Malahat Skywalk adds to Canada’s growing list of elevated attractions

With the official opening of Malahat SkyWalk on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island last week, Canada has added another “skywalk” attraction.

Located about 35 minutes drive from Victoria, Malahat SkyWalk visitors embark along a 600 m (1,968 ft) elevated, wooden walkway rising 20 m (65 ft) through an arbutus and Douglas fir forest. Guests then ascend a circular ramp gently rising to the top of a 10-storey, architecturally-inspiring spiral tower lookout.

At the top of the tower, guests are 250 m (820 ft) above sea level and enjoy 360-degree views of two countries, including islands, inlets, fjords, forests and mountains in B.C. and Washington State. Also at the top, daring guests can walk on an adventure net suspended partially across the centre of the tower for another thrilling perspective.

On the descent, guests can choose to retrace their steps or take an exhilarating ride down a 20 m (65 ft) spiral slide. Available to everyone over five years of age or minimum 107 cm (42 in) tall, guests can ride as many times as they like.

Malahat SkyWalk is located on the traditional territory of the Malahat Nation and their Indigenous stories are embedded in the visitor experience.

Tickets are available online at www.malahatskywalk.com/pass and are valid for one year from date of purchase. Admission is $31.95 CAD (adult 18+), $28.95 CAD (senior 65+), $18.95 CAD (child aged 6-17) and $86.00 CAD (two adults, two children), plus taxes. Children aged five and under are free.

If you want more skywalking adventures, here are some other elevated attractions you can experience in Canada:

Columbia Icefield Skywalk
Jasper, Alberta

Step out on a cliff-edge walkway where giant glaciers perch above you and the spectacular Sunwapta Valley spreads out below. The Columbia Icefield Skywalk experience features waterfalls, wildlife, fossils and more on an exciting 1-kilometre walkway that leads to a platform where glass is all that separates you from a 918-foot (280 m) drop. The walk is presented in an interpretive storytelling format that will connect you to the natural world in a deep and meaningful way.

https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/columbia-icefield/skywalk/

Saint John Skywalk
Saint John, New Brunswick

Handout photo: Saint John Skwyalk

The Reversing Falls Rapids on the Saint John River in New Brunswick have amazed visitors for generations. As the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy rush up the river twice per day, they reverse the direction of the river’s flow that is an unforgettable demonstration of nature’s power. Visitors can step out on the glass-bottomed skywalk that perches above the roiling waters below. There’s also an adjacent restaurant that they can visit before or after the tide’s approach

https://www.skywalksaintjohn.com

CN Tower’s Glass Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Handout photo: CN Tower

The granddaddy of all glass-bottomed attractions in Canada is the CN Tower’s glass floor that was the world’s first when it opened in 1994. A mere 2 1/2″ of glass keeps you safe from the ground which is 342 m (1,122 ft) below, but it’s strong enough that you can walk on it, or even jump on it, without worry. Despite those reassurances, you have to force your mind to tell you that it’s safe when you step out on the transparent 23.8 square metres (256 sq. ft) surface. If that’s not scary enough for you, then you might be ready for the EdgeWalk, where you walk outside the tower while attached with safety straps.

https://www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/attractions/glass-floor.html

 

As Tourism Week begins, many Canadian province’s still restrict travel

Canada canoe

As Tourism Week in Canada kicks off, it’s still unclear where Canadians will be able to travel this summer. The American border remains closed until at least June 21, international travel restrictions are still being strictly enforced and some provinces still discourage visitors from other parts of the country.

Despite the uncertainty, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) says that vaccinations are the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. Seeing our American neighbours and people from the U.K. already beginning to take vacations, the feeling is that it won’t be long before Canadians will join them.

However, before we all jet off to foreign locales, TIAC is asking Canadians to take a special pledge to support tourism in Canada. They want to drive more domestic tourism business to Canadian travel firms which have lost billions of dollars during the pandemic.

“We are calling on Canadians to take the 2021 Tourism Pledge to travel in Canada, when restrictions are lifted,” says Beth Potter, the President and CEO of TIAC in a release. “This is an invitation to come together as a country and support our local tourism destinations, businesses and employees.”

If Canadian consumers decided to shift two-thirds of their planned international holiday expenditures towards domestic tourism, it would make up for the estimated $19 billion shortfall currently facing the visitor economy, per a recent report by Destination Canada. It would also help sustain 150,000 jobs and accelerate the recovery of the tourism sector by one year.

“We understand that everyone is eager for some much-needed vacation time and we are calling on Canadians to plan their future travel within Canada,” said Marsha Walden, President and Chief Executive Officer, Destination Canada.

For now, that probably means staying in your home province, but things could start opening up as the summer progresses and more people are fully vaccinated.

Newfoundland & Labrador

The advisory council to Newfoundland’s premier filed a report last week that called on the provincial government to reopen  the province’s borders to the rest of Canada by July 1.

The committee recommends that until vulnerable groups in the province are fully vaccinated, visitors be tested for COVID-19 before arrival although they won’t have to quarantine. The next stage would be to re-open the Atlantic bubble then allow partially vaccinated Canadians to enter as of June 1, although they must present a negative COVID test before arrival.

Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia, lockdown restrictions that have limited travel have been extended and the province’s premier has said they could last until at least June 1.

In one Global News report, tourism operators were pessimistic that this year’s tourism season would be worse than last summer when the Atlantic bubble partially saved their season.

Prince Edward Island

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King told CBC News he would announce reopening plans on Thursday.

“I think you will see our measures that will include testing coming into our province through all of our points of entry as an added level of protection for Islanders. As more and more of us get vaccinated, we can back our way out of that. That’s going to be part of the plan,” he said.

The premier said the province hopes to allow visitors from the Atlantic region “really soon” and from the rest of Canada in the later end of the summer season.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is keen to welcome tourists back to the province, at least from the rest of Atlantic Canada.

“We are hoping to open the Atlantic Bubble in July to get the season started,” said Carol Alderdice, the President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick. “Our operators have been exceptional at implementing protective measures against the spread of COVID-19 for over a year and we are ready to greet our guests.”

Last year, the province introduced the NB Travel Incentive program which offered rebates for residents who travelled within the province.

The province has said the program will return this summer, but has released no further details.

“As long as all things continue to improve in relation to COVID-19, we will look forward to announcing the dates of the summer Explore NB Travel Incentive Program,” Morgan Bell, a communications officer with Tourism, Heritage and Culture told CBC News.

Quebec

The Quebec government is offering  discounted provincial park passes as well as subsidized activities and vacation packages to encourage local tourism.

“The pandemic has had negative consequences for tourism businesses. These initiatives are a way for the government to revive the industry,” Quebec’s Minister of Tourism Caroline Proulx told CBC News. “I honestly believe that we will have a better tourist summer, especially with the return of festivals.”

The province’s Explore Québec program  offers travel packages at a minimum of 25 per cent off along with other offers at Quebec Getaways.

Ontario

Canada’s largest province announced its reopening plan last week that sets June 14 to restart some activities that would allow a certain amount of tourist traffic to resume, with further restrictions being eased in July and a near return to normality in August. However, there’s concern that those dates aren’t set in stone as they are conditional on certain vaccination and caseload milestones being met.

The province’s border remains closed with neighbouring Quebec and Manitoba to non-essential travel until June 2, but there have been noises that it could be extended, possibly until the June 14 date that is part of the reopening plan.

Manitoba

The tourism picture for Manitoba this summer is unclear, but there’s some optimism that the province will beat back the third wave and gradually begin reopening, at least to local visitors.

Destination Canada projects the province’s tourism businesses will lose about $400 million this year, but that’s a best-case scenario if tourism is permitted by July. Things are bleaker if they remain closed until the end of the summer, reported CBC News.

Saskatchewan

Many provinces are modelling their reopening plans after Saskatchewan’s “road map,” which itself is inspired by the actions of well-vaccinated jurisdictions like Israel and the U.K.

As destinations and activities reopen throughout the summer,  Tourism Saskatchewan predicts a good summer ahead with about 75 or 80 percent of the activity it would see in a normal year.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel which is something I think the industry and public sees that, “ spokesperson Jonathan Potts told CKRM.  “If people continue to get vaccinated and things continue going in Saskatchewan’s favour, we could see a fairly normal summer this year.”

Alberta

Alberta is still battling its third wave of COVID infections, but premier Jason Kenney has said the provinces will soon outline its reopening plan.

“It’ll be a careful plan that will get us to a great Alberta summer as long as Albertans continue the huge momentum to get vaccinated,” he said.

In an interview with Global News, the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta’s Darren Reeder said he fully expects the province to reopen travel within the coming weeks, but doesn’t think it will see any international travellers.

He hoped that the provincial government would offer tax credits or vouchers to incentivize staycations in order to overcome that shortfall and the association would do its part to encourage Albertans to discover what their province has to offer

“There are things in your own backyard and adventure is something you create with your own ingenuity and your own creativity,” he said.

British Columbia

B.C. premier John Horgan has also promised a reopening plan this week which would outline under what conditions travel restrictions will be lifted.

Tourism Industry Association of B.C. chief executive officer Walt Judas told CBC that it wants restrictions lifted on non-essential travel that have ravaged the province’s tourism  industry.

Judas said the association wants provincial travel reopened this week, followed by increased interprovincial visitors and ultimately international tourists.

Yukon

Yukon has closed off its borders to domestic and international travel for much of the pandemic, but now its plan is to allow anyone who is fully vaccinated to visit and enjoy the territory’s immense beauty.

News and Notes: enRoute film festival, CityPASS in NYC and Stars coming to Jasper

It’s time to comb through my inbox to find the most interesting news and releases. Here are the items that I wanted to share.

Air Canada enRoute Film Festival celebrates 10th Anniversary

The Air Canada enRoute Film Festival will showcase emerging Canadian short film talent on Air Canada flights around the world from August 1 to December 31, 2016.

The 20 selected shorts will be announced at a free outdoor public screening at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday, July 20 at 8:00 p.m. with the screening starting at sundown.

The selected short films will be available to millions of Air Canada passengers on their personal seatback in-flight entertainment system and online at enRoutefilm.com.

Passengers and movie lovers alike will have the chance to vote for their favourite film to win the People’s Choice Award. Voting will start in August on enRoutefilm.com and run to October 31, 2016.

 


CityPASS lets people discover New York attractions for less

CityPASS announces New York C3, a new product that allows users to select any three of New York City’s top attractions at one low price using a mobile pass.

Designed for shorter-stay visitors, New York C3 offers CityPASS’ same signature savings and opportunities to skip most ticket lines. Users can select three attractions from this curated list of 10 must-see sights:

  • The Empire State Building Experience
  • Top of the Rock Observation Deck
  • American Museum of Natural History
  • 9/11 Memorial & Museum
  • Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
  • Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
  • Guggenheim Museum
  • Hornblower Sightseeing Cruises

New York C3 is accessible as a mobile pass on users’ smartphones, allowing users to select attractions as they go instead of choosing preferred experiences at the time of purchase.

New York C3 is available for purchase exclusively through citypass.com. The price is $71 US for adults and $51 for children (ages 4-12,) offering savings up to 25 percent off the cost of individual admission tickets. Each pass is valid for nine consecutive days, starting the first day of use.


See the stars under the stars at Jasper’s 2016 Dark Sky Festival

World-renowned scientist and educator, Bill Nye will be a keynote speaker at the 2016 Dark Sky Festival presented by Rocky Mountaineer.

Running October 14 – 23, this year’s Jasper Dark Sky Festival will feature two separate days with Bill Nye: an adults-only engagement and VIP event on Friday, October 14 and a family-friendly afternoon on Saturday, October 15.

Also joining this year’s line-up is actor, social justice activist and social media powerhouse, George Takei.

Best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, Takei will appear at the festival on the night of Friday October 21.

Tickets go on sale Monday, July 4 at http://jasperdarksky.travel.


Cruise Canada’s Arctic with award-winning filmmakers

Award-winning wildlife filmmakers, Neil Nightingale and Karen Bass, will be special guests on One Ocean Expeditions’ 12-night Baffin Island – Jewel of the High Arctic cruise, departing on August 1, 2016.

While Head of The BBC’s Natural History Unit Neil oversaw an immense number of successful TV series including LifePlanet EarthBig Cat LiveFrozen PlanetDeadly 60 and Springwatch.  He also directed the recent theatrical films, Walking With Dinosaurs and Wild Africa.

Karen is a television director and producer with a passion for travel and natural history who, during 30 years with the BBC’s Natural History Unit and National Geographic, has made wildlife films in almost every corner of the Earth.

Together they, and other on-board experts, will regale passengers with fascinating tales of their many interesting travel experiences, answer questions and educate with a series of presentations about the environment, wildlife and history of Baffin Island and the Canadian Arctic.

Prices start from $7,995 U.S. per person, based on triple share and include travel on a special charter flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit, all meals on board the ship and excursions as outlined, plus a charter flight from Resolute to Edmonton at the end of the voyage.

For further information, visit www.oneoceanexpeditions.com/voyages. 


Air Transat gets high marks in Quebec

The Protégez-Vous customer satisfaction survey, which ranked companies according to their customer service, placed Air Transat in the “above-average satisfaction” group, third after Porter and KLM.

Airlines were evaluated on various criteria, such as the importance given to clients, staff courteousness, product and service knowledge, timely and efficient service, problem-solving skills, prices, product or service quality, and the overall satisfaction of consumers.

Between March 7 and 28, 2016, more than 3,000 people participated in the customer service survey at DataConso.ca, the Protégez-Vous consumer community. To see the survey, visit http://www.protegez-vous.ca/Argent/service-clientele.

Photos: Awesome views of Alberta

Photo by sven_fingers via Instagram

The devastating wildfires in the Alberta community of Fort McMurray have generated sympathy and support from all Canadians and people from around the world.

To remind us of what a beautiful province Alberta is and one that is worthy of your tourist dollars, here is a gallery of awesome views of that province, led off by one that shows the terrible fire that is making headlines.


https://instagram.com/p/BE5C2arBcXJ/
https://instagram.com/p/BFCKdQ_oBFj/


https://instagram.com/p/BFCIQaPM2jo/
https://instagram.com/p/BFCFOLZvqD2/


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