Travel Manitoba and the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association welcome Mariko Izumi as guest speaker to the MLOA banquet on December 10 at the Canad Inns Polo Park in Winnipeg. Mariko is the host of the World Fishing Network’s Hookin’ Up, where she takes viewers to fishing hot spots around the world. A meet and greet autograph session takes place 2-4 pm and at 6 pm during the keynote speech, Mariko will share her knowledge on using the internet, social media and other modern communication tools to connect with a new generation of clients and outdoor enthusiasts. All are welcome - get your tickets through the MLOA at 204-772-1912.

http://www.travelmanitoba.com/images_tr/pdf/mariko_mloa.pdf

Winnipeggers can shop until they drop when Black Friday rolls around later this month.

A number of the city's regional shopping malls and some of their tenants are planning to open early on Nov. 23 -- 7 a.m. in the case of Kildonan Place Shopping Centre -- in a bid to get Winnipeggers to spend their shopping dollars here rather than scooting across the border for the annual U.S. Black Friday shopping frenzy.

Polo Park general manager Deborah Green said she expects many of the mall's stores to open at 8 a.m. instead of the usual 10 a.m. She also expects some of them to offer eye-popping deals.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/malls-taking-on-black-friday-178052711.html

Tourism Toronto has a winner on its hands with its latest video.

Using time-lapse and slow motion, Ryan Emond might even turn Canada’s biggest Toronto-bashers into interested watchers with his work, called Planet Toronto. The wow factor for what he’s composed is that significant.

Emond, in his write up about the video, said Tourism Toronto wanted something different than the standard tourism video. Consider that delivered.

This is a sky-high thriller with everything from fantastic aerial views of the city, all the way underground to a trip on the subway, with a stop at Nuit Blanche, to bring a little life to the party. While the video doesn’t focus on neighbourhoods too much – so often a focus of other Tourism Toronto campaigns – it does highlight Toronto as a cosmopolitan and growing city. I can’t even count how many cranes I saw in the footage. There’s the new Ritz-Carlton. And a seagull thrown in for authenticity.

http://o.canada.com/2012/11/08/new-toronto-tourism-video-is-a-sky-high-thriller/#torontocloudsryanemond3

Complete: NORWALK, Conn. - Priceline.com Inc. plans to buy online travel research company Kayak for cash and stock worth $1.8 billion or $40 per share.

Kayak allows users to compare hundreds of travel sites when looking for flights, hotels and rental cars. The deal is expected to expand Priceline's travel business and build Kayak's brand. The deal needs the approval of Kayak's shareholders and of regulators. It is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Priceline said Thursday that it will pay $500 million in cash and $1.3 billion in stock and assumed stock options for the company. Kayak will continue to operate independently as a Priceline Group company.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/priceline-to-acquire-travel-business-kayak-in-18-billion-deal-177969111.html

DENVER - Hit the slopes — and then a bong?

Marijuana legalization votes this week in Colorado and Washington state don't just set up an epic state-federal showdown on drug law for residents. The measures also open the door for marijuana tourism.

Both marijuana measures make marijuana possession in small amounts OK for all adults over 21 — not just state residents but visitors, too. Tourists may not be able to pack their bowls along with their bags, but as long as out-of-state tourists purchase and use the drug while in Colorado or Washington, they wouldn't violate the marijuana measures.

Of course, that's assuming the recreational marijuana measures take effect at all. That was very much in doubt Friday as the states awaited word on possible lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice asserting federal supremacy over drug law.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/recreational-marijuana-votes-in-colorado-washington-state-raise-spectre--of-pot-tourism-178060591.html

Many in the rebounding travel and tourism industry are hailing the re-election of President Barack Obama as a boon for the sector.

One of the first to praise him was Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organization. He said the administration “has clearly understood the impact of tourism on the economy and jobs,” citing Obama’s work in promoting visa facilitation.

UNWTO figures from the third quarter of 2012 show tourism earnings in the U.S. up 8 percent, second in the world only to Hong Kong's growth. U.S. expenditure on travel abroad, meanwhile, was up by 9 percent.

This is a far cry from the state of the industry a few years ago.

http://www.ibtimes.com/why-barack-obamas-victory-good-tourism-industry-865750

WASHINGTON - Baby boomers started driving at a young age and became more mobile than any generation before or since. They practically invented the two-car family and escalated traffic congestion when women began commuting to work. Now, 8,000 of them are turning 65 every day, and those retirements could once again reshape the nation's transportation.

How long those 74 million people born between 1946 and 1964 continue to work, whether they choose to live in their suburban houses after their children leave home or whether they flock to city neighbourhoods where they are less likely to need a car will have important ramifications for all Americans.

If boomers stop commuting in large numbers, will rush hours ease? As age erodes their driving skills, will there be a greater demand for more public transportation, new business models that cater to the home-bound or automated cars that drive themselves?

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/meeting-the-transportation-needs-of-aging-baby-boomers-could-once-again-change-society-177957591.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Nov.  '59)

A nationally syndicated husband-wife writing team who specialize to money-saving advice to tourists stopped over in Winnipeg Saturday and found little to attract economy-minded travellers. Robert Christie and his attractive wife, Ellen, write a column for King Features syndicate entitled You Too Can Travel On Your Income. But Winnipeg prices make it pretty difficult for the average tourist to save money, they discovered. They found that good eating in the city is expensive, while hotel prices are equal to those in most large U.S. cities. Mr. Christopher is the author of two books designed to stretch tourists' dollars. One is 1,001 Ways To Save Money Travelling in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and the other is about Europe. At present, they are on a 12.000 mile lecture tour of the U.S. and Canada, and from Winnipeg they go south to Grand Forks, North Dakota. When they arrived in Winnipeg, they first checked into a hotel which they considered to be a tourist bargain. After inspecting their room, they moved to another hotel before even signing the register. The professional' travellers also checked several Winnipeg restaurant prices. While the menus and selections were attractive, they said that New York, Las Vegas, and many top vacation spots offer much better food bargains than Winnipeg. "The cost of living seems to be quite high in this city," said Mr. Christopher, basing this observation on his experience in analyzing travel facts. In February, the Christophers take their column abroad on a 55-day tour with stops at 18 ports in 14 countries. Just to prove their point that travel can be cheap, they are taking along 15 persons leaving New' York Feb. 2 on the liner Olympia. "We hope to show these people that you can actually take that long a tour, pay for all your meals, the trip, tips, accommodations — everything, for less than SI,000," said Mr. Christopher. Mr. Christopher was a U.S. Navy combat photographer during the Second World War, and he visited over 100 countries while with the Flying Tigers Airline from 1948 to 1951. Both he and Mrs. Christopher studied journalism in university. They met in New York and were married last December. They live in Paris.