New York City sets record for tourism, still aiming for giant Ferris Wheel...

Congrats to the folks in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and tourism officials this week announced they welcomed 52 million visitors in 2012.

It's a new record and represents a modest, 2.1 per cent increase in visits from 2011, officials said.

Of those visitors, 41 million were from the U.S. and 11 million were international visitors. I was told a little more than 1 million of the visits were from Canadians, which is no surprise given the wealth of things to do in the city that never sleeps.

Officials said one out of three overseas visitors to the U.S. stops in New York, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. The 33 per cent figure is an increase from 28 per cent in the previous year.

Tourism types said the city's tourism industry generated $55.3 billion in economic impact and employed 356,000 New Yorkers in the hospitality sector.

Word today is that the guy who was talking about building a giant Ferris Wheel on Staten Island plans to go ahead, despite concerns about the type of winds generated by Tropical Storm Sandy last fall.

While Brooklyn and, lately, Queens have seen an influx of tourism, both the Bronx and Staten Island don't seem to be getting much tourism business or new developments. So the idea of the giant wheel, although hardly a new concept in the tourism world, is no doubt intriguing.

About the same time New York was announcing its 2012 tourism figures, U.S. officials were quoted as saying they brought in almost 12 per cent more visitors last year than in 2011.

"It was a very good year," Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association, told Helen Anders of the New York Times.

While the Canadian government has hacked and slashed tourism spending north of the border, the U.S. (as well as Australia and other countries with some common sense and understanding of the impact of travel on their economies) has invested big time in trying to attract more tourists. Dow said the travel industry last year created jobs 17 per cent faster than other industries, which must mean something.

JAMAICA TOURISM IMPROVES

On a related note, Jamaica tourism officials say visits increased 2.3 per cent from January to November, 2012 compared to the previous year. Cruise arrivals were said to be up 26.6 per cent from January to October, helping spark an increase in tourism earnings of three per cent for the first 11 months of 2012.

Good news, for sure, for a place that's a favourite of Canadians. I spent some time in Jamaica in 2011 and loved it. The food was excellent and I stayed in a variety of cool places; the gorgeous Half Moon Bay/A Rock Resort and also at a fabulous, colourful spot on the south coast near Treasure Beach called Jake's; one of the most enjoyable spots I've ever stayed at anywhere in the world.

JAUNT.CA DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt.ca, a division of Torstar, has the following deal for a trip to see the pubs and countryside of fabulous Ireland. If you've never spent a night singing and maybe even dancing to live music at an Irish Pub in the old country, you haven't lived. It's astonishingly good fun and the people of Ireland are everything they're made out to be. Here's the deal:

Jaunt Highlights

• BONUS: $150 Future Travel Voucher per person
• BONUS: Extend your flight for up to 30 days at no extra charge and return from anywhere Transat flies in Europe
• 9-day/7-night Irish Pub & Folk Tour with visits to Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Kilarney, Westport and more
• Includes return airfare from Toronto to Dublin on Air Transat and transfers to/from airport to hotel
• 7 nights' hotel accommodation: Ashling Hotel (1 night), Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel (1 night), International Hotel Kilarney (2 night), Wyatt Hotel (2 nights) and Ashling Hotel (1 night)
• Meals throughout your tour (as outlined in itinerary below)
• Includes professionally guided tours of Ireland via air conditioned Deluxe Motorcoach, and all admission fees as per itinerary

• Enjoy the traditional Irish pub life with tours, samplings and shows
• Take advantage of your pockets of free time to explore Ireland at your own pace while still enjoying the services of a local guide in Dublin
• Tour includes entry into popular Irish attractions like the Blarney Castle, Guinness Storehouse and more.
• OFFER DETAILS

• Valid for travel on April 26, 2013 departure
• Pricing:
  
  Single: $2388 per person, plus tax
  Double: $1998 per person, plus tax
  Tax: $476
• Valid passport required for travel from Canada
• This offer is 100% non-refundable at time of booking

 

 

 

Canada ranks 18th in world as tourism brand; USA takes home the gold medal

Earlier this year, a group called Future Brand released its annual "Country Brand Index" that rates countries according to their key attributes. They gave Canada the number two spot on the planet in terms of a tourism brand, putting behind only Switzerland.

The third, fourth and fifth spots in the Future Brand report went to Japan, Sweden and New Zealand.

It was a slight drop for Canada, as we finished tops in the Country Brand Index in 2010 and 2011.

But now there's a new report out by a compnay called Bloom Consulting, called the Country Branding Ranking. It would require a degree in something I don't understand to figure out how it's different from Future Brand's report, but one thing they say is that take a ton of factors into account and also that they're the only ones in this business (and I guess there is one) that takes tourist demand into account.

Readers of this blog will remember, perhaps, that Canada has slipped a fair bit in terms of international arrivals the last few years and is no longer in the top ten. Canada ranked seventh in international arrivals in 2007, but the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) recently stated we're now 18th.

And 18th is exactly where we stand in the world in the new Bloom Consulting report, which attempts to measure how much revenue a country could potentially add to its economy via trade and tourism.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the Bloom report's top 20:

1. United States 2. Spain 3. France 4. China 5. Turkey 6. Thailand 7. Germany 8. Macau 9. United Kingdom 10. Australia 11. Austria 12. Italy 13. Hong Kong 14. Malaysia 15. Netherlands 16. Mexico 17. Switzerland 18. Canada 19. Croatia 20. Russian Federation

So at least we finished ahead of Russia. Let's hope that continues at the World Junior Hockey Championships, eh?

Here are a few other notables: 21. Portugal, 233. India, 24. Greece 25. Republic of Korea 28. Japan 32. Ireland.

The bottom ten? Here ya go: 152. Tajikistan (there goes my holiday plan) 153. Swaziland 154. Federation States of Micronesia 155. Sao Tome and Principe 156. Djibouti 157. Tonga 158. Kiribati 159. Papua New Guinea 160. Burundi and, at the bottom: 161. Marshall Islands (see photo at left, which looks pretty damn good to me).

Asia had eight countries in the top 25. Japan wasn't in that group due to the residual effects of the tsunami.

I don't remember seeing this report last year, but I found a website that shows the 2011 Bloom rankings, and Canada was 23rd. So I guess we're moving in the right direction. The U.S. was first last year as well, followed by Spain, France, Germany and the UK.

Bloom on Thursday also released a U.S. state by state analysis (plus D.C., for 51 ranking spots). Tops was California, no surprise given the plethora of things to do, followed by Florida and New York. Illinois was fourth and then it went Texas, Michigan (good to see), Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado.

The bottom five were: 47. Kansas 48. Vermont (a surprise to me) 49. West Virginia 50. Rhode Island and 51. Delaware. Poor Delaware. Makes me think I should do a trip there sometime and see for myself.

DO WE HATE OUR FAMILIES OR SOMETHING?

Geez. A study by Cheapflights.ca finds that more than 80 per cent of Canadians want to travel tos ee family this Christmas, but less than 30 per cent have actually made travel plans.

Given the economy that might not be surprising.

Based on answers from more than 400 Canadians, the survey also found that just over 18 per cent of us wish we could travel to ESCAPE our family, though only 3.2 per cent of us actually are doing so.

Parents and children topped the list of fave family members to see, while in-laws, shockingly, were at the bottom, with less than two per cent of folks having them on their holiday travel wish-list.

More than 12 per cent of survey respondents said they will avoid seeing their brother or sister. But, just to end this on a nice note, 23 per cent said there were NO relatives they wanted to avoid.

HOTEL OMNI MONT-ROYAL IMPROVEMENTS

The folks at the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal (in Montreal, of course) say they've undergone a "spectacular" $20 million transformation.

Officials said it involved a "complete re-design and refurbishment of its facilities, including all 200 guest rooms and suites" and a new lobby, which now features "an upscale lounge bar and restaurant."

Other amenities include an outdoor pool (for summer, naturally) and "state of the art" fitness centre. They also have added Italian marble bathrooms and 42-inch LCD flat screen TV's.

They say rooms have views of either Mont-Royal Park or the Montreal skyline.

AIR CANADA ADDS VIRTUAL HOLD

This oughta help a few folks. Air Canada sent me a note today to say that what they call "virtual hold" has now rolled out at their call centres in Canada and the U.S. and is currently offered for general reservations and web support services.

“"With this new product, customers are now given an estimated wait time and the option of a call-back rather than remaining on hold," officials said.

Here's what they said about it in an employee newsletter: "Virtual Hold certainly helps alleviate customer frustration from being on hold indefinitely.  The estimated wait time information and option to continue on hold or have a call-back is very much appreciated by our customers - especially during irregular operations. Our IT team worked tirelessly for several months upon months to overcome the multiple challenges of installing new technology on a legacy phone system. The next step is to add a service where customers can schedule a call back time. Call Centres continues to focus on reducing the amount of time customers wait with ongoing hiring and implementation of technology and process improvements."

JAUNT.CA DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt.ca, a division of Torstar, has a two-for-one Avalon River Cruise special that's exclusive to Jaunt. It's a cruise through central Europe's capital cities on the Avalon Tranquility and it's going for $1,633 plus $133 in taxes for a total of $1,766.

Here are the highlights:

• BONUS: Two for One: for every one person (paid in full), the second traveller's cruise is FREE (reflected in the pricing)
• 12-day River Cruise and stay along the Danube River, starting in Budapest and ending in Prague
• Includes the following ports of call with daily sightseeing programs in: Budapest, Hungary; Bratislava, Slovakia; Vienna, Austria; Krems, Austria; Melk, Austria; Grein, Austria; Passau, Germany; and Prague, Czech Republic
• Accommodations in a Deluxe Outside Stateroom, located on the Indigo Deck (Category E) featuring twin windows. Upgraded cabin categories with French Balconies available at 1.855.GO.JAUNT
• Includes all meals on the ship, complimentary sparkling wine with breakfast, soft drinks with lunch, and wine, beer, or soft drinks with dinner
• 2 nights' accommodations in Prague at the InterContinental

More details:

• For every traveller paid in full another traveller's cruise is free
• The tour employs local guides so you have the best exposure to the places visited
• The cruise visits renowned capitals and lesser known destinations

Offer Details

• Valid for travel on April 11, 2013 sailing
• Pricing (per person, based on double occupancy, plus port charges)
  
  Deluxe Outside Stateroom (Category E)
  $1632.50 per person, double occupancy
  Tax: $133
  
• Valid passport required for travel from Canada
• This offer is 100% non-refundable at time of booking

 

 

 

 

London and Moscow top least friendly city ratings; tops are Cancun and Tokyo

Here's a good year-ender: a list of the world's friendliest cities (and not so friendly) by folks who use Trip Advisor.

In a survey that counted 40 cities in a wide variety of categories (including Toronto, and more on that in a minute), Trip Advisor said the top 10 friendly cities were Cancun (must've gone on spring break), Tokyo, Lisbon, Istanbul, Cape Town, Dubrovnik, Bangkok, Punta Cana, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

LEAST friendly were Mumbai (31), Marrakech, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong, London and Moscow.

Toronto was pretty much in the middle at 23. No other Canadian cities appeared in the survey, which is too bad.

There was, of course, much hand-wringing in London over their 39th place ranking. (I'm sure there was some in Moscow but more than likely Russia leader Vladimir Putin is giving Trip Advisor as much of his time as the members of the banned rock band Pussyriot). The Standard newspaper in London said that "the smiling face London presented for the Olympics appears to have been met with frowns by foreign tourists."

London fared poorly in a few other categories, coming 28th for safety, 26th for cleanliness and 35th (oh, that hurts) in value for money. I'm not sure I agree with that. Hotels CAN be expensive but the best museums and galleries are free, as are the parks and just generally admiring the sights.

Anyhoo, London was at least able to brag about coming fourth in shopping (behind New York, naturally, Bangkok and Dubai) and fifth for taxis.

Moscow not only finished last in friendliess but got the worst marks for cabbies, taxis and shopping.

Mumbai had the dirtiest streets, the Standard noted, while it also was rated the hardest city to get around in. Oslo had the worst value for money, while Hanoi had the worst public transport.

Punta Cana in the D.R. was considered the least safe (but also the eighth friendliest, go figure), followed by Rio de Janeiro and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt.

Tokyo probably has the most to crow about. The Japanese capital won the gold medal for taxis, cabbies, cleanliness, safety and public transport.

Lisbon (see photo at right) got the nod for best value for the money, followed by Budapest and Bangkok. Budapest was given the most underrated title, followed by Lisbon and Cape Town.

Toronto was pretty much middle of the pack in all categories. But we snuck into the top ten in shopping, finishing in the number nine spot. Here's where the Big Smoke finished in other aspects of the survey: Friendliness of taxi drivers, 25th; overall taxi service, 18th; ease of getting around, 26th; public transportation 24th; value, 24th; most underrated, 22nd; and safety, 20th.

In cleanliness of streets Toronto was ranked just 14th. Which makes me wonder: whatever happened to that phrase "New York run by the Swiss?" That's how folks used to describe us. Now it's like we're "Zurich run by New York" or something. Zurich, for the record, came third. New York finished 28th. So at least we're slightly closer to the Swiss than the Americans.

Too bad they didn't have more interesting categories. Best bars or ethnic food would've been good additions. Or maybe "most entertaining mayor." Now THAT'S a category where we could finish on the podium.

JAUNT.CA DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt.ca, a division of Torstar, has a seven-night deal listed for the four-star Grand Bahia Principe in La Romana at a savings of up to $200 per couple. The deal costs $1,199 plus $386 in taxes and features ACV priviliges, including exclusive check-in/check-out, four a la carte reservations per week and more. It also includes return airfare from Toronto to La Romana and round-trip airport/hotel transfers in the Dominican Republic. Accomodations are in a Junior Suite, featuring 2 double or 1 king size bed, and a balcony or terrace. Maximum occupancy: 2 adults + 2 children or 3 adults and 1 child and includes daily breakfast, lunch and dinner and unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Other features:

Enjoy nightly turndown service, slippers, bathrobe, safe, beach towels and more;

A separate check-in line at reception so you don't have to wait in line at the resort;

Air Canada Vacations guests get a 20% discount at the spa, and an invitiation to an exclusive cocktail party.

Offer Details

• Valid for travel on December 29, 2012 departure from Toronto
• Pricing (Rates are per person plus tax):
  Single: $1539
  Double: $1199
  Triple: $1169
  1st Child (2-12 yrs): $999
  2nd Child (2-12 yrs): $899
  Tax: $386

 

 

 

British Columbia revelling in a winter wonderland ... Air Canada earns kudos

The folks out in British Columbia are having a glorious start to the winter tourism season.

Whistler-Blackcomb last week sent out a note to say they've already had more than 300 centimeters of snow and that a potential record season could be shaping up. Today I got a note from Revelstoke resort in the B.C. interior saying they've already surpassed FIVE HUNDRED centimeters!

"Closing out this past weekend, the resort had received 90cm of snow over the previous five days, and has now received 523cm of snowfall to date," officials said. "Starting today, more terrain opened with access all the way down to the Mid-Mountain Lodge.

"With cumulative snowfalls overnight throughout the past week, powder conditions can be found in the bowls and trees and on the sides of groomed trails while groomed trails are skiing like a dream with an excellent base of 166cm."

Meanwhile, things are just starting up in Ontario. According to the Ontario Snow Resorts Association, there a few scattered lifts open at Blue Mountain, Horseshoe and Mt. St. Louis-Moonstone. At least the cold temperatures the last couple days have given the snow-making folks a chance to do their thing.

The OSRA website's posting for today, Dec. 12 (and happy birthday to my oldest, by the way), "we have Blue Mountain open for the first time this year with one lift and two slopes in operation Horseshoe Resort, just north of Barrie will be open today with one lift and four slopes and Mount St. Louis Moonstone will be open as well moving up to two lifts and nine slopes in operation."

The resort association says none of Ontario's commercial cross country centres open in the province today. For the latest conditions on the slopes and trails for Alpine & Cross Country areas please call: 1 800 ONTARIO (668-2746).

KUDOS FOR AIR CANADA

Air Canada has been named best airline in North America by readers of several magazines. In annual readership surveys conducted in 2012 by U.S. travel magazines, Business Traveler, Global Traveler and Premier Traveler, readers named Air Canada as their favourite airline in North America overall, as well as tops for international travel and in-flight service.

Here are their mentions, according to Air Canada: 

"Best Airline in North America" - Global Traveler magazine

"Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best North American Airline Inflight Experience" - Business Traveler magazine

"Best North American Airline for Business-Class Service," "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best Flight Attendants in North America" - Premier Traveler magazine

Air Canada gets some knocks, and understandably so. But the entertainment system rocks and the service is always pretty good. I don't know if they've taken any kind of page from WestJet but the last couple AC flights I've been on have featured entertaining flight attendants who went above and beyond the usual, perfunctory "here you go" service.

Of course, AC's rivals have their own successes to brag about. Conde Nast Traveler, arguably a much more important or at least much more widely known publication than Business Traveler, Premier Traveler or Global Traveler, recently named Porter the second-best small airline in the world and the fourth best airline overall with a points total of 80.4. Conde Nast readers ranked WestJet as third-best small airline in the world, albeit a good deal behind Porter in the numerical rankings at 58.5...

NEW YORK HOTELS OUTGROW MANHATTAN

I've talked about this before, and Star Travel has profiled a few of them. But it looks like the growth of hotels in the "outer boroughs" of New York City continues.

According to a story in USA Today, 162 hotels have been built or renovated in New York City since 2008. That's added 28,150 rooms to the city's hotel supply.

More than a quarter of the new properties, 27 per cent, have been in boroughs outside Manhattan, which represents about 17 per cent of added rooms.

Queens got 15 per cent of the new properties, while Brooklyn got nine per cent. Those two boroughs are attractive to developers and travelers because a tall hotel in some of neighborhoods can offer something you often can't get in Manhattan: grand views of the Manhattan skyline.

I stayed at the Z hotel in Queens this summer (see photo). It's not an incredible neighourhood, at least not yet. And the food at dinner was just so-so. But the vibe was nice and the breakfast was good and there's a nice rooftop deck. And the views are simply STUNNING, as the hotel has giant windows facing the East River and the Manhattan skyline, not to mention the Queensborough bridge, are so close you can almost touch them.

The USA Today story says that, in the old days, "tourists wouldn't dare cross a bridge or drive through a tunnel to get off Manhattan Island and into the city's four other boroughs. But with land so expensive in Manhattan, hotel developers are turning to the outer boroughs for less expensive property. And tourists are following for the less expensive hotel rooms -- sometimes 30% less than what rooms cost in Manhattan.

During the holidays, when Manhattan hotel prices skyrocket, the outer borough hotels can be even more appealing. And if tourists such as Bark want to get to Manhattan, all they have to do is hop on the subway, in some cases for just one stop.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been heavily promoting the city's outer boroughs as tourist destinations, USA Today noted, and "the city has rezoned many neighborhoods where new hotels are sprouting, to encourage growth."

"Clearly, the economic development efforts taking place in all five boroughs ... that has been a driving force," says George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, the City's official marketing and tourism organization.

I think Brooklyn, in particular, has become a hugely hip spot for New Yorkers. Long Island City in Queen's could be next on the list. There also are fine hotels over on the Jersey side these days, although not quite with the neighbourhood vibe of Manhattan or Brooklyn.

 

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

 

 

 

You have to think they’re not hockey or basketball fans. Or soccer enthusiasts, for that matter.

The folks at Travelzoo Inc. released its 2012 Travelzoo Awards list on Thursday and there was a rather large surprise in the category of “Best Overall Provider of Entertainment Experiences in Canada.” The winner? Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

I had to give my head a shake. At first I thought it was an award for “best condo builder.” But no. Then I thought it was “most outrageously profitable entertainment experiences where fans are continually hosed by owners who don’t care if their teams win.” But no. It was “best overall provider of entertainment experiences.” IN ALL OF CANADA!!

MLSE? The folks who struggle to put even a mediocre product on the ice and the basketball court and the soccer pitch? The laughingstock of North American sports? The organization that's part of a league that isn't even playing this fall?

You gotta be kidding me. Yes, Real Sports is a great sports bar. Yes, the Raptors dance pack features some pretty hot routines. And yes, the Raptor himself continues to dazzle (I think, I haven’t seen a game in a couple years).

But this is an organization that has run Toronto FC into the ground and can’t field a hockey playoff team and a basketball team that's consistently below average with a general manager that is riding on his success in Phoenix a century or two ago.

Good concerts at the ACC? Maybe that’s what did it, but not if you judge that category by the feedback from fans at this week’s mysterious Bob Dylan show.

The other Canadian categories in the Travelzoo awards were for best overall provider of Airfare (Porter), best overall provider of hotel deals (Sutton Place, Vancouver, which is often on sale on various websites) and best provider of vacation and cruise packaging (Cruise Connections, Inc.).

 

QUEBEC CITY HOTELS KICK BUTT

Congrats to Quebec City for having the highest rated hotels in the U.S. and Canada.

CheapHotels.org released a survey this week of 30 destinations north and south of the border. It was based on evaluations written by customers over the past 12 months following their stays.

To ensure proper comparisons, the study was based only on 3-star hotels (the kind most of us stay in most often) in the city centre. Two booking sites, Expedia and Priceline, served as the aggregator from which reviews were drawn.

The winner, with 75 per cent positive reviews, was Quebec City. Next was Washington D.C. at 73, followed by Chicago (72) and a tie between Boston and Montreal at 71. So, good on La Belle Province for a great showing.

The bottom five were Las Vegas (61), Honolulu (59), Ottawa (a terrible 57 score), Atlantic City (56) and, at the very bottom, Miami at 54.

Sounds like theirs food for thought down Florida way….

For the record, Toronto was pretty much in the middle (slightly above average) at 67, one spot behind Niagara Falls (68), although the study doesn’t say whether that’s the U.S. or Canadian side of the falls.

New York City was at 65.

 

THIS AND THAT

Fairmont is opening its first-ever property in the Philippines, which seem to be getting more and more travel press these days. The Fairmont Makati opens Dec. 3 in Metro Manila. Fairmont Makati will have 280 rooms and suites with a Filipino design. The tower housing the Makati also is home to the 32-room, all-suite Raffles Makati and to condos under the Raffles Residences brand. Raffles is a sister brand of Fairmont under the parent company Fairmont Raffles Hotels International … Kudos to Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia for being named best new golf course by SCOREGolf. It’s a no-brainer, really, as it’s by far the best new course opened in this country in some time. It’s a true links course, the only one in Canada, and it’s absolutely marvelous.

 

Aeroplan offers a ton of great merchandise and deals (not just free flights)

Sleek barbeques. Dazzling jewelry. A place to mix your own, personal perfume. Eco-friendly laptops. And tangerine-coloured Kate Spade clutch purses.

The folks at Aeroplan held a media day in Toronto Tuesday to showcase the fact that Aeroplan points can be used for a lot more than free flights to Philadelphia.

The company has come a long way in the last few years even, and the array of goods is impressive.

Standing outside the main showroom downtown, a spokesman for Broil King told me his company “moves a lot of barbeques” through Aeroplan, which includes Air Canada, United and other airline partners (a solid 36 in all). Folks also can get points by using their Aeroplan number at a wide variety of retailers, including Home Hardware and Esso.

The Broil King representative told me there seem to be more “staycations” of late and that folks are using their points “for things for the home like TV’s or barbeques that they can enjoy with their family at home.”

Inside was a dazzling array of goodies. In addition to the above there were Burberry purses, Canon cameras, leather bags, Citizen watches, Bose speaker systems, walkie-talkies, African-style jewelry where proceeds go to charity, Swarovski crystals, yoga gear, dart boards, Birks bracelets,  Riedel wine glasses and much more. There are some 1,000 items available in all and the stock rotates all the time.

Aeroplan’s Chris Willoughby showed the media some of their specialized items, such as guitars signed by the members of Nickelback.

The design-your-own perfume booth also was getting a lot of business yesterday. A spokesman said folks can redeem 16,500 points and get a two-hour program in Montreal where you sniff a wide variety of scents and mix and match different types to create your own personal cologne. It’s supposed to be coming to Toronto early in the new year, perhaps in time for Valentine’s Day.

In addition to all, Willoughby explained Aeroplan’s “destination miles” to reporters. I haven’t noticed it in my own transactions, but if you click on the “earn miles” button and search the drop-down menu you can find the entry point to the destination miles section, which offers up hotel and car rental deals that allow you to pay cash (as opposed to redeeming points) and get two Aeroplan points for every dollar you spend. Use your Aeroplan credit card, such as the CIBC Aerogold, and you’ll get credit card points, too.

Another Aeroplan feature I didn’t know about is the e-store, a “hidden gem” where you can enter dozens of different websites (including Apple, Birks, Banana Repubic, Indigo and the Mastermind toy stores; always a hit this time of year) and make purchases that earn you points as well. A number of stores won’t let you earn Aeroplan points on purchases made in the store, but if you go through Aeroplan to reach their website you can get the points. And use your credit card for a “double dip.”

Of course, travel is still the big lure. Officials said perhaps 75 per cent of Aeroplan redemptions are for flights.

To showcase some of the destinations, they had big screens set up on Tuesday with photos and video of San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas and Paris. Willoughby said folks can use their points for everything from shows to museums in New York, Cirque du Soleil performances in Vegas and hop-on, hop-off bus tours in Paris.

For an Aeroplan produced video on media day, click here.

More top American cities in Travel + Leisure survey; what about Canada?

More today from the recent issue of Travel + Leisure, which each year ranks American cities in various categories. As I mentioned on Friday, New Orleans took the overall top city trophy this year, and it's hard to argue with that.

Here are some other categories from the survey:

Top City for Friendly People: Nashville

Top City for Attractive People: Miami (see South Beach photo at right)

Top City for Tech-Savvy Folks (what a dull category that is): Seattle

Top City for Stylish People: New York

Top City for Barbecue: Kansas City

Top City for Pizza: Chicago

Top City for Fine Dining: Charleston

Top City for Ethnic Food: San Francisco

Top City for Microbrew Beer: Portland, Oregon

Top City for Cocktail Lounges: Las Vegas

Top City for Sports Bars: Chicago

Top City for Museums/Galleries: Washington D.C.

Top City for Free Attractions: Washington D.C.

Top City for a Romantic Escape: Charleston (see photo)

Top City for a Cultural Getaway: Santa Fe, New Mexico

It's a nice, fun list. But what about Canada? How do our cities stack up? Well, sadly we don't have as many of them, do we. But we can maybe make a go of it. I'm not claiming this as definitive as I haven't been to all our major cities. And we don't have so many to begin with. But you could at least argue that I'm in the ballpark on these, so here goes....

Top City for Friendly People: St. John's. (I will hear no argument on this because I'm right.)

Top City for Attractive People: Toronto (Only because we have so many from around the world.)

Top City for Tech Savvy People: Calgary (You have to be tech savvy to entertain yourself in winter.)

Top City for Stylish People: Montreal (Hands down, right?)

Top City for Barbecue: Not saying much but I'll go with Toronto. (Maybe we should say best city for poutine and give it to Montreal).

Top City for Pizza: Toronto (We have the most Italians.)

Top City for Fine Dining: Toronto.

Top City for Ethnic Food: Toronto. (Sorry, sheer variety and size wins again for Hogtown.)

Top City for Microbrew Beer: Victoria

Top City for Cocktail Lounges: Montreal

Top City for Sports Bars: Edmonton (it IS the ciity of champions, notwithstanding yesterday's rout by the Argos)

Top City for Museums/Galleries: Ottawa

Top City for Free Attractions: Vancouver (the beach, Stanley Park)

Top City for a Romantic Escape: Quebec

Top City for a Cultural Getaway: Toronto

That's TOTALLY off the top of my head and I'm more than willing to entertain thoughts from folks with broader experience than I. I'm sure Saskatoon would be up on my list for friendly people if I went there.

Just for a bit more balance, let's toss in a few categories that pertain to us:

Top City for Outdoors Types: Calgary

Top City for Adventure Seekers: Whitehorse

Top City for Lovers of the Sea: Halifax

Top City for Hockey Lovers: Winnipeg (sheer exuberance wins it)

Top City for folks who'd rather have their mayor coach football than attend council meetings: Toronto

Top City for Municipal Corruption: Montreal

Top City for Sushi: Vancouver

Top City for Job Seekers: Saskatoon

Top City for Wine Drinkers: St. Catharines

Top City for finding an Australian in Winter: Whistler

Top City for bloggers who put too much emphasis on the great things to do in Toronto: The capital of the universe.

 

 

 

 

 

Travel + Leisure top U.S. cities list; New Orleans #1 but where's L.A. on the list?

It's list day in the Toronto Star travel editor's blog. Okay, I've got a cold and I'm not feeling like inventing my own copy, so instead I'm shamelessly ripping off two other outlets and adding my own comments in the hope that this looks like semi-original copy. Is that a better description of today's entry?

TRAVEL + LEISURE TOP USA CITIES

1. New Orleans. Great food, music, exuberant culture. Hard to beat. I was only there once, and I was 11 years old. I failed to appreciate the finer things but I do remember wrought-iron courtyards, jazz music and the sight of nearly naked women dancing behind a string of beads that covered the entry to a night club. My mother quickly pulled me away but not before I got a glimpse of something mysterious and sexy.

2. Santa Fe. I confess, I've never been to New Mexico. Weird for someone who grew up in California but there you go. I hear nice things about the architecture, the jewelry shopping and the food.

3. New York City and Nashville tie. I love New York. It's hard not to with the incredible buildings and parks and food and nightlife and energy. If you've never been, I suggest a trip in late April or early May before it gets too hot. New York in summer is not much fun. Nashville? Again, sorry, never been.

5. MInneapolis/St. Paul. I like it fine, having visited many times when I covered the Blue Jays. It's pretty but I don't recall the downtown being anything remarkable. Frankly, it's a nice place and probably underrated, but I wouldn't put it anywhere near the top 10 from what I recall.

6. San Diego and Savannah tie. Both on the coast but polar opposites in a lot of ways. San Diego is new and has fabulous beaches and a great brewpub culture and surprisingly good nightlife. Savannah is old-school, southern charm with great food and old-time squares and fountains. Not at all alike but both great spots.

8. Charleston and San Francisco tie. I've only spent a few hours in Charleston but found it charming in a "too many tourists walking around looking at old-time, charming buildings" kind of way. San Francisco, again, is the complete opposite; a joyful, exuberant, crazy explosion of sound and food and culture. I grew up near San Francisco so I'm biased. But I'd put it far ahead of Charleston, personally.

10. Chicago. Should be ranked higher, I'd say. Fabulous museums, a beautiful waterfront almost untouched by buildings, incredible food and culture. Plus Wrigley Field and world-class architecture. Definitely top six.

11. Portland. Very pretty and quite cosmopolitan, with fabulous brewpubs and wine bars and old, brick buildings. Great coffee culture and fabulous, fresh food add to the west coast vibe for a very cool city.

12. Austin and Boston and Providence, tie. Never been to Austin, but Boston has everything you want in a city; fun walks, beautiful parks, great shopping and hotels and another wonderful ballpark, Fenway. I've never found the food to be quite as good as I'd expect but perhaps I need to try new places. I hear great things about Austin's music and bar scene, and the local hills that are ablaze in colour in spring, but have never had the pleasure. I think I drove through Providence, Rhode Island once and thought the seashore and the marinas and huge boats with white sails were pretty. But that's not much to go on.

15. Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami and San Antonio tie. Whoa, a four-way tie? Okay, here goes. Las Vegas does not belong on this list. It's a destination, it's not a city. Okay, okay, the shows are awesome and the food is excellent and you can do some fun things in the desert. So I guess 15 isn't too crazy. Miami? I just spent a few days there and enjoyed it. The beach is great and the hotels are fun and South Beach is a gas. But there's no downtown to speak of that I could find. So I'd have to agree with the placement, despite the great weather (most of the time). San Antonio? Sorry, never been. But I'd put Honolulu (see Waikiki Beach photo at right) closer to the 12 spot, personally. I adore Hawaii so that's part of it. But there's also absolutely remarkable food and a strong cultural component to the city to go with great beaches, sunshine, surfing, fabulous Hawaiian music and great hikes and golf. Definitely top 12, Honolulu is.

19. Philadelphia, Seattle and San Juan tie. Philadelphia is an under-rated spot with great history and fun neighbourhoods such as South Street. I'm not just where I'd put but a 19 tie seems pretty fair. Seattle I might push up just a bit given the Pikes Place market and the beauty of the water and nearby mountains, not to mention the coffee and restaurant scene. San Juan is a nice addition here, with great beaches and an old, waterfront fort that's awesome to explore, plus a very colourful old town with pastel painted buildings and a New Orleans/Caribbean feel. Also underrated.

So that's my take on the top 20 (or so). I was a bit surprised to find Los Angeles didn't make the cut. I mean, it has its faults but L.A. is a hugely underrated city. I lived there for five years at university and go back fairly often (in about eight days I'll go again, actually). It's got fabulous culture, with outstanding museums all over town. It's got great beaches. It's got some outstanding, old-time architecture. Add in the movie stuff and amusement parks and the great hiking/horseback riding in the hills and the proximity to the desert and mountains, plus some of the world's most iconic hotels and incredible cuisine, and you've got a top 12 city. Yes there are freeways and traffic. But there also are cool neighbourhoods such as Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach and Pasadena and Los Feliz that are tons of fun. Come on, folks. Where's the love? I"m also surprised to see Denver left off the list. Maybe not top 15, but I'd have expected a presence in here somewhere.

 

 

 

New York tries to get back to normal following damage from Sandy

A week after superstorm/hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on New York, things are getting somewhat back to normal.

Reuters reports the subway is operating at about 80 per cent capacity but that service on many rail lines is reduced, which made for tough commutes today. That won't affect most tourists, but the subway system is still an issue.

USA Today is reporting that the 9/11 Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and South Street Seaport remain closed. But the Bronx Zoo and most New York parks reopened on the weekend. Already back in operation are such attractions as the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock and Rockefeller Center skating rink, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and most Broadway theatres. So that's good.

"The visitors bureau recommends that travelers reconfirm hotel reservations directly with the property, regardless of location. Meanwhile, notes USA TODAY's Barbara De Lollis, the city's hotels are coping with unprecedented cancellations and requests to extend stays, a high number of walk-in room requests from powerless local residents, unpredictable staffing levels, non working phone lines, and in some cases no steam heat."

You gotta feel for the poor folks on Staten Island and on Long Island, where so many people lost loved ones in the storm or lost their homes and most treasured possessions. Not to mention, of course, the severe damage in New Jersey.

Heartbreaking.

THIS AND THAT

I see that Southwest is taking over some Air Tran routes in Key West, including flights to Orlando and Tampa. There's talk of a direct New Orleans-Key West flight, and how much of a dynamic duo would that be? I mean can you imagine the debauchery of a combined Big Easy-Key West vacation? All they need to do is add is a stayover in Las Vegas and they'd have the triple crown of carousing ... I have my own political views, but there's no doubt who wins the presidential election as far as travel and home states are concerned. Mitt Romney is mostly a Michigan, Boston and Utah guy, I'd say. And that's not bad. Boston is a great, great city and Michigan has plenty of charming inns and lakes and one of the best college towns in America, Ann Arbor. Utah has awesome skiing and beautiful canyons and deserts. But Obama can claim (mostly) Chicago and Hawaii. Chicago has incredible museums and powerful architecture, a fine waterfront and some of the best food in the U.S. I'd probably give it a bit of an edge over Boston, but it's as close as a Romney-Obama fight in Wisconsin. Hawaii is easily one of the world's great destinations, with perfect weather, amazing beaches and friendly people. Under-rated cuisine, too, if you ask me.