Jim Byers' Travel Blog
Get travel news & updates for everyone from high-rollers
looking for the next French Riviera to budget-minded folks hoping for a
bargain in southern Ontario or Canada.
Fri Jan 10 2014
Fall of Canadian dollar makes your winter vacation that much more expensive. But it's good news for Canada tourism.
Your winter vacation may have just become more expensive.
On the other hand, if you work in the hospitality industry in Toronto
you might have more money in your pocket for a holiday next year.
The Canadian dollar is dropping, in case you hadn’t noticed. After
being close to par against the American greenback for some time, the
loonie has slipped. Badly. As of Thursday, it was down to 92 cents and
change against the mighty U.S. dollar. That’s about as low as we’ve been
in four and-a-half years.
What that means for many of us is that hotel in Florida or Myrtle
Beach we plan to spend March Break in may have gone up in price. Instead
of spending $100 for a room, it might now cost you $108. Multiply that
by six nights and you’re out about $50. Plus the cost of gas and meals
and entertainment over a week.
It’s not an inconsiderable jump, although we’ll still pay a lot less
for most things than we do in Canada. Look at it this way, at least you
don’t have to pay 13 per cent GST at the outlet mall in Florida. And you
can still find bars selling cold Corona’s for a buck at happy hour,
something you’d NEVER see north of the border.
Still, it’s causing some angst for travelers worried about losing money.
David McCaig, president of the Association of Canadian Travel
Agencies, told CTV that the lower dollar hasn’t had much effect on
Canadians booking vacations down south. But it might if things continue,
he said.
Back in 2009, McCaig said travel agencies across the country saw
declines in the number of vacations Canadians were booking, CTV
reported.
Instead of packing their bags and heading south or to the
Mediterranean, many opted to have a "staycation" or travel within the
country to stretch their dollar.
The travel industry may see this again if prices for vacations begin to creep up on a lower Canadian dollar, he told CTV.
For now, agencies continue to see a lot of "pent-up demand" to get
away to the Caribbean, the U.S. and Europe, an urge exacerbated by the
frigid temperatures that have recently gripped most of Canada.
"It's cold enough in Canada that everyone wants to get away," said McCaig, whose group represents 2,000 agencies.
No kidding.
While a pain for many folks heading south, the dollar’s drop probably
is good news if you run a restaurant or a hotel and want to attract
Americans. This country is inordinately expensive, so if we can
advertise that our dollar is worth an extra 10 per cent to a visitor
from Buffalo or Chicago, that’s a good thing.
NO SEX PLEASE, WE’RE CANADIAN
Honestly, I don’t know what to make of this. I see today that Peter
McKay, Canada’s Justice Minister, is warning that Canada risks becoming
another Bangkok or Las Vegas if the federal government doesn’t replace
the prostitution laws recently struck down by the Supreme Court of
Canda.
I have several thoughts, now that I think about it. One is that Peter
McKay is an idiot. The other is that he’s just another Conservative boor
who doesn’t have the faintest idea about the real world.
Canada another Bangkok? Another Las Vegas? It is to laugh. I mean, our
morality and our general sense of propriety would never allow it to
happen. I don’t care what the Supreme Court says, Canada isn’t about to
become the world’s most northerly brothel state.
Not only is this country’s moral compass too strong to allow that to
happen, HAS THIS EVER LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW??? Does he really think
people who know flock to the tropical streets of Bangkok or to the
sinful strip in Las Vegas are going to come to the land of ice and snow
for a little nooky? Geez, Peter, they can’t even land at Pearson during a
cold snap, how can they make their way to Yonge St. for a little song
and dance?
"We do not want Canada to become a haven for sex tourism," MacKay told QMI Agency.
Last month, the highest court in the country ruled Canada's bans on
brothels, communicating for the purpose of prostitution and living off
its profits unconstitutional. It also gave Parliament a year before
those laws would be wiped off the books.
MacKay promises the Conservatives will fill the void with new
legislation. Which is probably a good thing. I guess. But let’s not
pretend we’re suddenly going to be overrun with sex maniacs.
AND DON’T CALL US AMERICANS
Fun report on CNN
about how the folks in British tourism put out one of those
unintentionally hilarious (and insulting) guides about how to treat
foreigners.
The guide says tourism folks in Britain need to anticipate the needs
of Japanese visitors but that with French folks they should avoid
“exchanging a smile or making eye contact” if they don’t know them.
Bizarre.
The guide suggests Canadians will bristle if someone mistakenly calls
them an American, which probably isn’t quite true. We might take
umbrage, but we wouldn’t bristle. Or complain.
There are other hilarious bits, including advice that Russians
shouldn’t be given small rooms because they’re such tall people and that
Indians “are amiable, but have a tendency to change their minds.”
Yes, they do, and now they’re changing their minds about a trip to
England and instead heading to France, where they won’t have to make eye
contact. Or to Russia, where apparently all the rooms have 10 foot
ceilings.
The best advice concerned the poor Germans, who’ve done nothing but
bail out all of Europe the last few months. Instead of acting grateful,
the British tourism folks suggest that hoteliers or restaurateurs "deal
promptly with any complaint" from them, lest they become even more "rude
and aggressive" than they can already appear.
You can’t make this stuff up. You really can’t.
COMMANDER HADFIELD GOES GREEN
I love that our singing astronaut, Chris Hadfield, is becoming a
tourism ambassador for Ireland. It’s a great country, and he seems like a
great guy.
According to QMI
, Tourism Ireland says it is hoping that Hadfield will help make
Ireland a top vacation destination by showcasing some of the country's
top visitor attractions and experiences over the coming week.
According to Tourism Ireland's website, the organization will create three short films of Hadfield's five-day visit, QMI said.
Hadfield and his wife Helene will visit Croke Park and the Guinness
Storehouse in Dublin, as well as Donegal, and in Northern Ireland they
will tour Armagh, Cushendall, the Glens of Antrim and Titanic Belfast.
Hadfield will also post about his experiences to his more than one
million Twitter followers.
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