Destination: Canada
Cruising as Canada’s Tourism Cure?
by Eva Holland | 10.09.07 | 7:53 AM ET
Photo by Jean & Nathalie via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Terrorism fears. New and confusing passport requirements. A slumping U.S. dollar and a surging loonie. These are a few of the reasons put forward to explain Canada’s sluggish tourism industry. But, writes Brian Flemming in a Globe and Mail opinion piece, they’re all flimsy excuses that obscure the real issue: “The real reason for the latest crisis is the failure of imagination of those involved in Canadian tourism, in both the private and public sectors. Until this imagination deficit is cured, Canada will continue to be seen worldwide as a boring, boreal tourist destination.”
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Yahoo! BuzzFrom Sufjan to ‘Nashville Skyline’: Two Takes on a Road Trip Soundtrack
by Eva Holland | 09.26.07 | 8:52 AM ET
And the Kerouac anniversary celebration lingers. In honor of the 50th birthday of “On the Road,” the Guardian’s Laura Barton put together a 50-song list of must-listen road trip tracks, one for each American state. It’s an eclectic selection—everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Aerosmith to Loretta Lynn is represented—and it’s stirring up a lot of (mostly civilized) debate on the story’s comment pages. I can’t see how she skipped over “Georgia On My Mind” or “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” but for the most part I was impressed by the list’s range and creativity. Perry Como’s “Delaware”? Who knew?
Northwest Passage Open for Business?
by Eva Holland | 09.18.07 | 12:30 PM ET
When we picked the Northwest Passage as one of our Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet, we didn’t anticipate just how apt the “shrinking” moniker would be. The AP is reporting that the Arctic ice has reached its lowest-ever recorded level, meaning that a navigable passage could be open much sooner than previously predicted.
Russia to Plant Flag on North Pole Sea Bed
by Michael Yessis | 08.02.07 | 11:40 AM ET
It’s provocative actions like this that we had in mind when we selected the Northwest Passage as one of our Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet. According to the AP and other media reports, Russia’s Rossiya icebreaker has reached the North Pole, clearing way for scientists “to dive in two mini-submarines beneath the pole to a depth of more than 13,200 feet, and drop a metal capsule containing the Russian flag on the sea bed.” The goal of the expedition: to solidify a claim to the enormous oil and gas reserves that are believed to be stored beneath the floor of the Arctic Sea. Russia, however, isn’t the only country with interest in controlling the area.
New Travel Book: ‘Led Zeppelin Crashed Here’
by Jim Benning | 07.25.07 | 2:47 PM ET
Full title: “Led Zeppelin Crashed Here: The Rock and Roll Landmarks of North America”
Author: Chris Epting, author of numerous pop-culture guidebooks, including Elvis Presley Passed Here: Even More Locations of America’s Pop Culture Landmarks
Released: May 1, 2007
Travel genre: Quirky guidebook
Territory covered: North America, including the New York City buildings featured on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti.”
Promo copy: “Pop culture historian Chris Epting takes you on a journey across North America to the exact locations where rock and roll history was made. Epting has compiled nearly 600 rock and roll landmarks, combining historical information with trivia, photos, and backstage lore, all with the enthusiasm of a true rock and roll devotee. No other book delivers such an extensive list of rock and roll landmarks—from beginnings (the site where Elvis got his first guitar), to endings (the hotel where Janis Joplin died), and everything in between.”
‘Gopher Tourism’: Free Room, Board and Ammo for Willing Exterminators
by Michael Yessis | 07.11.07 | 12:02 PM ET
Wanted near Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada: Tourists with guns and good aim to help combat gopher infestation. It’s not my idea of a pleasant trip, but, according to a CBC News story, for some it has a certain Ted Nugent-y appeal.
The Seven Wonders of Canada, or More Proof the Country Isn’t Boring
by Michael Yessis | 06.19.07 | 9:07 AM ET
Last week I happily waved my Maple Leaf flag in support of Canada’s above averageness, citing, among other things, an abundance of moose and snowboarding the Canadian Rockies. I now have more ammunition. CBC Television’s The National and BCB Radio’s Sounds Like Canada conducted a search to determine the Seven Wonders of Canada, and earlier this month they announced the results. The wonders, based on this criteria, are: The canoe, Niagara Falls, Pier 21 in Halifax, the Rockies, The igloo, Old Quebec city and Prairie Skies.
Young Americans to Canada: You’re Boring
by Michael Yessis | 06.12.07 | 10:33 AM ET
New passport rules and a strong loonie are keeping many Americans away—there’s been a 34 percent decline in U.S. visitors since 2000—but also the perception that Canada isn’t exotic or adventurous enough. In fact, according to a study by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada that tracked U.S. perceptions of travel to Canada, many Americans in their 20s and 30s (American newspaper editors apparently have feelings about this, too) call the country an “average” or “boring” place to visit. C’mon, fellow American twentysomethings and thirtysomethings. Give our northern neighbors some love. I’ve snowboarded the Canadian Rockies, seen moose and elk wandering through Banff, watched the Saint John river go in reverse, kayaked in Nova Scotia, quaffed Canadian beer and touched the Stanley Cup, and I know what anyone who’s explored even a little of Canada knows: It’s plenty adventurous and exotic. So what’s the problem? Branding, apparently.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: From the Great White North to the Land Down Under
by Michael Yessis | 06.08.07 | 12:49 PM ET
This week travelers trek the length of the globe, from Canada to California to Mexico to Costa Rica to Australia. There’s also the inevitable Paris Hilton vs. Hilton Paris match up. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
In Napa, Wilderness Above the Wineries
* That’s Napa, pictured above.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Paris Hilton accommodations vs. Hilton Paris
* Christopher Reynolds pits the two head-to-head.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Mexico to (Miss) U.S.A.: Boooooo
* Readers have mixed feelings about the now-infamous boos.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
JetBlue Tries to Bounce Back From Storm of Trouble
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Air Traffic Control System Command Center
Most Read Feature
World Hum (this week)
An Island in Costa Rica
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
National Geographic’s Atmosphere
* Current podcast: Mount Everest Expedition
Global Warming, Tourism Among Threats to Cultural Sites
by Jim Benning | 06.07.07 | 10:43 AM ET
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The World Monument Fund has issued its 2008 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites. Threatened landmarks making the cut this time include Leh Old Town in Ladakh, India (increasing rainfall due to climate change is damaging medieval buildings); Machu Picchu (facing too many visitors and increasing ease of access); Old Damascus, Syria (pictured, where historic buildings are being “abandoned and demolished to make way for modern construction”); and Route 66 (as we recently noted, many sites are deteriorating).
U.S. Newspapers to Canada: We’re Outta Here
by Jim Benning | 04.05.07 | 4:12 PM ET
Incredibly, reports the Toronto Star: “When The Washington Post closes its Toronto bureau this summer, it will mark the death of the American newspaper correspondent in Canada.” Wire services and freelancers will have to take up the slack. Which prompted a scholar at the Poynter Institute to remark, “Any American editor who finds Canadians boring has his or her head up their ice.” (Via Romenesko.)
Photo by dmealiffe, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Australia’s ‘Bloody’ Success
by Michael Yessis | 03.16.07 | 7:56 AM ET
When Australia rolled out it’s “Where the bloody hell are you?” campaign last year, more than a few people claimed to be offended. Thirteen months later, “Australia has become a success story on how to capitalize in the competitive global tourism market,” according to a story by Lee Berthiaum in Embassy, the Canadian Foreign Policy newsweekly. The key, Berthiaum writes, was emphasizing Australia’s personality.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: The Traveler Beware Edition
by Michael Yessis | 03.02.07 | 8:01 AM ET
They’re turning people back at the Canadian border, shrinking the payout for blackjack in Las Vegas and seeing through your clothes in Phoenix. Those stories—plus journeys to Alaska, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Sweden and Mulholland Drive—are intriguing travelers this week. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Going to Canada? Check Your Past
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Las Vegas: A Winner’s Guide to Blackjack
* Casino are starting to pay only 6-5 for blackjack. What’s next? No doubling down?
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Full-Body X-Ray Security Scanner Debuts
* The first passengers asked to submit to a full-body X-ray, apparently, “didn’t bat an eyelash.”
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Escapes Under $500: Go to Puerto Rico’s Second City
* That would be Ponce.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
The Cold Show in Fairbanks, Alaska
Most Read Travel Story
World Hum (this week)
Stephanie Elizondo Griest: ‘100 Places Every Woman Should Go’
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Wayfaring
Best Waterfront City
Project for Public Spaces
Stockholm
Travel Story of the Year
Solas Awards (2007)
Fishing With Larry by Tom Joseph
* Here are all the prize winners.
Most Competitive Country
World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitive Index
Switzerland
* What is this? “The index is not a ‘beauty contest’, or a statement about the attractiveness of a country. On the contrary, the index measures the factors that make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism industry of individual countries,” said Jennifer Blanke, Senior Economist of the World Economic Forum.
Heading to Canada? You Better Have a Clean Record.
by Jim Benning | 02.23.07 | 12:31 PM ET
That’s because Canadian immigration officials have been turning away U.S. citizens with even minor criminal records, including a California man on a ski trip to Whistler who had been convicted of marijuana possession—in 1975. “Welcome to the new world of border security,” writes C.W. Nevius in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. “Unsuspecting Americans are turning up at the Canadian border expecting clear sailing, only to find that their past—sometimes their distant past—is suddenly an issue. While Canada officially has barred travelers convicted of criminal offenses for years, attorneys say post-9/11 information-gathering, combined with a sweeping agreement between Canada and the United States to share data, has resulted in a spike in phone calls from concerned travelers. They are shocked to hear that the sins of their youth might keep them out of Canada. But what they don’t know is that this is just the beginning. Soon other nations will be able to look into your past when you want to travel there.” Creepy.
It’s Jan. 23. Do You Know Where Your Passport Is?
by Jim Benning | 01.23.07 | 8:05 AM ET
If you’re an American flying from the U.S. to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean and want to return home, we hope so. The new passport rule, otherwise known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, goes into effect today, requiring that you carry one. Predictably, many travelers are now rushing to get their own little blue book, prompting newspaper headline writers to break out their favorite egg-related verb. Meanwhile, U.S. territory Puerto Rico stands to gain from the new rule: Passports are still not required of U.S. citizens, a fact that Puerto Rico is spending $36 million to promote. So how many new passports do officials expect to issue this year?