It takes a village

Building community in the heart of Nepal

ANN RUPPENSTEIN Rajani Shrestha is standing in the kitchen on the top floor of her house – or, our home, as she puts it – in Panauti, Nepal pinching and shaping a white substance made of rice flour, demonstrating how to make a Newari delicacy called yomari. Shrestha is one of 20 women in the historical village who have opened up their homes to travellers, most of whom visit the medieval...

 

Agents’ Choice Gala celebrates industry favourites, Raptors’ victory

A night to remember

TRAVEL COURIER STAFF (Photo above: All smiles as they pose for the camera (l-r) are Terry Mundell, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association; the 2019 recipient of the W.H. Baxter Lifetime Achievement Award, Josef Ebner; and Baxter Media’s president, David McClung.) The second annual Agents’ Choice Gala certainly lived up to its reputation as being the Canadian travel...

 

Authentically Caribbean

Escape to St. Vincent and The Grenadines

[caption id="attachment_124445" align="aligncenter" width="584"] ©The Curious Creature / www.thecuriouscreature.com[/caption] ANN RUPPENSTEIN “In the cottages, there’s no WiFi, there’s no TV. There’s minimal technology – only a Bose sound dock for music and a Nespresso coffee machine. That’s it,” General Manager Matthew Semark explains upon arrival at Petit St. Vincent Private...

 

Uncovering the beauty of India

Making travel a force for good on G Adventures' itineraries

ANN RUPPENSTEIN Minutes away from the most visited landmark in India is a small unassuming café without prices on the menu. After admiring the Taj Mahal and learning about the love story behind the iconic white mausoleum, which was built by the order of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, travellers can head to Sheroes Hangout in Agra for a cup of Masala milk tea and...

 

Sun shining as Transat takes off for winter 2020

BOB MOWAT Pictured above: (l-r) are Transat’s Gilles Ringwald, Dan Prior, Claude-Helene Faucher, Nicole Bursey, Joe Adamo, Dean Neville, and Marie-Annick Lalande. It was a beautiful day in Toronto as Transat welcomed a group of top-tier travel agency executives to The One Eighty on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre for its VIP Sun Product launch last week. Naturally, the crowd on...

 

Excellent adventure by Oregon

GREG COATES With such iconic landmarks as Mt. Hood, the Columbia River gorge – one of the top places in the world to windsurf – and Crater Lake, it's no wonder Oregon is attracting adventure seekers like never before. Adventure can be found virtually everywhere in Oregon. With this in mind, Oregon tourism officials have extended an invitation for travellers to “come find [themselves]...

 

Havana celebrates its first 500 years

IAN STALKER (Photo above: Rayler Navarro Cepero was serving mojitos at a re-creation of La Bodeguita del Medio on FITCuba grounds.) Havana is now throwing a lively and lengthy birthday bash, and you’re invited.Cuba’s capital is this year marking its 500th year, with the actual date of that milestone being Nov. 16. But, as Cuban tourism minister Manuel Marrero noted at this year’s...

 

Cruising Alaska a Joy with NCL

GREG COATES Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has enhanced the joy of cruising in Alaska with the deployment of the newly “revitalized” Norwegian Joy to The Last Frontier, joining sister ship Norwegian Bliss. Joy recently completed its inaugural Alaska sailing from Seattle. While in Juneau, history was made as Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Bliss were united, as the ships swapped berths at AJ...

 

Merit’s flagship store all about inspiring its customers

  BOB MOWAT (Photo above: Phil Sproul and Kristina Boyce are all smiles as they welcome guests to the Grand Opening of Merit Travel’s flagship store in downtown Toronto last week.) With all of the technology available today, it’s reason for pause to discover that more and more travel retailers are finding that there are some significant benefits in selling travel the “old...

 

Air Italy flying high with new Toronto-Milan service

ANN RUPPENSTEIN (Photo above: Air Italy’s COO Rossen Dimitrov is joined by Pam Ann, the alter-ego of Australian comedian Caroline Reid, during a Toronto gathering, along with Air Italy crew members Elia and Roberta.) Air Italy is taking off in Canada with the inauguration of non-stop service between Toronto and Milan. The airline’s first Canadian route will operate six times weekly...