlines to wonder, pandemic, what pandemic? MORE
STUCK IN THE SUEZ CANAL
Shipping losses mount from cargo vessel
Dredgers, tugboats and even a backhoe failed to free a giant cargo ship wedged in Egypt's Suez Canal on Thursday as the number of stacked-up vessels unable to pass through the vital waterway climbed to 150 and losses to global shipping mounted. MORE
THIS SUCKS
Backlash bursts baby bottle bubble
Cafés across several Gulf Arab states started selling coffee and other cold drinks in baby bottles this month, kicking off a new trend that has elicited excitement, confusion — and backlash. MORE
BIG CRAIC ATTACK AT THE CROSSKEYS INN
You’ve likely not been there, but if the image of the Crosskeys Inn looks familiar, it’s because the iconic pub in Northern Ireland is often used by tourism promoters, including Tourism Ireland, to represent the ideal of the pub experience on the Emerald Isle, which is a key driver of visitor interest. MORE
Naturally, we were going to give you Aretha as part of our celebration of International Women’s Month in March. Not only was Franklin dubbed “The Queen of Soul,” she is considered by many the greatest female singer of all time, and a feminist trailblazer to boot, as demonstrated with anthemic songs like “Respect.” MORE
AN AWESOME WEEK
Travel advisors get heard
The Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors are decidedly happy “we are pumped,” founder Judith Coates, said in an email, “because it was very evident that our voices are being heard!” Coates said she, “wanted to share that this has been an awesome week for all Travel Advisors!” MORE
TRANSAT EXPECTS TO RESUME OPERATIONS MID JUNE
Reports $60.5M Q1 loss,
Transat AT Inc. expects to resume its operations around mid-June, during the high summer season, the company said Thursday as it reported its latest financial results. The timeline for a restart follows a suspension of the company's regular flights following the Canadian government's request in January to stop travel to Mexico and the Caribbean because of the pandemic. MORE
MAXXED OUT
WestJet cancels orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max planes
WestJet says it has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as the industry-wide downturn in aviation continues. The cancellations leave WestJet with 27 Max aircraft remaining on order, the company says. MORE
HAPPY TRAILS
New Panama trail network combines conservation, tourism
Panama is planning to preserve important ecological trails critical to tourism, ecology, and scientific discovery with a new project dubbed “1,000 Kilometers of Trails.” Created by the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) in alliance with the Ministry of Environment, and developed within the framework of the Tourism, Conservation and Research (TCR) strategy of Panama’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism, the initiative aims to conserve nature and diversify rural economies through the development of the outdoor recreation industry and green tourism in protected areas. MORE
It’s no surprise that a museum dedicated to zombies couldn’t stay in its grave for long. The Living Dead Museum, an institution dedicated to honouring the seminal 1968 zombie film “Night of the Living Dead” had been a fixture since 2013 in downtown Evans City, Pennsylvania, where the film was shot and which prides itself on being the birthplace of the zombie genre. MORE
THE CRUISE PARTY’S STARTING
Too Bad You Can’t Join It
The first cruise ships to set sail this year are beginning to resemble exclusive night clubs that don’t have you on their VIP lists. MORE
1987, I still recall a fellow university student bursting into the newsroom for the school paper waiving an LP and declaring: “You gotta hear this!” It wasn’t quite as dramatic as “Stop the presses!” but a fitting introduction nonetheless for The Tragically Hip, a band whose songs have become a prominent part of the soundtrack of many Canadians’ lives. MORE
ANYBODY HOME
Airbnb reports huge loss but stays optimistic
Home-sharing site Airbnb posted a US $3.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it suffered from the pandemic downturn in travel and recorded one-time costs for becoming a public company. Company executives said they are upbeat about a recovery, but they said the unknown pace of vaccinations make it difficult to know how quickly people will be willing to travel. The company did say revenue will not decline as much in the current quarter as it did in the fourth quarter of last year. MORE
THIS MONTH IN TRAVEL HISTORY
February events, memories and milestones
The world was created (!), Laker Airways went under, and it rained sardines in Australia... Read on for more memories and tantalizing travel-related tidbits. MORE
NOT JUST YET
Qantas expects to start international flights in October
Qantas Airways does not expect to resume international travel apart from New Zealand until late October after the Australian population was vaccinated for COVID-19, the airline's chief executive said on Thursday. The Sydney-based airline had been selling seats on international flights from July 1. MORE
WISHING AND HOPING
Tokyo Olympic torch relay plans to kick off in one month
The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympics is to start in a month, which should be a sign that the troubled Olympics are on track to begin on July 23. It was at this stage at the start of the torch relay just under a year ago - just after the Olympic flame arrived from Greece - that the Olympics were postponed because of the coronavirus. MORE
INTO THE FIRE
New wedding trend blazes in Las Vegas
Adios, Reverend Elvis. Ciao, tiny chapels! Las Vegas’s hottest trend is outdoor weddings, with couples choosing, in particular, to say “I do” in the Valley of Fire, according to a local wedding destination specialist. MORE