Newfoundland and Haida Gwaii are hot right now, but my prediction for the next hot destination? Iles de la Madeleine. Until now this small archipelago between PEI and Quebec, out in the middle of the St. Lawrence has made the news because of the annual seal hunt in the area, but it becoming a must-visit multisport destination. Try various wind sports with Aerosport, go cave kayaking, or try ice kayaking in winter. But there is more to do than just outdoor adventure: En Route magazine is raving about the cheese, the food, the artisans, the massages, the accommodation. Everything you need after a full day of being out on the land and water.

Fly in from Quebec, or in summer, take a ferry from PEI. Highly recommended.

Elu lodge is a high-end Inuit-owned lodge, across from Victoria Island on Nunavut’s mainland. If you are looking for an escape to the heart of Canada’s Arctic, and want to see its abundant wildlife, look no further than this lodge. See a recent article on the lodge in the San Fransisco Chronicle for more information.

There has been a lot of news recently about the woes of the US airline industry. With the skyrocketing prices of fuel, airlines are starting to feel the pain - in a major way. My good friend Will Betz talks about some of the potential doomsday scenarios. If this trend continues, we could see some major impact on global tourism. Tourism in Canada would be heavily impacted as well, since we rely mainly on air travel for our international arrivals.

Ashoka’s Changemakers and National Geographic and  have launched the first Geotourism challenge. The competition has received 320 entries (out of 456 nominations). Sadly, there are only twelve Canadian entries, of which four are actually in Canada. They are very worthwhile, though: Pioneer Farm in PEI (stay at a self-sufficient farm), The Muskwa-Kechika Conservation initiative in northern BC, the Evergreen  Brick Works in Toronto, and Chanterelle Country inn and cottages in Nova Scotia.

There were some interesting Canadian nominations as well (those are operators who were nominated, but did not choose to submit an entry). Check out the Mountain hostel, Delawana Inn, Sacred Rides, and Nipika Mountain Resort.

Our team at the Canadian Tourism Commission recently released an Experience Toolkit - to help small tourism operators turn their products into experiences. We’ve received great feedback from the industry, but today also got some coverage in the marketing media. It’s rewarding to see the success of our work.

More and more people are looking for authentic experiences, wanting to get a real feel for the places they visit. But for some even that is not enough - they really want to become part of the communities they visit.

An innovative new experience in Newfoundland lets you do just that: you get the key to three houses in small outports, a rental car and a custom-written guidebook. In the book you’ll find the contact information for locals who can help you get to know the community. Before long, you’ll be out fishing, and hosting kitchen parties! Read the full article in the Globe about Cape Race Adventures.

We usually associate hut to hut trekking with Europe, or New Zealand. But in a recent article, National Geographic Adventure magazine did highlight two such treks in Canada. In BC, Wells Gray Adventures organizes multi day hut to hut treks - in summer on foot, and in winter on ski.

Meanwhile, Quebec offers the self guided grande traversée in the Chic Choc mountains. You’ll find well-appointed huts along the way, with shuttles available to ferry goods back and forth. Aside from that, the new Chic Choc mountain lodge offers luxury in the middle of the mountain range.

Latitude 45N has launched a great new tourism experience: using a boat to support biking tours in Quebec. You bike by day, while the boat moves your luggage (and bed!) to the next stop. You eat (very well) and sleep on board at night. They will even supply hybrid bikes, “configured in such a way as to ensure that you are sitting in a comfortable position that will allow you to take full advantage of the tourism experience and not miss anything.” Brilliant idea, and the first of its kind in North America.

They borrowed the idea from Holland, and in fact have added some Dutch twists, like Dutch snacks.

The World Wildlife Fund asks the world to make a difference on Saturday March 29, from 8-9PM, by turning off the lights for one hour through its Earth Hour project. The Fairmont Algonquin in New Brunswick is asking its guests to do their part in support of the project. It could just have asked people to turn off a few lights, but I don’t think that would have had a big impact. Instead, it is offering a ghost tour through the historic building at this time (very appropriate!), as well as candlelight dinners. It will also turn off as many lights as possible, replacing them with candles.

Suddenly, earth hour has become a unique experience! A great example of some creative marketing, while supporting a good cause at the same time. The only disappointing aspect of the campaign is that there is no mention of this event on the hotel’s website. A major oversight, I’d say. They should have issues a media release, and added it to their website.

Terri McCullough, the blogger behind the Bay of Fundy Tourism blog, just commented on my posting about her site. She confirms what I mention in my talks about Web 2.0 websites: it is easy and cheap to get on the Web 2.0 bandwagon, even for small tourism organizations and operators. If you are a specialist in your area, then you should be blogging about it!