Tourism tips

Quito was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an ancient Inca city, located 2,850 metres above sea level, and is the city with the most extensive, best preserved and least altered historic centre in Latin America. These attributes led to it being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 8 September 1978, as well as National Heritage of Ecuador.

Brightline, the Florida rail line with stops throughout the state, is now selling tickets for its highly anticipated Orlando extension. 

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has welcomed news that air seats out of Canada will increase significantly as of November 5, this year when Canada Jetlines introduces twice-weekly flights between Toronto and Montego Bay. Jetlines’ Director of Sales and Business Development, Sanjay Kopalkar announced the introduction of the new service during a JAPEX media breakfast meeting held at the Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa today (September 12). He said as a start there would be flights on Saturdays and Sundays utilising state of the art A320 Aircraft with 174-passenger capacity.

With a target in sight of earning US$4.1 billion, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett is quite pleased that Jamaica is having its best year ever in visitors arrivals. His enthusiasm was shared as the tourism sector celebrated the return of the island’s major travel tradeshow post-pandemic, JAPEX, with an elaborate opening event at Chukka Outpost on the Sandy Bay coastline Monday night. “As we currently stand, we are about to have the best year in the history of tourism in Jamaica for stopover arrivals, 2023,” he exuded.

When I met Mélissa, the guide I had hired to take me on a food tour of Montreal, she was sitting in a deli, awaiting my arrival. 

The millions of tourists who annually visit the Cinque Terre in Italy seldom realize that, in addition to the region’s candy-colored villages and sea views, this is a storied wine region with some of the world’s steepest vineyards. Its grapevines climb mountains that soar as high as 1,300 feet. 

At five o’clock in the morning, a pale golden light is washing over an otherworldly landscape of conical rock formations and undulating cliffsides. The sky is specked with colorful hot air balloons at varying heights. In the early morning silence, the only sounds are the occasional gentle woosh as the balloons fire and dogs barking far off in the valley.

After several delays, Brightline is launching its high-speed rail service between Orlando and southern Florida in just over a week.

At the Sustainable Social Tourism Summit (León, 30 August – 2 September), UNWTO welcomed new high-level signatories to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. The Secretariats of State for Tourism of Ciudad de Mexico, Queretaro, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Nuevo Leon, all signed up to the landmark declaration, designed to guide tourism to Net-Zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. They join the Secretariat of State of Tourism of Guanajuato which signed up at the COP27 United Nations climate change conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The Secretary of State of Tourism of Guanajuato, Mr. Juan José Álvarez Brunel, heads the Sustainability Coordination of the National Association of Secretaries of tourism of Mexico A.C. (ASETUR) and led the discussion of climate action in tourism at sub-national level since becoming a signatory.

While summer gently fades away, Asheville, North Carolina, prepares to unveil its annual masterpiece of nature: the breathtaking fall color leaf change. The biodiversity of tree species in the Blue Ridge Mountains ensures a visual symphony of crimson, gold, and amber hues, while variations in elevation grant leaf-peepers one of the longest fall color seasons in the nation.

As the plane descends to Maui’s airport in Kahului, it’s readily apparent how sharply tourism has dropped off following the massive fires a month ago: hundreds of unrented rental cars parked in a field near the runway. In the aftermath of the blaze that leveled the historic town of Lahaina and caused so much personal suffering and loss, it was understandable for Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green to advise visitors not to come to Maui. Now facing the financial devastation of an island that depends on tourism, the government changed its position and is urging visitors to come, including to the resort areas of West Maui north of Lahaina which are reopening October 8th. But should visitors listen?

The Caribbean island of Barbados is preparing for an onslaught.

Scott Pauli. (Photo Credit: Island of Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau)

There are plenty of people out there who, for some ungodly reason, pay lots of money to be scared.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Hotelbeds shared insights at an event called “Global Trends in the Tourism Sector,” in the growing Spanish destination of Palma de Mallorca. 

The United Arab Emirates has established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, known as the GCGRA, a federal-level entity to regulate and establish “strict guidelines” for the country’s commercial gaming industry. The GCGRA sets the scene for future casinos where Ras Al Khaimah already has the confirmed Wynn resort; a potential “Arabian Strip;” and gaming in other emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Twenty-two years ago, 19 terrorists commandeered four U.S. airliners. They crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and an empty field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 Americans were killed.

Baha Mar, the Caribbean’s leading integrated luxury resort of choice located in Nassau, The Bahamas, reveals the full lineup of events happening at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival at Baha Mar on October 27-29, 2023.

Trip.com Group today showcased its vision for the future of travel at its Envision 2023 global partner conference. The conference was attended by about 700 industry partners globally.

Not only does Los Angeles beckon movie buffs and theme park goers but the City of Angels is a burgeoning spot for cannabis tourism in California. Recreational marijuana is legal in the Golden State with licensed dispensaries selling an assortment of flower, pre-rolls, vape pens, balms, and more. Seeing as it’s not permitted to smoke in all public spaces or at non-smoking accommodations, only these cannabis-friendly Airbnbs in Los Angeles give you the green light to blaze up in comfort.

West Maui will officially welcome visitors again next month following the devastating wildfires that swept the paradise destination in August.