WestJet offers customers chance to make changes ahead of possible strike

CALGARY - WestJet is offering customers set to fly ahead of a possible strike by the airline's flight attendants this summer a chance to make one-time changes to their bookings without fees.

The airline says the flexible travel policy applies to those planning to travel between July 30 and Aug. 4.

WestJet flight attendants could go on strike as soon as Aug. 2 if they are unable to reach a new deal.

The airline says talks with the union continue to progress and it's optimistic that it can reach an agreement.

Airfares jump and hotel prices soar on World Cup demand spike

Customers paid a lot more for travel services last month, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver — the country's host cities for the World Cup — Statistics Canada said Monday.

The cost of traveller accommodation in June rose 10 per cent overall, and about 20 per cent year-over-year in Ontario and British Columbia. Combined, their two biggest cities played host to 10 FIFA games in a 15-day span that month, plus three more in July.

Rental car prices rose nearly seven per cent across the country compared to June 2025 as travel demand increased, the agency said. In May, prices had fallen by nearly the same amount, suggesting a soccer-linked surge in rates for June.

As soccer fever set in, travel tours also cost nearly seven per cent more than a year earlier, as opposed to a year-over-year bump of less than one per cent in May.

WestJet adding two new direct flights from Winnipeg to warm-weather destinations

WestJet announced on Monday it will launch non-stop routes between Winnipeg and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and between Winnipeg and Belize City, Belize.

Fun-filled, far-out Falcon Lake

Hotels might loan bicycles, umbrellas, even fishing gear — but never fish. However, this is mirthful Manitoba and The Hotel at Falcon Lake appoints willing young guests as “fish-sitters.”

The front desk loans fishbowls of betta fish that require daily pinches of flaky food.

I asked staff, “Do fish ever return dead?”

The reply: “One died, but at the front desk. We held a service out front for Bubbles.”

Ontario’s wine industry adjusts as smoke discourages tourists

Some wineries and wine tourism companies in southern Ontario are making adjustments to their operations for visitors concerned about the lingering wildfire smoke in the air.

Even as the smoke dissipates, Rich Mell, co-owner of Grape Escape Wine Tours in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., says he spent most of his Thursday taking calls from tourists asking to cancel upcoming bookings or looking at other options going into the weekend, especially for bike wine tours.

"This one kind of snuck up on me, I must admit," Mell said of the wildfire smoke.

He said he is offering alternatives, such as e-bikes and vehicle tours, and is being more flexible with tour lengths and his rescheduling policy.

Ottawa city councillors fuming as unannounced fireworks show follows Canada Day storm

OTTAWA - The City of Ottawa's emergency manager apologized Monday after an unannounced late-night fireworks show rocked parts of the city last week.

Federal and municipal agencies say they are now trying to sort out who allowed the blasts to take place during a quiet period mandated by a city bylaw.

The surprise pyrotechnic display took place after 11 p.m. on July 9 as music fans were starting to file out of the popular Bluesfest concert festival site just west of downtown.

At least two city councillors have demanded answers after they received dozens of complaints from residents who said they felt unsafe or whose pets were in a frenzy.

Canadian travel to U.S. ticks up in June, but remains far below pre-Trump levels

Statistics Canada says residents travelled more to the U.S. last month, but visitor numbers remained far below 2024 levels.

Preliminary figures show Canadians' tally of return trips from the United States rose 3.2 per cent to 1.7 million in June from a year earlier, the third consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

The agency says the rise was driven by a 5.2 per cent boost in the number of car visits, while return trips by plane fell 3.8 per cent.

However, the uptick in year-over-year travel still marked a nearly 29 per cent drop from June of 2024, with both car and air travel far below levels from two years before.

Air Canada scales back U.S. flights again amid high fuel costs and weak demand

MONTREAL - Air Canada is once again scaling back flights to the U.S. amid high jet fuel costs and lower demand for trips south of the border.

Schedule changes by the country's largest carrier show it is halting or delaying eight transborder routes starting this fall.

Three routes from Toronto and Montreal to cities in America's Midwest will be cancelled for the second winter in a row, while three seasonal routes from Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City to Florida will start in December rather than October.

Two previously suspended routes from Montreal and Toronto to New York City's JFK airport also will not be returning this winter.

Making magic in Mallorca

From the top deck, I grab the swing rope, push off and accelerate in an elegant upward arc over the cerulean-blue Mediterranean Sea.

At the peak of the pendulum, I’m silhouetted in the sunset’s glow for a split second before letting go and splashing into the water

It’s a rinse-and-repeat type of exhilaration.

My wife Kerry and I, our friends Steve and Beryl, the couple from Liverpool and the couple from New Hampshire all take turns on the swing rope, laughing and trash talking everyone’s form.

The Bird River offers prime kayaking conditions in late spring

A two-hour drive northeast of Winnipeg, the lower Bird River is a popular draw for whitewater enthusiasts.

The water moves fast and the hazards — rapids, rocks and technical drops — are challenging.

This is not a beginner-friendly run. Paddlers need to keep their wits about them as they roll through Class 1 to 4 rapids.

The Bird River, flowing through the traditional territory of the Sagkeeng First Nation, stretches from the Ontario border, through Nopiming Provincial Park, before reaching the Winnipeg River, east of Lac du Bonnet.

Jet fuel prices drop, but airlines stick to high fares as summer travel holds strong

MONTREAL - Canadians continue to hop on board airplanes this summer even as ticket prices remain well above where they were last year — despite a recent drop in fuel costs.

As of late June, domestic economy airfares remained 11 per cent higher than a year earlier, while international fares were roughly comparable year-over-year, according to travel search platform Kayak.

Nonetheless, major North American airlines have said demand going into the peak travel season was proving resilient in spite of greater global conflict and Canadians’ shunning of the U.S.

"We’ve been in the green for the better part of the last two months. Despite multiple increases in fares, we have not seen demand (fall)," Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s chief commercial officer, told analysts on April 30 in reference to summer flights.

This pass high in the Swiss Alps is home to a James Bond car chase scene and a vintage steam railway

REALP, Switzerland (AP) — Train enthusiasts will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a historic Swiss railway this weekend as vintage steam locomotives ferry tourists through the stunning Alpine scenery as part of the celebration.

The Furka Pass, at an altitude of 2,431 meters (7,976 feet), is among Switzerland's highest Alpine passes and famous for its hairpin curves featured in the 1964 James Bond “Goldfinger” movie. But long before 007 actor Sean Connery filmed a harrowing car chase scene there, a steam train first traversed the steep and winding route in a continuous journey on July 3, 1926, kicking off a vital rail link between the regions of Uri and Valais in central Switzerland for decades.

In the early 1980s, a tunnel at the base of the Alps diverted rail traffic and prompted the closure of the historic mountain route until volunteers stepped in. Hundreds of them, nicknamed the railway's “pioneers,” have spent hours to restore, maintain and operate the historic tracks and trains so they run the same as a century ago.

The first section of the line reopened as a heritage railway in 1992, and the 18-kilometer (11-mile) track was ready for travel in 2010. The steam trains now operate exclusively as a tourist attraction in the summers between the stations of Realp and Oberwald, where visitors can hop aboard vintage carriages and marvel at the scenery of rivers, Alpine meadows and lush green pastures where patches of snow still linger.

Invited to a destination wedding? How to budget so your trip doesn’t break the bank

As destination weddings rise in popularity, guests face a financial dilemma: how to celebrate loved ones without derailing their own financial futures.

When the wedding invitation arrives with a picture of a tropical beach or a European castle, it carries an unspoken price tag that can often reach $3,000 or more. For many, especially younger adults who might be juggling multiple invitations in a single year, the question isn't just whether they want to attend, it's whether they can afford to.

"A lot of guests underestimate the full cost beyond the room rate," says Leila Lavaee, founder of Travel Design by Leila. "Flights, transfers, meals, baggage fees, seat selection, and currency conversion can add up fast."

Traditionally, the expectation has been that guests cover their own travel and accommodations, while couples pay for wedding-related events.

Hotel occupancy down in Toronto during first weeks of World Cup

TORONTO - An organization representing Toronto hotels says demand for accommodations in the city is down as more rooms stood empty during the first two weeks of the World Cup than in the same time last year.

Sara Anghel, president of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, says she’s optimistic the international soccer tournament will be a boon to the city’s hotel industry in the years to come, but with the World Cup underway, hotels haven’t been seeing immediate benefits. 

Anghel says 82 per cent of hotel rooms were occupied in the second week of June — when Toronto hosted Canada’s first match of the tournament — down from 83 per cent in the same period last year. 

There was a much more significant decline in the third week of June, when Anghel says the hotel occupancy rate dropped to 72 per cent, compared with 86 per cent last year. 

Skijor no more: Banff says so long to skijoring events as popularity strains townsite

BANFF - Skijor is no more in the Rocky Mountain resort of Banff.

The Alberta town has cancelled the popular snow sport from its winter festival, after the community was overwhelmed in January with trash, crowds and rowdy revellers.

"It's been such a one-of-a-kind experience on Banff Avenue, so I certainly can understand that this could be disappointing news to folks," Mayor Corrie DiManno said Thursday.

Skijoring, pronounced skee-JORR-ing, is a unique winter sport where skiers are pulled behind galloping horses and can perform tricks, including soaring off snow-packed ramps.