Toronto ’25 – Reflections

Politics of Tourism

Travel in Canada has some “zip” this year! It’s no secret that recent geo-political instability has impacted long established travel routines. Exploring our own country has suddenly become a very popular idea. Plates from Ontario / Quebec that are vacationing in Atlantic Canada are up noticeably. And yes… American 🇺🇸 plates are still moving along the highways and byways! It’s win / win in the profit column!

Janie and I are case in point, as we’ve freely incorporated annual journeys to our international neighbours without serious concern or hesitation. However, we are focused entirely on Canada and Europe this year. I’d even look at Greenland as a show of solidarity 🤝 rather than cross our land border. It’s tough… as we do miss lifelong friends from Maine that have always been a travel stop.

Thus, season 2025 has presented differently statistically! Travel via airline and land border crossings are down across the board. Flights to US reduced, but additions to European destinations. It’s a broad, mostly silent statement that we have chosen to remove ourselves from the equation, whether it be for reasons of personal freedom and safety all the way to an effort to “deaden the noise” and maintain stability. As with most “movements”, I suspect the trend may fade as passions normalize. I would suggest, however, that impacts of travel boycotting by Canadians will have a certain permanency and long term effects on travel industry markets and trends.

Canada is beautiful, travelling it is safe, and its people are its best asset. Bring it on!!!

Group Travel

We have, for the most part, completed independent / family based travelling. This was travel for Janie and I, and earlier family trips with the kids and occasionally Eileen. There are exceptions, including travel with the Grahams and students to Europe, that pushed broader planning and scope that support larger group consideration. This trip was with family, but indeed a larger group that required another level of requirement for meals, accommodation and complementary attractions.

Let’s walk through that in key areas… meals, accommodation and attractions.

Meals are all about preference, which makes them “tough”, as it’s such a personal thing. We really didn’t consider foodie experiences much beyond the concept of fuel in early travel. Friends, such as Andrew and Lori Graham / Mike and Kathy Hinchey, opened our eyes to turning dining into an attraction. And isn’t making meals a celebration of food, flavours and company of much more value and learning than gnawing for protein! Meals for a group… in selecting we use reviews (both online and word of mouth), try to do our best to accommodate any special eating requirements, and whenever possible make a reservation and share menu details! You’ve then done your best to put an informed choice of “what to eat” in the hands of the group members.

Janie takes great pleasure in selecting accommodations, whether it’s just us or a larger group, calling it a real world HGTV search. I offer location requests such as proximity to certain metro stations. Janie goes through websites like AirBnB, VRBO, booking.com, & Google, adding filters to searches to get a better idea for what the market is providing. Filters often need to be tweaked to find the best options. For example, searching for accommodations for a party of 8 hit more appropriate options than a party of 6. Foregoing any unnecessary amenities such as a “view” but clicking on “Washer/Dryer” were filter selections that made sense this trip. She makes a spreadsheet to keep track of options to consider the best choice. For the larger group on this trip she chose to favour the benefit of closer location, rather than amenities. It meant a slightly higher price but a winning trade off for avoiding added travel requirements. Very often the expression “you get what you pay for” holds true if you consider value.

Most attractions can easily handle a group of six, which we represented, on this trip. Generally, having a shared itinerary (ours was circulated months in advance) that provides at least a working expectation of when / where / details to support efficiency at arrival / departure times for attractions (as well as meals, transportation). We used a detailed itinerary from PEI departure through return. We also texted any required changes for amendment. Tickets being downloaded / in wallet early is also a great tip for fluidity at attraction gates when it’s a larger group.  Vendor ticketing processes can vary, so being prepared before the turnstile will streamline visits and be easier for all involved. Oh… phones are very useful when everyone commits! Immediate updating is great, as long as phones are charged and service / connection is in place.

Attractions Based Travel Planning

Janie and I had a very involved discussion on the return in regard to “Attraction Based Planning”. At the heart of the conversation, we decided, was the “persona” a trip takes based on whether the destination, as opposed to attraction, is the initial decision. Although it may seem inconsequential, it really impacts the direction one prepares / plans / organizes an itinerary. Maybe I can unpack that using our last two trips as examples.

In July we were on a flight to Europe that almost beat the closing of the school house door 😂. The impetus for that trip was to experience the capital cities of Scandinavia. Thus, the rest of the planning folded around opportunities afforded on the ground and in transit to that location. Having the location compartmentalized a range for transportation, accommodations and, lastly, potential attractions. City first… what to do second!

Alternatively, the core of this trip was the opportunity to go to a couple of Blue Jays games. An attraction, then, was the first component of itinerary development. It took location out of the mix (Jays games on the dates we selected were in Toronto) and left us with the planning task of targeting both nearby and on route accommodation and dining. It also left the door open for potential complementary attractions (ie Toronto Island, St Lawrence Market – Cities of Montreal and Quebec City). Attraction first, complementary attractions / lodging / transportation to follow.

For attraction first planning, it is important to consider that the planning be done far in advance. An attraction like taking in a few Jays games, while surviving a cold winter in late March, may not have been in as much demand as it certainly became by the early part of July. There’s no way we would’ve found an accommodation like we did if we had waited that long to book our spot. Think of it this way… 50,000 others are going to the game (amidst everything else going on in a city like TO), and a considerable percentage are likely visitors. Getting the worm early is important! In the end, whether it be “attraction” or a specific “destination” that’s the draw, you will find these scenarios impact how one plans.

Smile wide everyone… 📸

This trip, being quite vehicle based with loads of car time, seemed to garner less of the usual trip taking photos. However, we’ve amassed a few of the pics (sort of a collection from everyone) and I’ll drop a gallery link below so you can get a slice of the photos (lots of baseball / city scene / foodie type images) we captured on this fun summer run to the big smoke and back!!! Enjoy…

Toronto ’25 – Gallery

… Toronto ’25