News that has caught Chris' eye in the Travel World

The World’s Longest Non –Stop Flight (15 February, 2017)

There is a new holder of the title, “the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight”.   Distances between world cities are calculated on a straight line geographical basis.  Qatar Airways’ new daily service from Doha in the Persian Gulf to Auckland in New Zealand covers a distance of 14,535 kilometres without a scheduled stop. The sixteen and a half hour flight requires four pilots and it takes the record away from Emirates’ Dubai-Auckland route, which is 342 kilometres shorter.

Air India’s Delhi to San Francisco service also stakes a claim for the “world’s longest non-stop route” for its 15,300 kilometre Delhi to San Francisco service. However, this is only because the airline changed the route from a Polar routing to a less-direct route over the Pacific, adding 2,150 kilometres to the distance. So this flight definitely takes “the scenic route”!

Family Day in Ontario’s Parks (6 February, 2017)

Family Day is coming up next weekend and Ontario Parks have organized a host of special activities to tempt you into Ontario’s parks for the long weekend. MacGregor Point Provincial Park on Lake Huron near Point Elgin is featuring “MacGregor’s Survival Challenge”, where you can work as a team to complete brain-busting puzzles and winter camping challenges. Or you can join naturalists for a “Birding for Beginners” family hike or an evening Owl Prowl.

In Algonquin, “Winter in the Wild” highlights the best of what the season has to offer the whole family! Join Ontario Parks and The Friends of Algonquin Park for indoor and outdoor events, including guided bird walks, guest speakers, guided snowshoe excursions, skating, winter camping demos, marshmallow roasting and a special evening program.

Or, closer to home for many, how about Family Day in Bronte Creek Provincial Park? You can tour the various barns and outbuildings of the Children’s Farm to see your favorite farm animals. In the Children’s Playbarn, kids can climb, jump and explore tunnels to their hearts content. And at the Nature Centre, live animals and hands-on displays showcase Bronte Creek’s natural world. 

World Tourism and the US Travel Ban (31 January, 2017)

The world of travel is very much being impacted by the new US administration’s pronouncements.  The World Travel & Tourism Council president commented on the recent travel ban, “The Executive Order issued by US President Trump on Jan. 27 banning travel to the US from seven countries for 90 days goes directly against the fundamental right of Freedom to Travel. It has created immense confusion among travellers and travel companies worldwide.”

The World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Specialized Agency for Tourism, has also expressed its deep concern and strong condemnation over the recently announced travel ban. It says the ban is contrary to the principles of freedom of travel and travel facilitation promoted by the international tourism community and will hinder the immense benefits of the tourism sector brings in terms of economic growth and job creation to many countries, including the USA.

The Secretary-General said “Global challenges demand global solutions and the security challenges that we face today should not prompt us to build new walls; on the contrary, isolationism and blind discriminatory actions will not lead to increased security, but rather to growing tensions and threats. Besides the direct impact, the image of a country which imposes travel bans in such a hostile way will surely be affected among visitors from all over the world and risk dumping travel demand to the USA.”

The value of tourism to the USA is over $246 billion which is 2.6% of the USA’s GDP. The three largest tourism source markets are China, Mexico and Canada. If the trade row with China takes off, as seems increasingly likely, the Chinese may simply turn off all inbound tourism. Clearly Mexicans are not feeling warm and fuzzy about the prospect of a wall and deportations, so they are likely to limit travel to the States. Which leaves us in Canada…. How should we react?

Here’s my take. We are closest of all other nations to the United States. We are best able to make the distinction between the uncivilized pronouncements of a rogue administration and the warmth and kindliness of the people of America. So we should not hesitate in planning our trips across the border. We should engage our hosts and seek common understanding, all the time enjoying the many wonders that America has to offer. Ultimately, fear comes from ignorance. The education that tourism offers is the most effective antidote to the dripping poison of extremism. Americans need Canadians more than ever.