New Zealand gears up for The Hobbit ... Maldives Twitter move backfiring

Air New Zealand is gearing up for the November 2012 premiere of the first part of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey by branding two Boeing 777 aircraft with Middle Earth images and graphics in collaboration with Jackson's Weta Workshop, says travelmole.com.

A report today quoted Air New Zealand General Manager Marketing and Communications Mike Tod, said as saying that "New Zealand is clearly established as the home of Middle-earth and Air New Zealand will bring the magic to life for travellers.

"This partnership follows on naturally from the success of Air New Zealand's relationship with The Lord of the Rings trilogy in raising New Zealand's profile as an international travel destination," Tod said. "Similarly, we will be putting millions of dollars of marketing behind the two films based on The Hobbit to promote New Zealand in new and innovative ways across the globe."

Tod said that the airline will also be screening a special Hobbit-themed inflight safety video, also produced by Weta.

Really? A Hobbit-themed inflight safety video? I can only imagine Gandalf (see wizard-looking dude in the poster) warning against setting off fireworks on board a plane? Or maybe they can have Gollum (see nasssttttyyy looking guy at right) explaining the fresh fish on the menu in first class...

MALDIVES TWITTER MALFUNCTION?

Another item I spotted on travelmole today concerns a Twitter campaign thought up by Maldives tourism chiefs as a way to boost the popularity of the country as a holiday destination. Nice try, but it sounds like hashtag they were using has been taken over by Twitter users complaining about political coups, brutal police tactics and social unrest.

"The Maldives tourism authorities urged the islands' tourism businesses to help make #SunnySideofLife a global trend, but activists used the hashtag to tell the world about the darker side of life in the Maldives," travelmole reported.

I spotted this tweet Friday morning by  @haaghee:  #mvcoup by MALDIVES Dictator Gayoom have thrown country back to Austerity. Arrest him! #SunnySideOfLife http://www.haveeru.com.mv/dhivehi/news/125887 via @haveeru.

I also found this one: Mauroof Khaleel ‏@maapu Dear traveller, welcome to #Maldives where justice is a joke & basic human rights is considered a luxury! Enjoy #SunnySideOfLife

I'm thinking that's not quite what the tourism folks had in mind...

 

A short meeting with American music star Rosanne Cash - wow!

It’s not everyday you get to meet a musical legend.

Wednesday night it was my turn as I got to chat briefly with country (mostly) star Rosanne Cash. It was only a minute, but I quickly got a sense of her intelligence and wit.

I asked her how long she’s been on her tour, and she promptly replied, “About 30 years.”

Touche.

Cash was in southern Ontario for a concert at Hamilton Place (my first time there and I loved the intimate setting). The reason I was there, along with a bunch of travel types, is because there was an event prior to the show sponsored by Travel South USA, a U.S. organization that represents tourism in southern states, and by Brand USA, the group that’s pushing the first-ever U.S. government attempt at nation-wide marketing to potential tourists from overseas.

Until recently, U.S. tourism efforts were provided by states or regions or cities. But President Obama, sensing an opportunity to boost the American economy, opted to form a group that’s pushing the U.S. as a whole.

With that in mind they decided they needed a theme song. I’ll let Cash’s remarks from last night’s reception tell the rest of the story, as there’s no point in my getting in the way.

“I was contacted by (advertising/marketing agency) J. Walter Thompson and they told me the first-ever tourism campaign in U.S. history was going on. I was like, ‘The first time in history? Really? We’re just doing this?’”

Cash said she was told she could submit a song, so she and husband John Leventhal came up with Land of Dreams.

“We had to write and submit the song and I was a little worried. We (the U.S.) don’t exactly have a reputation for the most shy and retiring nation and I didn’t want something chest-thumping or red, white and blue.”

Rather than overt patriotism, Cash said she wanted “a modern This Land is Your Land.”

“For the government I knew it had to accessible right away,” she said of the song. “I didn’t want an American Express commercial or something glossy or jingoistic.”

Cash explained that she’s lived in New York for 20 years.

“It’s a small island off the coast of America,” she said with a laugh.

Cash said she was commissioned solely as the writer of the song and didn’t know if she’d get to sing.

“I got the word that I was going to sing it and then I really wanted to do the video. Then I got the word I could do that, too.”

The song and video are a paean to America that some folks feel could pass for a Canadian multiculturalism commercial. Cash starts the video singing with a band of musicians from all walks of life on what looks like the shores of the East River in New York. There are African-American musicians in New Orleans, cowboys on the range, folks drawing strange diagrams on a beach and an Asian-American couple dancing in Central Park., along the requisite – and beautiful – shots of majestic mountains and sleepy green bayous and colourful South Asian festivals and convertibles sliding through South Beach and deep red canyons of the west. All the while the Land of Dreams tune flows along gently, with kind words about the U.S. but no chest thumping.

The song sounds country but there are instruments from all over the world mixed in, giving it a full, rich and world-wide sound.

“So play your song to make them real, There’s a place for all we feel, And it’s closer than it seems, Come and find your land of dreams.”

I’m biased as I grew up in the U.S., but I find the video incredibly moving. It’s not just me, as the production has received great reviews from all over. Almost too great, Cash said with a smile.

“I’m kind of jealous cuz this is getting much more attention than my records,” she said. “But the images of America make me very proud.”

Cash said she’s been busy and that last night was the first chance she’s had to talk about the process with tourism folks.

“I really was concerned about this,” she said. “It wasn’t just a gig.”

I’d never met Cash before, and, to be honest, I wasn’t hugely familiar with her music. But I came away from the meeting hugely impressed with her character and intelligence.

The tourism folks were kind enough to give the media a copy of Cash’s latest CD, called The List. It’s a fabulous record, made up of songs her dad, Johnny Cash, had once written down for her on a legal pad as important country songs she should know about.

Cash was born in Tennesseee but grew up in southern California and now lives in New York. She’s seen a lot of the U.S. and experienced a lot of the U.S., and you can hear it in the music. She’s also been through a lot; having suffered through a rare brain condition and other medical issues. She was once married to country music star Rodney Crowell (author of the fabulous Til I Gain Control Again, covered by Blue Rodeo on their Five Days in July CD).

The List features duets with four stars of music: Bruce Springsteen, Rufus Wainwright, Elvis Costello and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco – a personal favourite of mine. She covers such tunes as Miss the Mississippi and You, Heartaches by the Number, 500 Miles, Girl from the North Country (a Bob Dylan tune) and Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow.

Great music from a great artist.

IKEA hotels in Europe ... Toronto #4 in livability ... T.O. Shangri-LA opens soon

Big news days out there in the travel world, folks.

First item du jour is a note from over the pond that IKEA is building, wait for it, a chain of budget hotels. Isn't it enough they've filled the rooms of the world with Billy bookcases? (I must own four or five of the damned things, and I could probably melt down all the Allen keys I have and make a tank for the Canadian military). Isn't it enough they're developing property near the Olympic stadium in London, where they want to build houses - and no doubt fill them with IKEA furniture?

No, it's not enough. And, actually, I say good for them. For a lot of North American folks, it's expensive to get a place to stay in Europe. So the trend towards more budget-oriented motels and small hotels in Europe (similar to what we have here in terms of Comfort Inn's and such) is probably welcome.

The story I saw in the Daily Mail of London said the IKEA folks want to create "budget design" properties (isn't that an oxymoron?) with a "boutique feel" at affordable prices. They apparently aim to announce a hotel soon for Germany and are looking at perhaps 100 hotels in all on the continent. The UK, Holland and Poland were mentioned in the Daily Mail story.

They won't be called IKEA hotels though, which I don't quite understand. It's a hugely recognized brand, why not capitalize on it?

There's a big trend toward this type of thing already in Europe. Motel One has 39 hotels in Germany, the Daily Mail said, and they're looking at Edinburgh. There's also the Chic and Basic brand in Barcelona and Madrid.

Anyway, for now I see no word of any properties in Canada or the U.S. But I suspect it's only a matter of time before we can stop along I-75 in Cincinnati and rest up at a hotel filled with Vittsjo shelving units and Nordli bed frames and Micke desks. I wonder if we'll get Swedish meatballs from room service, or  lingonberries. Or those cheap hot dogs.

And will we have to assemble the beds and dressers ourselves? I can just see it - each guest is given an Allen key and some of those horrible instruction pamphlets and sent upstairs with a big box. Wouldn't that be a great way to get a discount?

MELBOURNE MOST LIVEABLE CITY ON THE PLANET

A study by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Melbourne as the most liveable city on the planet. Second was Vienna, Austria, followed by Vancouver. Toronto was just a smidge behind those smug westerners, finishing just off the podium in the number four spot. Calgary (HA!) was fifth.

Rounding out the top ten were Adelaide, Sydney, Helsinki, Perth Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. That makes a pretty tremendous showing for the Aussies and Canucks, doncha know.

Oh, Montreal was 16, lest I forget. But that was it for Canadian cities in the ranking, as they apparently only stuck to the big boys.

Notice, ahem, the absence of any U.S. cities from the top ten. Interesting. The top American city in the survey might be a bit of a surprise: Honolulu at #26. I actually quite like Honolulu; there's great weather and beaches but also tremendous culture and fabulous food.

Other notable U.S. cities were Washington D.c. at #34, Chicago at 36, Los Angeles at 43, San Francisco at 52 (behind LA? OMG)  and New York at 56. Jon Copestake the survey editor comments: "The tiny increment between the top ten cities shows just how tight the ranking can be. Canadian cities, like Australia, benefit from good infrastructure and low crime rates. For big US cities a high score for cultural activities can come at the expense of higher congestion and crime rates." 

Elsewhere in the world, the impact of the Arab Spring and fallout from the Eurozone crisis is still being felt. Many cities in the Middle East and North Africa have seen downward revisions to their scores thanks to civil unrest.

Every city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure. Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. For qualitative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of in-house analysts and in-city contributors.

Want to know what cities to avoid? Worst on the list was Dhaka, Bangladesh. Just ahead, at 139, was Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. And in the 138th spot was Lagos, Nigeria.

SHANGRI-LA TORONTO TWO WEEKS AWAY

It's a tad confusing, but it sounds like the Shangri-La hotel in downtown Toronto will unofficially open Aug. 31. It won't be fully open by that date, as apparently the TIFF movie folks will be using it for the most part for the first couple weeks.

Still, that's the unofficial date. And it sounds like they'll be in full operation for the general public by Sept. 17.

There will be plenty of Asian touches of course. But the developer is a big music fan so I'm told there's a handcrafted Italian piano in the lobby. The piano also apparently has the words to Joni Mitchell's "Old Man" under the lid.

There will be a branch of the legendary restaurant Momofuku, but it's run separately and not really a Shangri-La property. The main restaurant for the hotel proper is called Bosk, where they will offer up everything from John Dory to New Zealand lamb (the executive chef was born in New Zealand but grew up in Japan) and other items with an Asian flavour. They say the dim sum that will be served in the lobby is to die for, and they'll have afternoon tea and a tea library with 68 varieties.

As with many projects these days, such as the Trump, it's part condo and part hotel. the lower 17 floors are for the hotel, with 202 rooms and suites at Adelaide and University. They'll have a Hammam spa with Parisian influences, plus a 20-meter pool with a chandelier over the top and an outdoor place on the fifth floor that looks up University Ave.

Service will be the key to the hotel getting the five-star rating it craves. An official told me staff under a very extensive training program and that service is based on the theme of "hospitality from the heart."

It's supposed to be "gracious and unobtrusive" service with a substantial "humility" factor.

It's certainly going to be fun to see how they do, what with the TRUMP Tower just down the road, the Ritz-Carlton around the corner (the only Toronto property right now with a five-diamond rating from the Canadian Automobile Association) and the new Four Seasons Yorkville opening up in October.

Segwun steamship on Lake Muskoka ... Shangri-La Toronto opens Sept. 17

I think it was last summer. We were at a friends' cottage on Lake Muskoka when the RMS Segwun chugged into sight.

 

"Oh, I don't like that thing," an acquaintance said. "It's dirty."

 

It was all I could do to not toss a drink in her face.

 

Okay, the Segwun is a steam ship. It sends out smoke.

 

We don't see it much, but last time I checked the cars we drive up to Muskoka emit a fair bit of pollution, too. Not to mention the boats and the jet skis we use. Of course a ship like the Segwun (see photo below) is going to send out smoke. It's an old-time steam ship.

 

And thank God for it.

 

Sitting at another friends' cottage on Sunday (we're lucky to have several friends in this happy situation), I was reading a book when someone said, "Look, the Segwun's so close."

It actually was the Wenonah II, which was built about 10 years ago and doesn't belch smoke. But it's very pretty and just as wonderful to see out on the lake.

Just hearing the whooshing "toot" of the horn when I'm on the dock or inside at the cottage is enough to make me smile.

If you've never taken a cruise on either the Segwun or the Wenonah II, you're missing something truly wonderful. The views of the lake and the cottages are lovely, and you get a sense of stepping back in time.

A check of the website shows that this year marks the 125th anniversary of the R.M.S. Segwun.

"This special anniversary will be celebrated on a grand scale Muskoka wide with live entertainment and performances planned throughout the summer," the website says.

There's a big beer, wine and cocktails festival planned for Aug. 25. Or you can hop a daytime or sunset cruise anytime.

Built in 1887, the R.M.S. Segwun stands tall as North America's oldest operating steamship.  With a sailing season of just 145 days, present day Segwun welcomes passengers on board from around the world.

SHANGRI-LA TORONTO

The Shangri-la, the latest in a string of top-end hotel properties in Toronto, is slated to open to the general public Sept. 17, a source tells me today.

The hotel, at the northwest corner of University and Adelaide, will open for the Toronto International Film Festival on Aug. 31 but that's for TIFF business and clients and partners, and not folks like you and me.

The hotel will have a much-awaited Momofuku restaurant, plus a sumptuous lobby with Asian touches and a first-rate Hammam spa. There are some 202 rooms.

More to come on this front later today or tomorrow.

The plan originally called for the hotel to open Aug. 7 but they ran into small delays.

The design look stunning, for sure. The Four Seasons new hotel in Yorkville is slated to open in October, and we already had the Trump open this year and the Ritz Carlton last year.

GOLF IN THE MALDIVES?

The Telegraph in London says the Maldives "has unveiled plans for a £320 million floating golf course, as part of a mission to transform the archipelago into a network of man-made floating islands, covering more than 80 million square feet of water.

Teaming up with the master developers of the project at Dutch Docklands, the Maldivian government launched The Five Lagoons project in an effort to save the sinking islands.

The lowest lying country in the world, the Maldives sits about five feet above sea level and is in danger of becoming uninhabitable due to elevated water levels and other effects of climate change.

Most popular hotels for cheating on your spouse; sick but interesting

I don't condone the site in any way. But I gotta admit I find it interesting to look at some reports by Huffington Post of late on what hotels are most popular with folks who use the Ashley Madison infidelity (cheat on your spouse) social media network.

The site surveyed more than 3,200 members who live or travel to Toronto and asked them to name their most popular hotels for their affairs.

"Our research reveals that while these hotels may not be where they would stay on a typical business or family trip, to fulfill on the perfect affair they tend to choose something more exotic, trendy and even romantic," said Noel Biderman, CEO of Ashley Madison (which is based in Toronto? Really?).

Biderman said hotels obviously don't market themselves for cheaters but they certainly know it's a part of their business. In fact, he estimates perhaps 10 per cent of a hotel's revenue comes from infidelity.

Anyway, on to the hotels. The survey found that the most popular spot in Toronto was the Sheraton Centre. Makes sense, really. It's large. It's right downtown on Queen across from City Hall and near the Eaton Centre and close to offices and such. Nice rooms, but not over the top. Oh, one of the bars (see photo) is called Traders. Sorry, but how perfect is that?

Second was the Fairmont Royal York. Also a nice spot; very classy and historic. Then came the Hazelton Yorkville (very impressive to the girlfriend or boyfriend), the Westin Harbour Castle and the Hilton Garden Inn Airport.

Ashley Madison did a similar report for New York and L.A. In the Big Apple, the most popular booking spots for hooking up were the W Hotel on Lexington, the Holiday Inn on 57th St. (hey big spender, what's up with that?), the Marriott Marquis (more like it), the Gansevoort in the, um, meatpacking district and the Waldorf Astoria (much more like it, folks).

In L.A. the top five were the W in Hollywood, The Beverly Wilshire, The Beverly Hills Hotel, the Comfort Inn in North Hollywood and the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica at the beach. That's not so bad but a Comfort Inn? Really? North Hollywood ain't exactly the romance capital of southern California, although it IS close to downtown with good access to both the Hollywood Freeway and the Ventura Freeway.

Very silly stuff, of course. But interesting.

TORONTO HOTEL NEWS

Couple things to mention in Hogtown today. The folks at Trump Toronto - sorry, the Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto - have announced the "highly anticipated expansion of Quartz Crystal Spa," located on the 31st and 32nd floors.

Spa patrons now have a natural salt infinity lap pool and an infinity edge whirlpool (never seen one of those) overlooking the downtown, plus a fully equipped fitness and movement studio and a sauna.

Over in Mississauga, the Towne Place Suites has been given a $17 million renovation/transformation. The hotel offers a full kitchen, free breakfast, a pool and more.

PORTER EXPANSION

Porter Airlines is adding a fourth weekday roundtrip between Sault Ste. Marie and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The new flights begin Oct. 1.

“Sault Ste. Marie is an example of a city that needed competition,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “We’ve been able to encourage more people to fly based on offering choice, lower fares and direct access to downtown Toronto. Our new schedule matches this interest.”

Porter began serving Sault Ste. Marie in 2011, with two daily flights.

MISSY LOVES PICTOU

Nice of American swimmer Missy Franklin to call out Pictou, Nova Scotia as her favourite spot on the lord's great, green earth. Franklin, whose mother is from Halifax and dad from Ontario, has spent a lot of time in Pictou, a small town on the north shore of the province.

Franklin just loves the place and, of course, folks in Pictou are thrilled with the coverage. They're hoping to get the Olympic medallist to visit again soon but apparently the 17-year-old has to go back to high school in Colorado first.

 

 

A Rimowa Junker52 flight over Toronto in a vintage plane: utterly awesome!

I'm finding this hard to put into words.

I got an invitation a couple weeks ago to go on a short flight over Toronto in a vintage, 1930's Junkers JU 52 plane that's owned by the folks who make those fabulous, retro-looking Rimowa suitcases with the ridges.

Well, sure. I mean, that's not an invite that slides into one's email basket every day, right?

I thought it would be fun. It was 10,486 times that.

They took four or five groups of Rimowa folks, Lufthansa workers, media types and celebrities up for 20-minute tours. Included in the latter group was film director David Cronenberg - my brush with Hollywood for the year.

I got on and sat up near the cockpit next to Hans DeHaan, the very entertaining new Regional Sales Director for the Lufthansa Aviation Group in Canada.

The plane is a monstrously beautiful one; all gleaming silver and deep grey and thrumming and powerful as all get out. It doesn't make noise; it roars its power with a deep-throated resonance that's simply amazing to hear.

We took off slowly. And I mean slowly. Halfway across the Toronto Harbour and I don't think we were more than 200 feet off the ground. As we passed the smokestacks over on the portlands (and hit a small air pocket) we were barely even with the top of the stack.

Anyway, we headed out over Ashbridges Bay, the Beach and the Scarborough Bluffs in the near-sunset, with huge, billowing clouds on the horizon before making a U-turn and heading downtown. We were about even with the top of the CN Tower and the views were outstanding.

Our pilot surprised us by circling close to the Tower. VERY CLOSE. I was told later that the president of the Tower was on board my flight and was thinking of saying something but didn't. I mean, you could look out and see what folks were eating in the restaurant we were so close. I guessed 300-400 feet but someone on my flight thought it was more like 200.

We continued west along the shoreline to Humber Bay Park, then banked and came back to the Island Airport, passing sailboats bobbing in the lake and pleasure/cruise ships heading out of the harbour and landed at what felt like 20 kilometers an hour; smooth and almost like we were floating or landing in a glider.

It was hotter than blazes on the plane as there's no AC (and no seat-back movie!) and the plane is dura-aluminum; making most of us on board feel like Swiss Chalet chickens by the time we got off.

Still, nobody complained. It was magic.

As we passed over downtown I looked out at some towering clouds bathed in yellow-orange light. The sun was slanting down onto the Toronto Islands and we were thundering through the sky and I thought, "Okay, THIS is flying. THIS is what people used to get excited about when they took to the skies; a sense of awe and adventure that most of us lose on endless commuter flights to Montreal or family trips to Florida."

I felt like a six-year-old on my first flight, and it was a wonderful, never-to-be-forgotten experience.

They served some lovely appetizers - thanks to some wonderfully decked out flight attendants - and then put on a stunning dinner in the main hangar, with white tablecloths and silver and tender steaks and fish and pasta and desserts and fancy appetizers.

All in all, one of the great nights I can ever remember experiencing anywhere.

Thanks to the folks at Rimowa and to Lufthansa for the invite.

 

 

More options for Canadians heading south ... Watch your language at airport!

 

Word came today that the Harper government ie expanding Canadian airlines' options for Caribbean and Central America.

Details weren't immediately available as to frequency of flights, etc..., but Canada's Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (what a mouthful) Denis Lebel today announced that Air Transat and WestJet have been designated for international service between Canada and several sunny destinations.

Lebel designated Air Transat for flights to Costa Rica (see photo), St. Maarten, Barbados, Antigua/Barbuda and Nicaragua, which has been getting more ink the last couple years. WestJet was designated to serve Costa Rica and Curacao.

“Our government is promoting the growth and competiveness of the Canadian air industry”, said Minister Lebel. “These designations will expand options for air travellers between Canada and these countries.”

 

Air carriers may apply to the Minister of Transport for designation to operate scheduled international air services, officials said, adding that designations announced today were made possible by the existing air transport agreements with these countries.

LANGUAGE COPS COMING TO AN AIRPORT NEAR YOU

Interesting item at thestar.com today, wherein Canada’s bilingualism watchdog "is going undercover" at eight major airports to see if travellers are served equally well in English and French

Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser says his office will conduct more than 1,500 anonymous observations this fall at airports in Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.

All airports that serve more than one million passengers a year must provide services in both English and French.

The commissioner will check if signs are in both official languages, if staff offer a bilingual greeting to travellers and if services are available in French in predominantly English-speaking parts of the country and in English in French-speaking parts.

Fraser’s office says the project will include observations of Air Canada’s services on the ground and in the air on flights designated as bilingual.

It will also look at the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority’s third-party services in security areas.

I've never noticed a lack of French signage at Pearson. But, then again, I don't really speak French and don't have much cause for paying a lot of attention.

I wonder if they have announcements in French that say, "Attention, you have landed at Pearson Airport in Toronto. If you are under the silly impression that your luggage is going to delivered to the baggage carousel within the next half hour you are horribly and sadly mistaken. HA HA HA HA HA!!!"

PORTER GETS AGGRESSIVE

Probably have more to say on this tomorrow. But this just came over the wires so thought I'd mention it Wednesday.

Porter Airlines sent out a press release today to say they're implementing its first interline partnership with Qatar Airways. The deal is effective immediately, providing expanded travel options for customers of both carriers.

“Establishing Porter’s first interline agreement is an important occasion for us and we couldn’t have chosen a better partner than Qatar Airways, one of the world’s elite airlines,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “It’s the beginning of a plan to add multiple interline partners in 2012, introducing Porter to an entirely new set of passengers.”

Qatar’s Doha service to Montreal and Washington-Dulles are both available for Porter interline flights. Montreal connections are available three times weekly to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Halifax. Washington service is available daily to Toronto City Airport.

Interline flights allow customers to purchase one ticket for a trip involving multiple airlines. At this time, all itineraries involving Qatar and Porter must be purchased from Qatar. Please inquire with Qatar or a travel agent for schedule and price information.

I don't think it's a huge deal on its own, as not that many of us fly to Doha. But it's yet another sign of Porter's aggressive stance as it takes on Air Canada and WestJet.

I expect a lot more of this is still to come....

Australian claims on hold with Qantas for 16 hours ... Bee swarm delays plane

The wonderful and wacky world of travel rears its head following a long weekend (that's a three-day weekend for you Americans in the audience). And we have a couple of good ones.

The first is apparently not that goofy, although it sounds like it. Word out of Pennsylvania via USA Today is that a Delta Air Lines flight from Pittsburgh to New York LaGuardia "was delayed by about 40 minutes last week after a 10,000 honey bees swarmed onto the wing of the aircraft.

The bees were discovered as ground crews were preparing to fuel the aircraft, which was operated by one of Delta's regional affiliates. Airport officials then called master beekeeper Stephen Repasky to come handle the honey bees, which are a protected species and should not be killed, according to WTAE TV of Pittsburgh.

I guess you could say airport officials made a bee line for Repasky. I wouldn't say that, but you could.

"Normally these days, people just take a can of Raid to any stinging insect. In this case, the plane could have taken off and the colony probably would have been lost," Repasky told the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review.

Isn't it nice that they're environmentally sensitive? Seriously, they could've just taken a giant hose to the colony, although I wouldn't want to be the guy standing next to 10,000 angry bees.

Since I've never heard of this sort of thing, I sent an email to Scott Armstrong at the Greater Toronto Area Airports Authority. He told me the strangest delays he can remember at Pearson are from dogs escaping their cages.

"That’s happened a couple of times in the last few years.  Our wildlife control folks will then come out to help get the dog out of the cargo hold. Obviously that’s an operation that can’t be rushed, since its risky for the dog and wildlife control."

But Armstrong said he's "never heard of this bee situation."

KDKA TV of Pittsburgh, which broke the story, writes "swarms of bees are actually nothing new at the airport. Last May, 25,000 to 30,000 landed on the Taxiway-C light." Repasky tells the station that last week's incident was the fourth time this year that he's been called to handle a swarm at the airport.

Associated Press reported that swarms form "when colonies become too large and the queen leaves half of her bees behind to find a new home. Some swarms can contain 25,000 to 30,000 bees."

I had no idea.

PATIENT AUSSIE WAITS ON QANTAS ... AND WAITS SOME MORE

Here's a completely crazy one. There's a story out there about an Australian who was kept on hold for 16 hours by Qantas. Adelaide businessman, Andrew Kahn says he wanted to confirm a flight to New York City and was on his mobile phone for 15 hours, 40 minutes and one second before he finally gave up. He says he placed his call at 7:22 p.m. on a Wednesday night and finally called it quits on Thursday morning at 11:01.

15 hours? I'd have quit after 45 minutes, I'm sure. Especially on a mobile phone. (And wouldn't the Muzak drive you insane within a few minutes?)

According to reports, Kahn said he waited on the phone all night while he read and completed a lengthy academic book on management. He said that part of the motivation to keep waiting was curiosity as to what Qantas meant when they said that someone would speak with him “as soon as possible.” He says he also did not want to lose his place in the phone queue.

After just under 16 hours, he gave up and hung up, describing the experience as “just about the worst customer service any customer could ever receive.” (Actually it could've been worse. He could've got onto his flight and then been delayed by a swarm of bees and then put on hold when he called the beekeeper).

Kahn noted he could have flown from Melbourne to Los Angeles in the time he had been holding on for Qantas to answer the phone.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Kahn called the airline after hanging up and managed to speak to someone in customer service, who said he was not even on the flight because of a code error in booking the ticket.

Qantas is investigating the claim. The airline said it had no evidence of the marathon call and insisted that the average phone wait during the time Kahn complained about was under a minute and the longest was 17 minutes.

Okay, so that's crazy. But this is even more nuts. Openjaw says a  poll conducted online by the Age and other Fairfax publications down under indicated that only 4 per cent of respondents would wait as long as Kahn did.

They got four per cent of folks to say they'd wait 15 hours, 40 minutes and one second on hold? Four per cent? Now THAT'S crazy. I mean, maybe for tickets to see Usain Bolt at the Olympics or to give that Canada-USA women's soccer referee a piece of my mind. But not to confirm a flight, methinks.

 

 

Mexico wants even more Canadians ... WestJet brings in premium economy

Canada sent nearly 1.6 million visitors to Mexico last year. But that’s not nearly enough to satisfy the country’s tourism folks.

Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, COO of the Mexico Tourism Board, told me in a recent telephone conversation that in the month of May, there was a 1.5 per cent increase in the number of Canadians.

“Canada is our second largest market, but I’m not happy with the level of growth,” Lopez-Negrete said. “We  should be up anywhere from five to six per cent given the strength of the Canadian economy and given that Canada has now surpassed the U.S. as a richer country based on an individual basis. Canadians travel all over the world and I think we should be able to increase the numbers.

“We’re not unhappy with our Canadian numbers,” he said. We’ve done a great job. Thirty five years ago we had just 650,000 Canadian visitors and now it’s 1.6 million and growing. But it should be more.”

That means building stronger connections in the Canadian marketplace, Lopez-Negrete told me. “We’ve been able to expand service in an aggressive manner with WestJet, Transat, Air Canada, Sunwing, and others. We need to continue in that direction and definitely inject more money and speak to consumers through the media more.”

Lopez-Negrete said a key job, of course, is to speak with the media about violence in Mexico; a continuing concern for some travelers.

“We have to keep setting the record straight about the perception of Mexico versus the reality of it being safe.”

There have been incidents, but Lopez-Negrete said they’re concentrated in areas most tourists don’t go.

“Take a destination like our southern states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche. The average figure for people killed is five for every 100,000. Miami is something like 16 or 17. That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t go to Miami. That’s my home base and I live there.

“The violence we’ve had in certain specific pockets of Mexico gets taken out of context,” he said. “Go to Los Cabos. The crime rate is three (deaths) per 100,000 people; even lower than the southern states. If we have problems near the U.S. border, it doesn’t mean our major resort centres aren’t safe.”

Lopez-Negrete said his wife is from Toronto and he knows the city well.

“It broke my heart” to see the shooting at the Eaton Centre, he said. “But that doesn’t mean tourists shouldn’t go shopping in the mall” in downtown Toronto.

Asked if he expects deal this fall and winter, Lopez-Negrete said it’s a perfect time to visit.

“The Canadian dollar is strong and the quality of our hotels and services is comparable to the best in the world. And Mexico is going through a very stable situation. The world is in turmoil but Mexico is like Canada; with a very stable economy. And our foreign investment is at a peak. The whole climate in Mexico is definitely conducive for people to come as a tourist or as an investor. Not many countries in the world can preach that.”

WEST JET UPS THE ANTE

Fascinating to see WestJet - which used to pride itself on treating all customers the same - bringing in premium economy.

As the Star's Vanessa Lu reported today, WestJet "will set aside four rows of this type of seating, which offers more legroom with a 36-inch seat pitch, and new features such as priority boarding and other in-flight amenities.

It's aimed at business types and leisure travelers with a little extra cash in their jeans.

Since they haven't found a way to physically stretch their planes, the extra space for some folks will mean slightly diminished space for folks in regular economy.

Details on pricing are to come later, but it sounds like the premium seats will be roughly midway between the cost of a regular flight and a business class flight on Air Canada.

Modifications to WestJet's fleet of Boeing 737s will begin this month, with all planes reconfigured by the end of this year. All economy seats will be standardized with a seat pitch of 31 inches to 32 inches, Lu reported.

WestJet clearly is taking aim at Air Canada in a number of ways; adding something like business class light and adding flights from Toronto to LaGuardia in New York and bringing in a frequent flyer program. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out...

 

London Calling ... But is anybody answering? Olympics empty most of the city

Want a hint on how to enjoy a great world city?

Go during the Olympics.

A myriad of sources are using one word to describe the tourism situation in London today, and that's "disastrous."

Hotel prices in London have been slashed. Museums and theatre attendance has plunged by up a third. Traditional London sites popular with visitors, such as Covent Garden, are comparative ghost towns.

The Daily Telegraphi in England quoted Lastminute.com as saying the average room in London booked on a last-minute deal was available for 112 pounds ($175) a night compared with 133 pounds ($208) last year.  Hotels.com says London prices this summer are about 25 per cent lower than average.

West End traders said business had slumped by as much as 70 per cent, with tourists and Londoners steering clear because of fears about overcrowding.

The Earl of Bradford, the owner of Porters restaurant in Covent Garden, told the Telegraph that  business was "disastrous".

Nica Burns, the chief executive of Nimax Theatres, which owns half a dozen London venues, forecast that ticket sales would be down by 30 per cent over the summer.

"For my six theatres, last week was the worst this year. I think the Olympics are great, but I feel like I've been the bull's eye for the archery competition," she said.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, which represents tourist attractions in London, said attendances over the past two weeks had fallen by about a third.

It's not unusual folks. People in Los Angeles in 1984 said they'd never seen traffic so light, for example.

It's entirely London's fault if this is happening. Hotels tried to gouge travelers by raising rates by huge amounts a year or so ago. Naturally, people rebelled and avoided bookings.

Now, the Games are here and a lot of rooms are empty. Which means it's a great time to visit London. You'll probably get a good (well, relatively good) hotel deal and the lineups at the British Museum should be much shorter than normal.

Plus you'll be able to wander down to Trafalgar Square or out to East London and get a feel for the Olympics, especially now that Britain has won its first gold medal, a first-place finish by the women's pairs in rowing that came Wednesday.

It's worth keeping in mind for future Games. Except the future Games aren't exactly in places of London's calibre. Yeah, the 2016 Summer Olympics will be in lovely Rio de Janeiro. But the 2014 Winter Games are in Sochi, Russia (not exactly on most folks' top 10 lists, although I hear it's a lovely spot on the Black Sea; see photo at right) and the 2018 Winter Games are in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Also pretty but not the sort of place most of us dream of visiting late at night when we can't get to sleep.

Still, it's a good lesson for future Olympic cities to keep in mind.

Also worth noting, while we're on the subject, is the long-term impact of hosting the Games. The modern-day Olympics cost billions and billions and billions of dollars. Yet they net almost no immediate tourism impact and often don't do anything for a city's long-term prospects.

Ask the folks in Athens how much they've benefitted from spending like drunken sailors on the 2004 Summer Games. Ask the people in Atlanta about the residual effects of the 1996 Games.

Vancouver has done pretty well since the 2010 Winter Olympics, but last I heard the waiters weren't exactly being run off their feet in Gastown.

No, the Olympics make very little sense from a travel standpoint. Yet we constantly have developers and hotel people and folks who should know better touting the benefits that will accrue to a city that goes into hock up to its eyebrows.

This doesn't mean the Games are entirely a bad idea. They can be quite good for a city. Contrary to the above examples, Barcelona used the 1992 Summer Games to parachute the city WAY up the European travel charts. But they did that by using the Olympics as an excuse to build a great city. They cleaned up the waterfront and added promenades and new beaches. They built fancy parks and bridges and overpasses and gave the jobs to top architects.

They spent like crazy, but they were left with tangible assets that are of use to future tourists. A big, empty stadium doesn't do much for tourism. Just ask Beijing, which has the lovely Birds Nest stadium sitting empty most of the time. Heck, last I heard at least one of the Athens summer facilties had been invaded by grazing sheep or goats, and how embarrassing is that for the International Olympic Committee?

London has done, apparently, a great job in cleaning up the east end of the city. They're not leaving behind too many stadiums. I don't know how many folks long term will flock to London to see the new, eastern portion of the city in its new duds. But at least they get some city building out of it and got to compress decades of work into a forced deadline period.

That's why some Toronto folks wanted to stage the 1996 Games; so the waterfront could finally get fixed up. Some Olympic rah-rah types still think the city should bid for a future Summer Games, maybe 2024. Personally, I don't know if we should bother any more.

The waterfront is virtually developed to within a centimeter of its life. The city is about to get two new, major luxury properties in the Shangri-La (probably opening for the general public next month) and the new Four Seasons Yorkville (in the fall). That's on top of the Ritz Carlton and the Trump already being open.

The city was just given a glowing review in Travel + Leisure magazine and also had a nice spread in the New York Times travel section on Sunday.

We're on the world map, folks. And we don't need to spend billions of dollars on stadiums and certainly not on new housing downtown.

One thing I think the Olympics COULD do for Toronto, however, is spur some desperately needed transit improvements. If the Games were to come, the mayor and the province and the feds and Karen Stintz would have to get together and formulate some speeded-up plans for transit to and from the airport and throughout the city so athletes and media types and Olympic sponsors could get around, not that sponsors actually, you know, go to the events that they get free tickets for.

Maybe it would be good for Toronto. Maybe it wouldn't. But the Olympics probably wouldn't bring us any huge influx of tourists. It certainly hasn't happened in London.