Funny Picture

Flight Centre brings together airlines, hotels, cruise lines and tour companies in a mid-winter Travel Expo, making it hard to walk even twenty feet without booking a vacation somewhere. The February 2nd show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was free, which is what I like. I hate when a show is there to sell you a product and you have to pay to get in - like the auto show, where all the car manufacturers crowd into a building then make you wait in lines and pay for the chance to buy a car, those guys should be paying us!
People took advantage of the deals and the seminars to get maximum benefit from the travel event. A contestant climbs into a money cyclone to pick up discount dollars in the above photo.


The UN World Tourism Organization UNWTO says that international tourism will continue with robust growth in 2013 so it was not surprising that so many people came down to the convention centre. 2012's over 1 billion tourist arrivals is expected to grow 3-4% with 2012 top growth spots being South-East Asia and North Africa while Asia and the Pacific are the 2013 top growth prospects. Overall Europe remains the top region for visitors with over 535 million arrivals in 2012.

“2012 saw continued economic volatility around the globe, particularly in the Eurozone. Yet international tourism managed to stay on course” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “The sector has shown its capacity to adjust to the changing market conditions and, although at a slightly more modest rate, is expected to continue expanding in 2013. Tourism is thus one of the pillars that should be supported by governments around the world as part of the solution to stimulating economic growth,” he added.

"Among the top ten tourist destinations, receipts were up significantly in Hong Kong (China) (+16%), the USA (+10%), the UK (+6%) and Germany (+5%). At the same time, a significant number of destinations around the world saw receipts from international tourism increase by 15% or more – Japan (+37%), India and South Africa (both +22%), Sweden and the Republic of Korea (both +19%), Thailand (+18%) and Poland (+16%)."

Either a Hobbit was in the #Toronto Eaton Centre or it was a bearded gnome wearing a red cone hat. Yup, it's a friendly gnome wearing shades! Travelocity have a contest at the mall with a chance to win a trip to Aruba. I believe you had to search through an enclosure filled with white packing foam and find something, maybe another gnome.

Christmas is over, long live Christmas. Now the stores are filling up with red hearts and heart shaped chocolates, which got me thinking - when is Valentines Day? It's always better to know these dates ahead of time so here you go, Valentine's Day is Thursday, February 14, 2013. Time to think about the present you are going to get your loved one, or maybe it is time for a trip, maybe even a second honeymoon.
I actually spent my honeymoon in Niagara Falls and it is a great way to spend some quality time sparking and spooning. Even in winter the area around the falls is full of excitement and things to do. Wine country has the upcoming Niagara Icewine Festival from January 11-27, 2013.

Champagne and fireworks are the stuff of New Years Eve and if you are adventurous you can always take to the airways and hit one or all of Expedia's top five destinations for Canadians to ring in the new year; 1) New York - $329, 2) Las Vegas - $646, 3) Fort Lauderdale - $637, 4) Orlando - $629 and 5) Miami - $631. The prices shown are average round trip ticket prices for stand-alone bookings on Expedia with departures between December 27-31, 2012.

"Regionally, New Year’s Eve destination preferences varied. Las Vegas was the only city that made the top five list for each market studied – Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Consistent for all departure cities was the prevalence of warmer southern destinations such as Orlando for East Coast departures and Los Angeles for those out West. New York, world-famous for its countdown in Times Square, appeared only as a top destination for travellers flying out of Toronto."

Expedia also offers a Boxing Week Sale where you can even find savings up to 50% on their hotel bookings.

Top trends in Google searches for Canada showed that #Toronto was our country's most searched City in Google Maps for 2012. Take that Brampton - actually they weren't even on the list. The top searches can be found on Google's Zeitgest site: Zeitgeist search results for 2012. The top three most searched Canadian destinations were 1. Hotel, 2. Restaurant and 3. Camping. I did a double take there, I mean camping? How did that happen so often? You can explore the culmination of a year of searches on Zeitgeist - see where a the worldwide 1.2 trillion top searches brought online viewers. Do you feel lucky, punk? Because if you do please press the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.
Top searched Canadian cities in Google Maps: 1. Toronto, 2. Montreal, 3. Calgary, 4. Vancouver, 5. Ottawa, 6. Edmonton, 7. Winnipeg, 8. Winnipeg, 9. Niagara Falls and 10. Quebec City.


I looked at Google Web Search to see the top twenty Toronto tourist attractions and they were as follows: 1. CN Tower, 2. Toronto Zoo, 3. Toronto Eaton Centre, 4. Paramount Canada's Wonderland (not even in Toronto), 5. Casa Loma, 6. Royal Ontario Museum, 7. Rogers Centre, 8. Toronto Islands, 9. Air Canada Centre, 10. Art Gallery of Ontario, 11. Ontario Science Centre, 12. Hockey Hall of Fame, 13. Yorkville, 14. Distillery District, 15. The Beaches, 16. Kensington Market, 17. High Park, 18. Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 19. Massey Hall and 20. Molson Canadian Amphitheatre.

Google Trends shows that the search for Toronto tourist attractions peaks in July. I love summer too!

In just one year over one billion tourists will have traveled the world. During the year 2012 (OMG it's almost over!) international tourism has set a new record, one which was celebrated by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with a symbolic one billionth tourist chosen on December 13, 2012 in Madrid Spain. The lucky tourist was Mrs Dale Sheppard-Floyd from the United Kingdom as she arrived in Spain, pictured above in a photo from UNWTO.

“Today, we welcome the symbolic arrival of the one-billionth tourist” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “Your actions count. That is our message to the one billion tourists. Through the right actions and choices, each tourist represents an opportunity for a fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable future.”
The majority of world tourists are from Europe (53%) vacationing in Europe (51%) - traveling mostly for leisure  recreation and holidays (51%). Tourism provides one in every twelve jobs and is one of the largest economic sectors in the world with over 9% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The massive financial impact can drive growth and development which can provide many opportunities for both advanced and developing countries.

Jose Manuel Soria, Spain's Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, welcomed Mrs Dale Sheppard-Floyd - one of 58 million international visitors to Spain in 2012, and noted that “Spain is one of the world’s leading tourism destinations, where the sector represents 11% of the country’s economy.”

Travelers are encouraged to respect local culture, heritage and to buy local goods to help support the countries they visit and to make a positive difference in the world. Public participation in determining the best travel trip was revealed during the one billion tourist celebration: "Buy local", in second place was "Respect local Culture".

It would be almost impossible to actually determine who was in fact the lucky one billionth tourist so the symbolic determination was also repeated by several nations on December 13.

Tourism benefits not only the countries that see tourist dollars but also the tourists who learn a little of the life of those they interact with. And once you get the travel bug it is easier to head out on the road for another adventure.

Japanese Macaque snow monkeys spend the day grooming and hanging out in the hot springs of Nagano, discussing politics and economic policies, while visitors drop by, fascinated by the cute and fuzzy primates.

Maybe the North York, Toronto Ikea Rhesus Macaque monkey is a relative of these guys. The Ikea monkey wore diapers and an adorable jacket when he escaped both his cage and his car. He was later caught by animal control and taken from his owner as it is illegal to have these types of primates as pets. I love the twitter joke where they photo-shopped the monkey in front of Ikea shouting "start the car, start the car!"

See more of the monkeys and sights of Japan after the jump. Posted by Joe Hamilton.

Here are some more adventures of @Joeythedingo in Japan. Joe goes up one of the many escalators he encountered on his trip in the photo at top.

Posted by Joe Hamilton. See more of Japan after the jump.