Hate Paris/Love Paris: how can we feel so differently? Jaunt.ca deal of the day

The travel game is a funny one.

I've been surrounded lately by pitches from freelance writers and columnists about Christmas. "Ten great places to shop this holiday season," or "Europe's best Christmas markets." Things like that. It's nice, as we here at the Star have 100-plus travel sections a year and it's nice to have a theme to fall back on every now and then.

Yesterday I was reading a Rick Steves' column about Christmas traditions in Europe. He talked at one point about places in France where they sell "santons," which I believe are the small, ceramic figurines that folks can put around a creche or nativity scene. It immediately reminded me of a trip I took to Paris and the south of France (sorry about that) a couple years ago for the Star's epic series "The Grand Tour." I visited the town of Aix-en-Provence for a couple days in early December and fell in love with the stalls selling tiny, detailed and brightly coloured figures of bakers, butchers and, this being the home of Cezanne, painters.

Paris was absolutely wonderful at Christmas, with the interior of the Galeries Lafayette all done up in remarkable decorations and the Champs Elysees ablaze with coloured lights and a dusting of snow on the ground and collecting around the edges of the Metro subway signs and on the tops of restaurant awnings, including the fabled Les Deux Magots on Blvd. St. Germain.

The first time I saw Paris I was underwhelmed. I liked it but thought it noisy and thought the people impolite. The second time I quite enjoyed it. The third time I loved it. And the Christmas visit was exquisite. Mind you, I stayed at Le Bristol, one of the cities' top hotels. That probably helped. But I also was delighted by a $5 cup of incredible hot chocolate in the Marais district, which is full of great shops and fun shopping streets. And we ate cheaply in a great brasserie with tons of atmosphere in the Canal St. Martin area. I found the people charming for the most part and helpful and I came away with a renewed love for Paris.

So Monday morning and afternoon I have these warm, fuzzy feelings about France and Paris, with visions of snow-covered streets and romantic restaurants and tiny Christmas figures in my head. Monday night I gathered in a bar on Yonge St. and started chatting with a friend. And he said he was in Paris recently.

And HATED it.

"Worst part of my trip," he said.

Mind you, this buddy of mine is Italian and he said he absolutely adored Florence. I basically met my wife in Florence so I have to be careful here, but the last time I was there I wasn't so crazy about it. I liked it fine, but I didn't (and never have) like the art too much (WAY too heavy on the religious imagery for me) and it was impossibly crowded. Very pretty but perhaps a bit overrated in my book.

But the point, and there is one here I think, is that that's why travel is so great. I can go to, say, Birmingham and get an upgrade to a room overlooking the park and have a smashing meal and meet some great locals and come away RAVING about the place. But you could go the next week and get the tiny, cramped room with no heat next to the dumpster and get rained on and wander into a tourist trap restaurant and get waited on by a woman who just broke up with her boyfriend and hates the world and you come back and tell all your friends DO NOT GO TO BIRMINGHAM.

None of us is right. None of us is wrong. So when it comes time to make that trip, talk to your friends. But when they say they hated Paris find out why. Read Trip Advisor. Read the Star's travel stories on Paris. But don't let anyone else rule your plans. It's a big world out there and we're all different and we look at things in varied ways.

You might like classical music and be dying to visit the birthplace in Germany of Richard Wagner, born 200 years ago in 2013. I'm a Beatles guy and would rather see where Richard (Ringo) Starkey grew up in Liverpool.

As my buddy Dave Perkins likes to say, "That's why they have menus in restaurants."

JAUNT.CA DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt.ca, a division of Torstar, is offering a 7-day south Caribbean cruise for $999, plus $596 in taxes, per person. Here's what you get:

• BONUS: Upgraded accommodations in an Oceanview Stateroom (Category EP), featuring two lower beds
• 7-Night Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Costa Luminosa, starting from and ending in La Romana, Dominican Republic
• Includes return airfare from Toronto to La Romana and round-trip airport/cruise transfers
• Ports of call include: La Romana, Dominican Republic; Catalina Island, Dominican Republic; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. John's, Antigua; Fort de France, Martinique; Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe; and Philipsburg, St. Maarten.
• Standard onboard dining included.
• There's a "decadent and deliciou coffe and chocolate bar on board and the ship features "beautiful glasswork and other incredible decorative features." The ship also stops at Catalina Island, a private retreat owned by Costa cruises.
• The offer is valid for travel on Dec. 31, 2012.

A (Brothers) Grimm year for Germany tourism, plus Toronto's Ikea Monkey!

Snow White. Little Red Riding Hood. The Pied Piper. Cinderella. Hansel and Gretel.

Some of the best fairy tales ever told were from the Brothers Grimm. And Dec. 20th marks the 200th anniversary of the first edition of their stories under the title 'Children's and Household Tales.'

To celebrate, and celebrate they should given the iconic status of so many of these stories, Germany tourism is helping folks along the Fairy Tale Route.

The brothers have many associations with German locations, including Hanau, where they were born, and Steinau, where they lived as children. They studied in Marburg and served at the court of the Elector at Kassel.

There's an exhibition in Hesse, Germany slated for April 27 to Sept. 8. Called Expedition Grimm, it will be "devoted to the far-reaching impact and captivating lives of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm," who had their works translated into 160 languages.

"But the brothers Grimm were not just collectors of fairy tales, according to the expedition website, www.grimm2013.de. They also left a substantial legacy as language researchers, law historians and politicians, and their German Grammar and German Dictionary laid the foundations for German language studies.

The exhibit will talk about their works and their families and also analyze such issues as which of their texts got them in trouble due to "brutal or improper" content, the Grimm tales being famous for intense realism and being nothing like what we see from the folks at Disney.

Germany also has created the German Fairytale Route, one of 200 such scenic routes in the country. The Fairytale Route runs for 600 kilometres and takes in such spots as Bremen, home to the Bremen Town Musicians, and, of course, Hamelin, home of the Pied Piper. There's also the Snow White village of Bad Wildungen-Bergfreiheit and the Little Red Riding Hood region between Alsfeld and Fritzlar.

2013 also marks the bicentenary of Richard Wagner, one of Germany's most famous composers. To celebrate, there will be festivals in Bayreuth, Bavara, a re-enactment of his famous festival meadow scene in Nuremberg (from The Mastersingers of Nuremberg), as well as several exhibitions in Leipzig, where he was born.

For more information on Germany travel, visit www.germany.travel/en/index.html.

IKEA MONKEY

I feel badly for the poor little guy, being left out in the cold in Toronto at an Ikea store. But he looks smashing in a sheepskin coat, don't you think?

The Internet and Twitter are ablaze with items about Toronto's Ikea Monkey, so much so that we oughta adopt the little tyke as a tourism ambassador. I mean, Banff had a famous squirrel a couple years ago. Why not a Toronto Ikea monkey?

I mentioned on Twitter earlier that we already had Sunday shopping and now we have Simian Shopping. We could do a Planet of the (Shopping) Apes retrospective at TIFF. Davy Jones died but we could bring in the rest of the Monkees for a marathon show at Massey hall.

Not only does the monkey look good, he's enjoying a big surge on Twitter (more than 2,200 followers as of 11:30 a.m.).

On top of that, I bet he's better at assembling Ikea furniture than I am....

 

 

 

More visits, my precious: The Hobbit aids New Zealand ...West Jet seating changes

In case you hadn't heard somehow or aren't a fan of Lord of the Rings (in which case I would ask you to move to someone else's blog IMMEDIATELY), the latest Peter Jackson flick hits the big screen in Canada next week.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is set to open in Canada Dec. 14, and it's likely to put another surge into the New Zealand tourism scene. Tomorrow's (Dec. 8) Travel section of the Star will have a story on the town of Matamata, which in in the movies is made up to look like the village of Hobbiton, in New Zealand, and the Canadian opening on December 14, a trip to experience Middle-earth is likely on the bucket list for many fans. Below are some of the top New Zealand tourism activities focused on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, courtesy of New Zealand Tourism (with the odd comment added in from me).
 
Hobbiton
Near Matamata, a picturesque town just two and a half hours from Auckland (New Zealand’s largest city, and a great spot to start a trip), visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set. Hidden in the magical, spectacularly green, rolling hills of the area is Hobbiton, the film set made famous in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Along with 37 Hobbit holes, fans can check out the Green Dragon Inn, The Mill and other structures used in the upcoming films. Not only has Hobbiton gained fame as a movie set, it is also a working farm experience, café and conference facility. It’s definitely a must for anyone who wants to truly experience the “Shire” when in New Zealand.
 
Four-Wheel Drive Safari of Scenes in Queenstown
Any reason to visit Queenstown, on New Zealand’s South Island, is a good one, and a four-wheel drive adventure through Middle-earth gives visitors a great reason to go. The Queenstown area was prominently featured in the filming of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Nomad Safaris offers two different tours designed specifically for fans. The guides are definitely one of the highlights of the tour; many were extras in the films. They know, and are happy to share, all of the local gossip about what the stars of the movies did while they were filming in the area. I visited Queenstown when I was in New Zealand a couple years ago. I didn't do this tour but I did visit Chard Farm winery, which is on the banks of the river that features the giant statues of the old kings that's prominently featured in Lord of the Rings. I also visited the small stream where they filmed the scene where Liv Tyler lets loose a torrent of water to help Frodo escape the Black Riders. It sounds silly, but I kinda got goosebumps looking at it...
 
Wellington
Everyone who goes to Wellington falls in love with the fun, foodie and fashion-focused city that sits at the southern tip of the North Island. Known to many as “Wellywood” because of its flourishing film industry, fans can experience the ultimate Middle-earth full-day tour with Wellington Rover Tours – where fans can follow in the footsteps of Hobbits, and spend the day learning film secrets. Wellington also boasts the Weta Cave, which screens a behind-the-scenes look at Weta and interviews co-founder Peter Jackson, among others; has a mini-museum with some of the characters; and features props and displays from The Lord of the Rings films. For the duration of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey world premiere week, Wellington will be known as “The Middle of Middle-earth” and will be host to the premiere, where celebrities, filmmakers, fans and entertainment journalists from around the globe will all converge to celebrate the release of the first of three Hobbit movies.
 
Air New Zealand (www.airnewzealand.ca) has direct non-stop flights from Vancouver to Auckland and offers flights from many other North American cities. For more information about New Zealand, please visit: www.NewZealand.com.

WEST JET REVAMPS SEATING/PRICING (and also eyes international market)

Nice job in today's Star Business section by Vanessa Lu, who wrote about WestJet's three new fare groups.

Starting next spring West Jet will try to woo business travellers with the "Plus" fare package, which will give added legroom, priority screening and boarding, flexible cancellations or flight changes and more, including drinks and snacks and priority access to those oh-so-valuable overhead bins. Next in line (and cost) will be the Flex fare, which has added, um, flexibility. And then the Econo fare, which is the cheapest and has the least amount of leeway for changes (and also fights for the overhead bins, I suspect)....

WestJet officials figure about two-thirds of the folks seeking the Plus fare will be business types.

It's forecast that the move to premium economy, which a bunch of other airlines are doing (including Lufthansa on long-haul flights), will generate $50 to $80 million in added revenues. That suggests the Plus fares will come at a substantial premium, but all WestJet officials will say is that the Plus fares will be competitive.

Obviously they won't be comparable to economy fares but they should be competitive with Air Canada's business class.

WestJet, as you may know, will be introducing its new, regional service across Canada next year. It's called Encore and is meant to service smaller cities who've been clamouring for more airline operations.

While WestJet is aiming at smaller markets in the short term, a report in the Globe and Mail today says the Calgary-base cmpany is talking with Boeing and Airbus about buying some wide-body big boys that could fly much farther than WestJet's current fleet.

Officials are keeping a tight lip on this one, saying they probably won't do anything until Encore is up and running and that there are no definite plans. But they wouldn't be talking with aircraft manufacturers if they didn't intend to do something, and it certainly fits WestJet's pattern of slow but steady growth.

The airline today took possession of its 100th Boeing Next Generation 737 plane.

LUFTHANSA HAS A NEW DISCOUNT CARRIER

Interesting. Just as I finished typing out that bit about WestJet and it's three-tier pricing scheme, I got a note from Lufthansa saying they'll launch an airline called Germanwings on July 1 next year, complete with a similar scheme.

The press release from Lufthansa said Germanwings "is set to revolutionize the European low-cost market. In the future it will offer the highest value airline product in this segment in Europe"

"Passengers will be able to create their own package and adapt it in detail to their individual needs, from low-cost flying without add-ons to a high-quality passenger experience with lots of amenities and extras," officials said. While offering Economy Class across the board, the "new Germanwings" will boast three fares with different service packages. "Best", the highest quality product, will cover the needs of business passengers in particular but also appeal to leisure travellers, the "Smart" fare product will include certain add-on services with the customer being able to pick others as needed, while "Basic" will be the no-frills low-cost fare.

Officials said that up to 20 million passengers are to be transported on European direct services  using approximately 90 aircraft.

SNOW IN EUROPE - UGH

Travelmole reports that "heavy snow across northern and central Europe is causing flight delays and cancellations.

KLM has cancelled all of its European flights until at least midday today following heavy snow fall in Amsterdam. It said de-icing aircraft may also delay departures."

If you're headed to Europe today or tomorrow, be sure to check with your airline well ahead of departure time....

 

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New Fantasyland at Disney World Florida opens today ... Kudos for Porter Air

It's a pretty big deal for Disney lovers. And there are a few of them.

The new Fantasyland opens at Walt Disney World today, with several major changes. There's a new, updated Dumbo, a "Be Our Guest" restaurant with a Beauty and the Beast theme and a new adventure based on Ariel from The Little Mermaid, my personal favourite Disney movie aside from Peter Pan (and aren't you glad you asked?)

Star travel correspondent Heather Greenwood Davis got a preview the other day and reports in today's Star that the new Fantasyland features "lush trees, gardens, waterfalls and brightly coloured attractions."

I think it was probably about time for a refreshment. Just don't mess with the Carousel of Progress or Tom Sawyer Island....

PORTER RATES HIGHLY

Porter Airlines, based here in Toronto of course, came out smelling sweet in the Conde Nast Traveler magazine ratings for 2012. CNT readers voted Porter the second best small airline in the world and rated it fourth overall on the planet. And that's pretty heady company.

Tops in the rating was Singapore Airlines at 86.5. Next was Emirates at 84.2. I've never flown Singapore Airlines but I was overwhelmed by my service with Emirates a couple years when I went to Dubai, so I can only imagine how good Singapore must be.

Third overall, and tops in the small airlines category, was OpenSkies, which is affiliated with British Airways. Open Skies came in at with an 82.2 mark, while Porter was at 80.4.

I didn't see an Air Canada rating but WestJet was rated third best small airline with a rating of 58.5 - far below Porter.

AIR WARS IN CANADA

A report on travelmole.com says WestJet won the "load factor sweepstakes" for the month of November. Which is a fun way to look at it (at least for the winner).

WestJet filled a record 82.6 per cent of its seats in November, a jump of 4.9 percentage points from the previous record set in November, 2010.

Over at Air Canada (known by WestJetters as the Evil Empire, I suspect), the November load factor was 78.1 per cent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over last year and its second highest ever for November traffic. Which is a pretty solid silver medal finish.

Over at Porter Airlines, meanwhile, things were pretty tough. The upstart from Toronto saw its load factor plunge by 11.4 points to 54.5 per cent.

Travelmole said that Porter’s steep drop "is the price it is paying to seek out higher yields" and that "frequent seat sales helped drive loads higher last year.

“We are encouraged to see passenger yield improve significantly from recent months,” said Porter President & CEO Robert Deluce. “Advance bookings for December are tracking well compared to last year, and the entire winter season has strong early trends.”

WestJet flew about 114,000 more passengers last month than in November, 2011.

At AC, system traffic increased 4.6 per cent, led by increases in traffic of 6.9 per cent in Asia Pacific markets, and of 7 per cent overall in the Australia, Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America markets.

WestJet, by the way, is due to take delivery of its 100th Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft on Friday.

MORE MYRTLE OPTIONS

Spirit Airlines has moved up its schedule for flights from the U.S. northeast and midwest to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The low-cost airline says it will begin two weekly nonstop flights between Myrtle Beach and Niagara Falls, New York/Toronto (it's a stretch to call Niagara Falls New York part of the Toronto area, but can't blame them for trying I guess) starting February 15, 2013, with service increasing to four weekly flights on April 25, 2013

 

 

What's old in Scotland ... new art centre for Montreal ... Jaunt.ca cruise deals

The tourism job is a tricky one.

On one hand, folks like to talk about what’s new. It’s a natural way to start a conversation, of course. But it also can be a dangerous game.

I get dozens of emails a week from tourism boards in Canada and the U.S. and Europe, all giving me thousands of words on a new hotel in this town or a new art festival in that one.

But sometimes I think everyone in the industry, myself included, gets too focused on what’s new that we forget about the stuff that makes a city or a tourism region popular in the first place. I mean, most tourists heading to Paris don’t care if there’s a new Shangri-La hotel opening. They want to know about the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame or the Louvre.

So when I met with Mike Cantlay of Visit Scotland yesterday, I jokingly started our chat by telling him, “I don’t care what’s new; tell me what’s old in Scotland.”

He laughed but he said he completely understood where I was coming from (a rarity in my life).

“Tourism is our biggest industry,” he said. “We want people to understand the unique features that make Scotland different.”

Cantlay, sporting a white shirt with a red and blue tartan tie for our coffee meeting, said Scotland has to make sure it keeps its iconic sights and activities front and centre as they’re what make Scotland Scotland. That means golf, castles, whisky, Robert Burns, tartans and bagpipes.

Plus, of course, a certain emphasis on other activities and, naturally, at least some focus on what’s coming up that’s different and might bring people back a second or third time.

Sports have been a big focus for Scotland, and it’s hosting the Ryder Cup golf tourney in 2014 at Gleneagles and also playing host to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that year. The Commonwealth Games will bring some 6,500 athletes from 71 countries and they expect to sell a million tickets.

They’re bidding for the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 and are lobbying the Tour de France to start a future race in Scotland, which would be interesting to say the least.

The year 2014 also marks a Scotland Homecoming year, and there are plans for a new branch of the Victoria and Albert museum in Dundee for 2015 or 2016.

“Tourism is the easiest industry” to help Scotland stay on its feet, Cantlay said. “You invest one dollar and you’ll get 20 dollars back.”

The British pound has fallen mightily against the Canadian dollar over the past couple years, to the point where a visit now is probably one-third cheaper than two or three years ago.

“The whole country is one-third off,” Cantlay said with a laugh. “But it won’t stay that way forever.”

NEW MONTREAL CENTRE

I don’t recall hearing about it before, but the folks at Montreal Tourism tell me The Phi Centre opened up this summer as a new art spot. It’s a multi-disciplinary centre with films, music, a new exhibition space with “cutting edge interactive installations” and room for conferences, corporate events and more.

A restaurant is planned for late 2013 or early 2014, and the centre is located at 407 Saint-Pierre at the corner of St. Pierre and Rue St. Paul in Old Montreal.

JAUNT DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt.ca, a division of Torstar, still has a great deal on for cruises. Their exclusive Norwegian Cruise Lines Balcony Sale ends this coming Saturday evening and features three of NCL’s top ships, the Pride of America in Hawaii, the Norwegian Epic in the Western Mediterranean and also in the Eastern Caribbean and the Norwegian Breakaway out of New York City.

The deal includes added value such as paid gratuities, onboard credits and reduced rates.

Jaunt also has deals across Canada and other parts of the world, so check them out at jaunt.ca.

 

Qantas kills Wi-Fi trial ... China theme park in Australia ... Eurostar France deal

This doesn't bode well for those of us who'd like Wi-Fi on Air Canada.

An item on travelmole.com today says Qantas is killing its plan to provide wireless Internet access on flights. The airline has been trying the service on six of its A-380 long-haul flights to London and Los Angeles. But officials said only five per cent of folks on board bothered to sign up for the service, which cost about $12 to $35, depending on the package.

Officials said most folks seemed to prefer sleeping on the long-haul flights. Which I guess makes some sense. Being one of those people who can't sleep at home, let alone on a plane, I'd love to have the Wi-Fi. At least, I think I would. I don't know, really. I DO find that one of the only times I ever see a movie is on an airplane. And a plane ride is a great chance to dig into a good book, too. So maybe I wouldn't use the web all that much. And I certainly don't want to answer emails at 36,000 feet....

EUROSTAR LAUNCHES NEW SERVICE TO SOUTH OF FRANCE

The popular and fast Eurostar train service is launching a new direct program from London to three great spots in the south of France: Lyon, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence.

The new weekly spring service will be offered for a trail period in May and June of next year, and tickets go on sale Dec. 11.

Return fares from London to Lyon start at $160 (about the price of two cab rides from downtown Toronto to Pearson Airport) and trains for Avignon and Aix-en-Provence (a beautiful town with lots of history and good food: see photo at left) start at $175.

CHINA THEME PARK FOR AUSTRALIA

Here's something I'm surprised Rob Ford hasn't tried. A regional council in the Australian state of New South Wales wants to rival the Sydney Opera House by building a China-focussed theme park.

Wyong Shire Council has signed a deal to sell 15.7 hectares of land to a company that proposes a full-size replica of the gates to Beijing's Forbidden City and a nine-storey temple. Construction on the  park, about 80 kilometers north of Sydney, is supposed to start in 2015.

"Outside the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, this has the potential to be among the biggest tourist attractions in the state," Mayor Doug Eaton told Agence France Presse. (Sounds like a relative of super salesman Mel Lastman, doncha think?)

It seems EVERYONE is after the Chinese market these days. Canada is trying to get more Chinese tourists. So is the U.S. So is Europe in its new Destination Europe 2020 program, which I outlined in this space yesterday.

It seems pretty cheesy and silly to try to build a Chinese theme park in Australia, though. I mean, what's next? A Disneyland in Tokyo or Hong Kong? Oh. Wait ....

JAUNT.CA DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt, a division of Torstar, has a great deal on tap for The Rosseau, a J.W. Marriott resort in Muskoka. Packages start at $199 for a one-night stay from Sunday to Thursday and that includes two free cocktails and a $100 resort credit.

For a two-night stay on weekends, it's still just $399. Factor in the cocktails and the resort credit savings and you're looking at a room in a beautiful resort in a gorgeous part of Ontario for about $150 a night; not much more than what you might pay for a generic property along Highway 401.

The deal is valid from Dec. 4 to March 30 but there are blackout dates. For more information on this and other deals, go to www.jaunt.ca.

 

 

 

Destination Europe 2020 program aims to deliver lots more Canadians

They’re after us.

The European Union, for the first time ever, is launching a new program to lure tourists to Europe as a whole. And Canadians are a prime target.

The “Destination Europe 2020” campaign is a modest campaign as these things go, less than $2 million, but it’s interesting that European countries have banded together for an overall “Come See Europe” campaign for the first time ever.

In the past, all marketing was done by individual countries. But this is a Europe-wide program from the European Travel Commission.

The parallels are pretty strong with the U.S., which in the last year or so launched Brand USA as an overall marketing tool to lure tourists to the land of Uncle Sam.

The Europe campaign is aimed solely at four countries: Canada, the U.S., Brazil and China, and it’s mostly going to be social media and on-line.

They’re asking folks to go to visiteurope.com and build a dream vacation and then “sharing their most inspiring discoveries” with friends and family.

I got a kick out of the visit europe site this morning. I mean, where else would you find three quotes about traveling in Europe from such disparate sources as Mark Twain, Puff Daddy and travel writer extraordinaire Bill Bryson?

In addition to the website, the ETC also is planning something called “Ensemble Europe” as a big “industry workshop” in Toronto in February, 2013, according to an online summary of Destination Europe 2020. They’ll hold similar workshops in Brazil, China and in New York City and report back on those at the giant ITB travel show in Berlin in March of next year.

ETC chief Eduardo Santander, a native of Spain who has worked with Vail Resorts in Denver and Innsbruck, told me his organization actually was formed in 1948 as part of the Marshall Plan to save Europe after World War II.

“We realize the tourism sector could really push the economy,” Santander said. “Ten per cent of the European GDP is directly related to tourism, and tourism provides about 102 million jobs. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of Austria or Belgium.”

He didn’t have the list in front of him, but Santander told me eight of the world’s top ten tourist sites are in Europe. (Hmmm….The Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The Colosseum are there I’m sure. Maybe the Berlin Wall and Notre Dame and the city of Florence as a whole? Eight seems a tad high to me but he may be right.)

Anyway, there’s no doubting Europe’s popularity with Canadians, as some 4.3 million of us made the trek in 2011.

While a lot of young travelers are heading to Asia to travel more cheaply, Santander says Europe isn’t as expensive as folks might think.

“There’s a Europe for every pocketbook,” he said. “You can spend $5,000 a night, sure, but you also can have a wonderful holiday for just a few dollars.”

I’ve seen European hotels on hotwire.com and hotels.com for incredibly low amounts; four-star properties in Madrid and Lisbon in January or March of next year for $60 or $70, and three-stars for $40 or $50.

“Skiing is a lot cheaper in Europe, too,” Santander said. “You can get ski passes for as little as 30 Euros a day. Not like in Canada.”

Europe, of course, offers a huge degree of diversity; Alpine villages, sunny coastlines, historic cities, modern art galleries, and an incredible array of cultures in a small area.

“Asia’s wonderful, but it’s not Europe,” he said with a smile.

Asked if Europe’s economic troubles have caused an issue for tourism, Santander nodded.

“I don’t think the brand has been damaged. Not yet. People still want to travel to Europe. We’re trying to bring it closer.”

The Destination Europe 2020 budget isn’t much, but it’s at least a move in the right direction and is a strong contrast to the huge cuts that have been made to Canada’s tourism marketing. The Harper government has made serious cuts to Parks Canada budgets and the money flowing to the Canadian Tourism Commission also has been curtailed.

Those cuts are coming despite the fact that Canada has slipped – badly – in terms of international tourism. The travel industry association of Canada says Canada was seventh in the world in international arrivals in 2006 but is now down to 20th.