Destination: Canada
Australia Named Top Country Brand for 2008
by Michael Yessis | 11.11.08 | 11:01 AM ET
Canada finished second and the United States placed third in FutureBrand’s fourth annual Country Brand Index Survey. Rina Plapler, the lead author of the study, explains her interest in country branding in an interview: “I’ve studied global culture and comparative religion and lived in North America, Europe and Africa,” she says. “I’ve been amazed how different the experience of visiting and living in a country is from one’s perceptions.”
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzPresident-Elect Obama and the Future of Canadian Flag Pin Sales
by Jim Benning | 11.05.08 | 10:41 AM ET
The historic election of Barack Obama raises so many travel-related questions. How soon will he lift restrictions on travel to Cuba for Cuban families? And what does it mean for the number of “Canadian” travelers oversees? As the Times of London pointed out yesterday: “Many Obama supporters see his appeal as someone who can repair America’s tainted global reputation so they can, in the words of the American comic Sarah Silverman ‘travel abroad without having to pretend to be Canadian any more.’” Yes, we could witness a steep drop in sales of Canadian flag pins destined for American backpacks. Here’s hoping that’s the case.
Is Winnipeg Canada’s Answer to Scranton?
by Eva Holland | 10.30.08 | 10:55 AM ET
That depends on who you ask. Michael Scott and Co. will be taking a business trip to the Manitoban capital in an upcoming episode of the hit TV show “The Office.” But why Winnipeg? Apparently, the show’s producers figured it was a good fit because it’s “similar to Scranton, but with a Canadian flair.” Destination Winnipeg begs to differ: “No offence to Scranton,” said a city tourism representative, “but we like to think of ourselves as a cosmopolitan centre.”
Canada: ‘Liberal, Secular, Not as Cold as You Think!’
by Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 12:50 PM ET
Ever wondered what a late-night Canadian government infomercial aimed at recruiting disaffected American liberals might look like? Slate V takes a good shot at it:
Greyhound Canada (and Its Passengers) Can’t Catch a Break
by Eva Holland | 10.06.08 | 3:51 PM ET
First a gruesome beheading, then another stabbing, and now? A busload of passengers exposed to tuberculosis. Needless to say it’s been a bad couple of months for Greyhound’s Canadian operation—not to mention for the victims and other affected passengers.
You Mean I’m in Sydney, Canada—not Sydney, Australia?
by Jim Benning | 09.25.08 | 1:18 PM ET
Due to “inattention while booking flights online,” an Argentine tourist this week found herself on vacation in Sydney, Nova Scotia, not her intended destination, Sydney, Australia. She realized the mistake in Halifax, on the final leg of her trip to, uh, Sydney. Here’s the best part: According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “rather than make a fuss, Ms Torres decided to stay and make the best of her trip.”
Canada Announces Passenger ‘Flight Rights’ Program
by Eva Holland | 09.10.08 | 9:45 AM ET
While the federal passenger bill of rights awaits Senate approval, over the border the Canadian government has launched a similar passenger protection program: Flight Rights Canada.
Eating Seal With the Inuits: ‘The Best Part is the Flipper’
by Joanna Kakissis | 08.28.08 | 10:13 AM ET
Is the best way to dive into a culture through its food? Justin Nobel, writing in Gourmet, was eager to find out. While in Canada, he visited Kuujjuaq, a village 900 miles north of Montreal. He decided to skip the cheese fries and pizza at local restaurants and instead headed to an Inuit home to sample “the country food”—baked caribou leg and “a hunk of seal the size of a small suitcase.”
Greyhound Drivers To Limit Carry-On Baggage
by Eva Holland | 08.27.08 | 2:03 PM ET
More fall-out from the Greyhound beheading: according to the CBC, Greyhound bus drivers will increasingly be exercising their right to limit carry-on baggage on their routes. Under the existing regulations, it’s fair game for drivers to request all riders’ personal items be placed in storage under the bus except medicine, baby care items and books.
Related on World Hum:
* After Beheading Greyhound Kills Ad Campaign
Canada Launches New Search For Lost Franklin Expedition
by Eva Holland | 08.20.08 | 1:35 PM ET
According to the CBC, the Canadian government is sponsoring a new search—the latest of many—for Sir John Franklin and his ships, both lost in the Northwest Passage more than 160 years ago. I suppose the rapidly melting ice in the passage could make the hunting easier than in the past, but it also makes the search more urgent: It’s no secret that the expedition is Canada’s latest move in the ongoing political maneuvering by several governments to claim the area as their own.
100 Years of ‘Anne of Green Gables’: Super Fans Swarm PEI
by Valerie Conners | 08.04.08 | 4:15 PM ET
I fancied myself pretty darn literary at age 10 when the spunky exploits of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables sparked my imagination, and I hungrily read the series’ eight novels in under a year. Apparently, oodles of Anne fans more inspired than myself took that challenge further over the years, traveling to Prince Edward Island—the setting for Anne’s tales—to pay homage to the author and her characters.
Youngtown: Neil Young’s Hometown Gets Its Own Rock Museum
by Eva Holland | 07.09.08 | 10:29 AM ET
It’s been a busy season for rock ‘n’ roll museum openings. First we noted the debut of the Woodstock Museum, and now the National Post brings us this article about the new Youngtown Rock & Roll Museum in Omemee, Ontario—Neil Young’s childhood home. Omemee is about 80 miles northeast of Toronto, and it helped to inspire the “town in north Ontario / with dream comfort memory to spare” that Young sings about in “Helpless.” Here’s video, also featuring The Band and Joni Mitchell:
Happy 400th Birthday, Quebec City
by Eva Holland | 07.03.08 | 10:53 AM ET
Today the capital city of Canada’s Quebec province turns 400 years old. This weekend will see the peak of a months-long celebration that began in January and will continue into October. It’s funny, you’ll rarely read a travel article about Quebec City that doesn’t describe it as “the most European city in North America” (or, at least, of having a European sensibility, or being European-flavored), thanks to its heritage buildings, cobblestoned streets and devotion to fine food and wine. But to me, as a Canadian, it’s always been the most Canadian of cities.
Rufus Wainwright’s Least Favorite City?
by Eva Holland | 06.10.08 | 11:31 AM ET
“Toronto. I can’t stand it—the place drives me mad. I’m allowed to say this because I’m Canadian. ... It’s trying to be the New York of the Midwest.” The singer-songwriter also reveals some of his more positive travel experiences and more in this Q&A with The Observer.
The Polar Bear and the Canadian Arctic
by Eva Holland | 05.28.08 | 5:15 PM ET
A recent U.S. decision to ban the import of polar bear hides and other bear-hunting trophies could put an end to hunting-related tourism in Canada’s Arctic. The ban stems from the polar bear being upgraded to “threatened” status under the U.S. government’s Endangered Species Act.