travel

FILE - A traveler pulls their luggage between terminals at Logan International Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Boston. Airline and hotel elite status extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are expiring this year, and the companies are raising the requirements to earn status. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Airline, hotel elite status: Harder to get (or keep) in 2023

Tsunami of downgrades set to wipe out some travelers’ benefits

 

The Canadian border crossing is seen in Lacolle, Que. on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Border agencies in Canada, U.S. detail how new Nexus trusted-traveller plan will work

Change to take effect in the spring could involve U.S. interviews in certain Canadian airports

 

A Canadian passport sits on a suitcase in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. Social Development Minister Karina Gould says Service Canada has “virtually eliminated” the backlog of thousands of passport applications. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada’s passport application backlog now ‘virtually eliminated,’ minister says

Pandemic caused a nearly two-year lull in passport applications

 

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, arrive at the Hamilton Convention Centre, in Hamilton, Ont., ahead of the Liberal Cabinet retreat, on Monday, January 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn

Passport backlog update expected as federal cabinet retreat enters second day

Offices unable to deal with passport renewal applications as COVID-19 restrictions eased last year

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, arrive at the Hamilton Convention Centre, in Hamilton, Ont., ahead of the Liberal Cabinet retreat, on Monday, January 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Canada’s top public servant to look into the government’s procurement process over what he called a seemingly “illogical and inefficient” contract to develop the ArriveCan app. A person holds a smartphone set to the opening screen of the app in a photo illustration made in Toronto on June 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini

Subcontracting ArriveCan development ‘seems highly illogical and inefficient:’ PM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Canada’s top public servant to look…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Canada’s top public servant to look into the government’s procurement process over what he called a seemingly “illogical and inefficient” contract to develop the ArriveCan app. A person holds a smartphone set to the opening screen of the app in a photo illustration made in Toronto on June 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini
Guests are are shown in one of the many pools at the Grand Wailea Resort, Feb. 6, 2006 in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii. Resort fees that aren’t advertised as part of the room rate of a hotel stay can surprise many travelers when they see the final price. Some hotels say the separate fees help cover the costs of valuable amenities like classes or equipment rentals. Those fees may even encourage guests to use these amenities. But the government says resort fees are a play for profit because they reduce the commissions resorts must pay travel agents based on nightly rates and resorts aren’t being transparent enough about the added fees when travelers are trying to book. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, file)

As resort fees start to add up, are they ever worth it?

A look at the pros and cons of this increasingly common practice

Guests are are shown in one of the many pools at the Grand Wailea Resort, Feb. 6, 2006 in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii. Resort fees that aren’t advertised as part of the room rate of a hotel stay can surprise many travelers when they see the final price. Some hotels say the separate fees help cover the costs of valuable amenities like classes or equipment rentals. Those fees may even encourage guests to use these amenities. But the government says resort fees are a play for profit because they reduce the commissions resorts must pay travel agents based on nightly rates and resorts aren’t being transparent enough about the added fees when travelers are trying to book. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, file)
An Air Canada aircraft taxis at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Airlines top list of who to blame for 2022 holiday travel chaos across Canada, survey says

More Canadians blame weather and airlines rather than the federal government for December’s flight cancellations

An Air Canada aircraft taxis at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
Wild Blue Restaurant and Bar. Photo supplied

The culinary kingdom of Whistler

Glacier-level eats from steak and seafood to sushi and Thai

  • Jan 11, 2023
Wild Blue Restaurant and Bar. Photo supplied
A young boy who arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong wears a face mask and face shield at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Hopes high in B.C. as China lifts border rules, but tourism recovery may take months

Chinese travellers were the second biggest international market for B.C. in 2019

A young boy who arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong wears a face mask and face shield at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE - A Southwest Airlines passenger jet approaches Kansas City International Airport to land as geese fly overhead, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. A computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration brought flights to a standstill across the U.S. on Wednesday, with hundreds of delays quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Flight disruptions cascade across US after computer outage

Grounding order has been lifted but nearly 5,000 flights delayed and almost 900 cancelled

FILE - A Southwest Airlines passenger jet approaches Kansas City International Airport to land as geese fly overhead, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. A computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration brought flights to a standstill across the U.S. on Wednesday, with hundreds of delays quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Force airlines to automatically compensate travellers, passengers’ advocate says

MPs to begin an emergency study of the chaos across Canada’s airports over the holidays

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The Via Rail station is seen in Halifax on June 13, 2013. Martin Landry, CEO of the railway, says in a statement that beyond not having met the expectations of customers, Via Rail has not lived up to its own standards.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Via Rail apologizes for holiday travel disruptions, communication failures

Company offering refunds and travel credits after delays and cancellations

The Via Rail station is seen in Halifax on June 13, 2013. Martin Landry, CEO of the railway, says in a statement that beyond not having met the expectations of customers, Via Rail has not lived up to its own standards.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
A heavily armed army convoy departs the prosecutor’s building where Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, is in custody in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. The mayor of a Mexican city caught up in a wave of drug cartel violence last week wasted little time reassuring Canadians and other foreign visitors that his city is safe for travellers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Fernando Llano

Mazatlán mayor reassures Canadians and other visitors following cartel violence

Canadian tourists had to remain in hotels for days after arrest of major alleged drug leader

A heavily armed army convoy departs the prosecutor’s building where Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, is in custody in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. The mayor of a Mexican city caught up in a wave of drug cartel violence last week wasted little time reassuring Canadians and other foreign visitors that his city is safe for travellers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Fernando Llano
From left to right, Justin Bogdanovic, Shannon Dryer, Victor Dryer, Gabriel Dryer, Nikolas Bogdanovic and Kayden Dryer, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Victor Dryer

Travellers crave getaways but now weigh risks of lost baggage, poor weather, illness

One B.C. woman says she’s unlikely to ever take a travel holiday over Christmas again

From left to right, Justin Bogdanovic, Shannon Dryer, Victor Dryer, Gabriel Dryer, Nikolas Bogdanovic and Kayden Dryer, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Victor Dryer
Men carry furniture after looting a store, as a truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmán, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western state’s capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Martin Urista

Canadian tourists remain barricaded in hotel amid Mexican cartel violence

Hotel lobby full of people who slept there overnight after flights cancelled

Men carry furniture after looting a store, as a truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmán, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western state’s capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Martin Urista
Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez, right, and Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval leave after a news conference announcing the arrest of Ovidio Guzman in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Guzman, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Thursday in a pre-dawn operation outside Culiacan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eduardo Verdugo

Canadian government tells travellers in Mexico to shelter in place due to violence

Ottawa said the violence is particularly fierce in Culiacan, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave

Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez, right, and Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval leave after a news conference announcing the arrest of Ovidio Guzman in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Guzman, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Thursday in a pre-dawn operation outside Culiacan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eduardo Verdugo
A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says he wants to see more competition within Canada’s airspace in order to make flying more affordable for people.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Holiday travel mess shows why Canadian air travel industry needs competition: NDP

Singh calling on Liberal government to find ways to make the airline industry more competitive

A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says he wants to see more competition within Canada’s airspace in order to make flying more affordable for people.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
An aerial view over downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour. Victoria has been named the 10th friendliest city in the world by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria named 10th friendliest city in world by travel magazine

The readers of Conde Nast Traveler voted in the 35th Readers’ Choice awards

An aerial view over downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour. Victoria has been named the 10th friendliest city in the world by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. (Black Press Media file photo)
Peter Schiefke rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, May 4, 2018. Schiefke, chair of the House of Commons transport committee, is calling on Sunwing Airlines and Via Rail to publicly explain what caused the travel nightmare that plagued thousands of Canadians over the holidays. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

‘Unacceptable’: Committee chair says Sunwing, Via Rail must answer for holiday mess

House of Commons call for representatives from both companies to appear as witnesses

Peter Schiefke rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, May 4, 2018. Schiefke, chair of the House of Commons transport committee, is calling on Sunwing Airlines and Via Rail to publicly explain what caused the travel nightmare that plagued thousands of Canadians over the holidays. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A Sunwing Airlines jet prepares to takeoff at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on Friday, March 20, 2020. Some Sunwing travellers from Saskatchewan say the airline is leaving them at airports in other provinces, while another says her flight from Mexico that made it to Regina had dozens of empty seats. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Some Saskatchewan Sunwing passengers make it home, others make their own way back

‘We expect Sunwing to appropriately compensate everyone’: Saskatchewan premier

A Sunwing Airlines jet prepares to takeoff at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on Friday, March 20, 2020. Some Sunwing travellers from Saskatchewan say the airline is leaving them at airports in other provinces, while another says her flight from Mexico that made it to Regina had dozens of empty seats. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes