The great Canadian road trip is turning inward this year. For five consecutive months, Statistics Canada has recorded a steep decline in visits to the United States, culminating in a 38.1 percent drop in May compared to the same month in 2024. Some opinion polls show seven in 10 Canadians have no plans to cross the border in 2025.
PORT ALBERNI, British Columbia — Travelers plotting a Vancouver Island itinerary this year may want to pencil in a stop at McLean Mill National Historic Site, as reported by Alberni Valley News. The 32-acre forestry landmark, tucked in the Alberni Valley just 10 minutes from downtown Port Alberni, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with expanded hours, new self-guided experiences and kid-friendly activities designed to handle what local tourism officials expect will be a record season.
Travelers headed to Surrey, British Columbia, may soon encounter picket lines instead of the usual warm welcome at one of the region’s busiest full-service properties. More than 100 housekeepers, front-desk clerks, banquet servers and kitchen employees at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel have voted to walk off the job, according to a press release by UNITE HERE Local 40.
BEIJING — Securing a Chinese tourist visa has long required paperwork, consulate appointments and patience. That bottleneck is disappearing. China has largely torn up its old requirements, allowing citizens of 47 countries to enter visa-free for up to 30 days and giving travelers from 55 additional nations—including the United States—a visa-on-arrival option valid for 10 days.
SHANGHAI, China — Travelers looking for the next blockbuster theme-park experience have a new destination to add to their itineraries. The world’s largest Legoland officially welcomed its first guests on Saturday, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP). Located about 40 kilometers southwest of the Bund in Shanghai’s Jinshan District, the 318,000-square-meter (78.5-acre) complex is China’s first Legoland and the most expansive the brand has ever built.
