2016 Olympic tourism and Toronto bid, Nachos with Mai Tais, Jim's Deal of Day

With Rio De Janeiro winning the 2016 Olympic bid, look for a major, major tourism boost to the fabled South American city.

Don't forget they've got the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, so this will be a double dose of visitors; assuming they can pull everything off. It's a huge undertaking, but presumably a lot of the infrastructure needed for 2014's football extravaganza will make things easier for the Olympics two years later. Certainly, I can't recall any other city that's had two enormous undertakings like that within a two-year period, so it's gonna be plenty interesting.

I wasn't surprised to see Chicago lose. The IOC is notoriously unpredictable, and the bloc voting often results in early-round shockers. Cities that have won bids have often come perilously close to losing in early voting due to IOC shenanigans.

And I fully expected Madrid to give a strong performance as former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spaniard, still wields enormous clout in the IOC and was pushing hard for the Spanish capital.

I know the IOC hates the US Olympic Committee and it's alleged arrogance, but I didn't expect Chicago to take it on the chin in the first round. Second perhaps. Third, maybe. But not right out of the gate.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the IOC go back to Europe for the 2020 Summer Olympics. If they did, or if they opted for Asia again, there would be a good chance for a North American bid for the 2024 Summer Games. And that COULD open the door to, dare I say it, another Toronto bid.

We didn't so well against Atlanta for the 1996 Games or Beijing for 2008, but the bids were technically very good. And if Toronto wins the 2015 Pan Am Games in a vote slated for next month, the city will ha've addressed a gaping hole in its sporting resume and would look better to the IOC for 2024. The fact we're not American and not part of the USOC might still be a huge factor in Toronto's favour, and the 2024 vote will take place in 2017, a full seven years after the Vancouver Winter Games.

Nobody can predict what the IOC will do. But stranger things have happened, and there's no doubt some folks in the Big Smoke already are thinking of a future Toronto summer bid, part three.

Guess this means I'll have to make a trip to Rio next year to see how things look down there, too! Reports say there were already 50,000 folks partying on the beach and that another 50,000 were expected on a bright, sunny day in Brazil.

On a side note regarding Chicago, AP had a great quote from chatty IOC member Kevan Gosper of Australia.

"I'm shocked," Gosper said. "The whole thing doesn't make sense other than there has been a stupid bloc vote."

Gosper said the Chicago exit could do "untold damage" to the rocky relations between the USOC and the IOC, who have fought over revenue sharing and a proposed USOC TV network.

"To have the president of the United States and his wife personally appear, then this should happen in the first round is awful and totally undeserving," Gosper said.

WEIRD FOOD AND DRINKS

Speaking of the Olympics, I got a press release from the Four Seasons in Whistler today to say they've come up with a cocktail called the Eternal Flame, with pear juice, an energy drink and lemongrass-infused vodka. So where's the flame? Apparently they put a brown sugar cube on top, perched on an inverted cocktail shaker lid. It's soaked in absinthe and set on fire, naturally. It's also served in a tall, "copper-hued glass flute and presented in a passing-of-the-torch" relay fasion.

Sounds like fun. I bet six or eight of those would really knock you out.

On a related note, I got another press release from the Renaissance Chicago Hotel (they won't be serving anything except an Olympic flame-out for a while, I guess, ba-dum-shh) explaining how their melted cheese nachos with smoked prime rib are a big hit, and I guess they would be. I'd be happy to try, but they suggested matching the nachos with a Mai Tai made with Appleton White Rum, Don Q Limon, Cointreau and Orgeat, and I can't even begin to imagine a fruity mai tai with spicy nachos.

Still, next time I'm in Chicago I'll stop by. I'll do almost ANYTHING for a good story.

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

Prices are falling at New York City museums, theatres, restaurants and shops, with NYC & Company’s NYC: The Real Deal Fall promotion. Running Oct. 6 – 27, the program offers close to 150 deals, at venues including Carnegie Hall (15 per cent off select performances) and the Museum of Jewish Heritage (two-for-one admission), and live theatre shows including STOMP and Chicago (15 per cent off). Seeing the city just got cheaper too, with 10 per cent off Signature Tours, Inc., Wall Street Walks and Welcome to Harlem Tours. Savings booklets are available at NYC & Company’s Official NYC Information Center at 810 Seventh Ave., between 52nd and 53rd Streets. A full listing of deals can be found at www.nycgo.com/realdeal.

 

TORONTO NEVER SMELT SO GOOD...MEN-ONLY HOTEL FLOORS?

Now that summer is officially here (notwithstanding yesterday's thunderboomers and the rain), Tourism Toronto is having a little fun in its quest to boost the number of local visitors.

A special summertime campaign was launched today, with special offers that include hotel and entertainment options at bargain rates.

A series of newspaper ads will appear starting Thursday, with the first one cheekily stating that "Toronto Never Smelt So Good.'

 "Everyone knows about the garbage strike so we thought we'd be a little self-deprecating," said spokesman Andrew Weir. "We're trying to have a little bit of fun."

"It's been a tough time but we've still got several weeks of summer and we think we're going to have a good month" with special events like Caribana just finishing and with things like this weekend's Taste of the Danforth, the upcoming Rogers Cup Tennis Championship and other festivities.

One option for visitors is the Best of Toronto package, including one night hotel accomodation, a top-priced ticket to a Mirvish Productions theatre performance such as The Sound of Music or The Harder They Come (always liked that movie, myself, and the soundtrack is spectacular but I haven't seen the play) and a three-course dinner at one of 14 restaurants. You also get an admission to one of three atrractions: the CN Tower, the Ontario Science Centre or a Toronto Tours city bus tour, all for $149 per person. Call 1-800-461-3333 for information.

Other offers can be found at www.SeeTorontoNow.com/summer or by calling 1-877-848-3999.

NO WOMEN, PLEASE, WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE FUN

Read an interesting item at USA Today travel about a hotel in Hong Kong where they have a men-only floor. The rooms come complete with video games, DVD's ("Nights in Rodanthe?" Don't think so), Wii (never tried it) and golf practice games (Now, that's a GREAT idea) and other stuff, including magazines of interest to men such as golf and race-cars but not, ahem, more interesting stuff.

Not sure I'd wanna do that, personally. Wii would be fun, but I tend to like Sleepless in Seattle a lot more than Die Hard. I've never actually seen a Die Hard movie, to tell you the truth; I just hate violence. And I don't want to be on a floor with just guys. Maybe away from guys who snore or play loud music or arrive drunk at their room at 4 a.m. and fumble with the key, sure, but guys in general aren't particularly annoying.

I think I'd prefer a women-only floor but that could lead to some heavy-duty explaining on the home front, so perhaps not. When I was at university (granted, it was UCLA, where they just banned the annual panty run through campus), I deliberately avoided the men-only floor and opted for co-ed. It was quiet and civilized, and the girls even used our shower stalls; alas, not ever while I was in them.

 

KIWIS BRINGING LOVE AT 30,000 FEET...AIR CANADA WI-FI TEST

The Aussie tourism folks made a big splash earlier this year with a campaign that gave someone a job of blogging from a lovely, semi-tropical island. It was a good stunt that got a lot of media attention.

Now come the Kiwis, and it seems they're determined to go one better.

Air New Zealand is asking frisky, sorry, "adventurous" singles to join them on what they're calling "the world's first matchmaking flight."

"The perfect trip for those who would travel the world for love and for those who have felt sparks for the stranger in the middle seat, Air New Zealand is flying singles to the opposite side of the Pacific with the aim of finding each a partner in (the) air or in New Zealand," according to the airline's press release.

Canadian singles will hop on board a plane from Vancouver to Los Angeles on Oct. 13, then transfter onto the Matchmaking flight for Auckland. ABC's The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, and his girlfriend, Molly Malaney, will join passengers on the flight as they head down to the country where they fell in love.

Passengers "will enjoy a complete matchmaking experience," officials say, with a party prior to the departure from LA and then, once they've reached cruising altitude, "complimentary party packs, an open bar, speed dating and other games." Once they land, there will be a Matchmaking Flight party with singles from North America and New Zealand.

One can only imagine what's in the party packs. And what about the lineups for the washrooms? You gotta think the mile high club is gonna have a whole bunch of new members by the time that baby touches down in Auckland.

Roundtrip tickets start at $1,198 Canadian dollars, so it's not a bad deal when you consider the frills and what it might cost for the companionship on the ground in, say, Yorkville or Yaletown.

For more information, visit www.thematchmakingflight.com.

AIR CANADA WI-FI UPDATE

I got an email from Air Canada yesterday updating they're wi-fi experiment. An official told me they're doing tests later this fall on two A319 aircraft flying between Toronto-San Francisco and Toronto-Los Angeles.

I'm flying out to SF to visit family in November and, with any luck, I'll be able to blog from the sky. It's not quite as exciting as the mile-high club, but it'll have to do.

MORE LIVE TV COMING TO THE SKY

Continental has installed DirecTV on 18 planes and by early 2011 expects to offer 77 channels of live television to passengers on some 220 of its jets.

This is nothing short of awesome news for anyone who's ever been in the air during a big football game...or even during The Bachelor if that's your thing.

 

USA Today says Continental joins JetBlue, Virgin America and Frontier airlines in the live TV offering. Continental plans to charge $6 for coach passengers (free for the high rollers), the same as Frontier. JetBlue and Virgin America offer live TV for free, and good for them.

 

I'm trying to find out if there are any Canadian airline plans for live television...

 

SCRANTON IS ON THE MAP!

Tours to Scranton, Pennsylvania normally are slightly less booked than, say, trips to Victoria. But that's starting to change thanks to folks who are doing tours of sites in the city used in the TV show, The Office.

USA Today's travel section has a fun piece on the tours, which take folks to places such as Poor Richard's Pub and Coopers Seafood House.

WHAT'S IN A NAME, AND AMERICANS LOVE HOCKEY FIGHTS

Spent the last few days in eastern Virginia, out on the eastern shore and down around Williamsburg and Norfolk-Hampton Roads-Newport. Some weird stuff down here. They've got a street named Rip Rap Road and another named Jack Frost Road (probably near "Nipping at Your Nose" Boulevard, but I didn't see that one). There also was a Robin Hood Drive.

In Richmond, they have a street called Boulevard. Not Richmond Boulevard or Robert E. Lee Boulevard or "The South really won the Civil War but y'all don't know it Boulevard," but Boulevard. Okay, technically there's a north and a south Boulevard, but still funky. Not that anyone who lives in a city with a street called Avenue Road should talk.

Richmond also has a Cary Street, which is quite a nice stretch of shops. But a woman who works at a store there called Murphie's says that west of her shop it becomes "Cary Street Road."

"That really bothers me," she said.

She's a lovely young lady, actually, name of Courtney La Fond. Her grandparents were French Canadian and she LOVES hockey.

"I shouldn't say this but I rooted for Canada to beat the U.S. at the Olympics in 2002," she said with a smile. "I love hockey. But I don't like it as much on TV."

La Fond was asked if she believes it when Americans are quoted as saying they don't like the sport because of the fighting.

"Not at all," she said. "They LOVE the fights. Are you kidding? My brother always wants to see a hockey fight. He used to be a goalie."

So there you go.

More later but gotta run and have dinner with a tourism person from Richmond, which is a pretty funky city and seems to rising up the charts of relatively undiscovered American towns.

EGYPTIAN TROUBLES LOOM?

It's been a turbulent couple years in the tourism business, with government problems in Thailand, the attacks in Mumbai and other problems. Now comes the weekend bombing at a market in Cairo, which killed a 17-year-old French girl and injured at least 21 others.

Egypt has been emerging as a great spot for tourists looking for cheap alternatives to places like Italy or Spain. But bombing a spot so close to a popular tourist bazaar is undoubtedly going to make folks think twice about an Egyptian holiday.

Reuters reports the bomb was planted under a bench near the Khan el-Khalili market and that was "the first such attack on tourists in the city since April, 2005 and the first in Egypt since the Sinai resort of Dahab was bombed in April, 2006. That's less than three years ago.

Reuters says tourism accounts for about seven per cent of Egypt's gross domestic product but that "previous bombings had only a short-term impact" on tourist visits.

BILLING BLUES

Seems diners at a tavern in Mesana, Cyprus weren't very happy with their bill and took it to an extreme - opening fire with a shotgun, then dousing the place in gasoline and threatening to set it on fire. Apparently the man weren't happy (we guess not) over a 93 euro bill for food and drinks at the restaurant on Sunday night. They offered to pay only 50 euros, which seemingly didn't sit well with the owner.

CALLING MR. BLACKWELL

Reuters (thanks, guys) also reports today that public servants "in the gritty central Chinese city of Zhengzhou" have been not to wear "unnatural hair styles" or wear clothes that are too wild. The report says that from now on, Zhengzhou city officials "should make sure their clothing matches and (should) stay away from bright colour schemes."

It's not clear what set the government off. But you'd have to wonder what they thought of what Goldie Hawn was wearing at the Oscars Sunday night? Yikes - act your age, sweetheart. We can forgive Miley Cyrus her Disney World silliness as she's just a kid. But Goldie oughta know better.

Speaking of the Academy Awards, have you ever seen such inane fawning and bowing and scraping over alleged "celebrities?" It's embarrassing. I covered sports for 15 years and I've interviewed Michael Jordan and Roger Clemens and Wayne Gretzky and Mike Weir and I never felt obliged to gush, "Gee, you're so wonderful and it's such a pleasure to have you come by and deign to talk to little old, undeserving me - and might I add that you look particularly ravishing today." Yes, it's Oscar night and they all dress well. But skip the obvious and ask them an actual question.

Your job is to TALK to these people, not be their public relations agents.