Jim Bits: A Globus Treat, New Zealand Wines and Smelly Airplane Seats

They came from away.

Some 40 lucky travel agents, suppliers and staff enjoyed a night on the town in Toronto last week including seeing the smash musical hit Come From Away, as guests of the Globus family of brands and Tourism Newfoundland & Labrador.

Agents were flown in from cities as diverse as Vancouver, Winnipeg and Calgary and also enjoyed pre-theatre dinner.

"It was a perfect way to thank these agents for their support of our Newfoundland and Labrador tours," said managing director Stéphanie Bishop.

Charlotte Jewczyk of Tourism Newfoundland Labrador thanked Globus for its growing portfolio of tours and years of success.

This year Globus offers a total of 29 tour departures to Newfoundland and Labrador, making it the number one seller for Canadians out of its almost 200 tours in 68 countries.

Newfoundland and Labrador are one of the best parts of Canada, with wonderful, warm and welcoming people, great food (especially in St. John's) and magnificent scenery.

For those who haven't seen it, Come From Away is a truly fantastic show; a heartwarming, Canadian story with great acting and a marvellous script.

The folks from Philadelphia Tourism held a great event in Toronto's Yorkville district last week, bringing in cocktail gear and top bartenders (sorry, mixologists) to showcase some of the city's finest offerings. I didn't have time to stick around for the gin and tonics but I did chat with Donna Schorr about what's happening in the city.

Apparently they've gone gangbusters in terms of renovating the city's waterfront districts, both along the Delaware River (east of downtown) and the Schuykill River (to the west), with new bike trails, gardens and riverfront attractions.

"It's a city of walkable neighbourhoods, great food and rich culture," said Schorr, director of communications for the city's tourism board. "Five hundred thousand people visit every year from Ontario and Quebec."

Schorr said the new Four Seasons hotel at the towering Comcast Center likely will open early in 2019. Other hotel developments include Mulherin's Sons, a four-room, ultra-boutique property that was named best new hotel in the entire country by USA Today last year. It looks super hip and cool. I also love that it's located in an area of the city called Fishtown. For that alone, I'd like to go.

Schorr said the city's food scene has exploded, with a number of New York City chef setting up shop in Philly to take advantage of cheaper rents. (Not unlike the situation with Toronto and Hamilton, I'd say.)

Philly also can make an affordable base for a visit to New York City, with much cheaper hotel prices. Schorr said visitors to the city's official tourism website can book a hotel and get free overnight parking.

Philadelphia is only an hour or so by train from NYC. And it's also easy to connect to Washington D.C. by Amtrak.

New Zealand Tourism and the LCBO put on a fantastic event in downtown Toronto last week, showcasing some of the country's exceptional wines at a packed event.

Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough Region (the far north end of the South Island) is undoubtedly their most famous export, but Kiwi winemakers also fashion delicious chardonnays, roses and, of course, luscious Pinot Noir.

I tasted a couple of fantastic Pinot Noirs from the Central Otago region, near Queenstown on the South Island. I also sampled some deeply flavoured reds from the gravel soils of the Hawkes Bay region, near Napier on the North Island.

(If you haven't been, Napier is a great town that features a ton of Art Deco architecture. You can even get a tour from folks decked out in 1930's clothes.)

The Marlborough region is a lovely spot for wine-tasting. I had the good fortune of visiting a couple years ago and also got to stay in Lochmara Lodge, an isolated, beautiful property on a quiet bay that you reach by boat. I had a lovely kayaking trip in the area and enjoyed simply sitting outside and listening to the sound of strange birds in the trees.

New Zealand has an amazing variety of geographic zones; everything from fjords to sub-tropical islands. And the people are marvellous.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World has added five new properties.

RELAIS DE CHAMBORD, FRANCE

Offering breath-taking views of the awe-inspiring Château de Chambord, the newly opened Relais de Chambord combines heritage and wellbeing within a notable historic setting. Surrounded by private gardens designed by Christian Fournet, the country hotel brings together natural elements and warm atmosphere less than two hours from Paris.

SUKHOTAHI SHANGHAI, CHINA

Situated in the heart of vibrant Shanghai, this contemporary luxury hotel was designed by internationally-acclaimed Neri & Hu Design and Research Office. With some of the largest rooms and suites in the city, the floor-to-ceiling windows offer sweeping views of the bustling landscape while natural furnishings create a sense of calm and warmth.

CANAVES OIA EPITOME, SANTORINI

This boutique hotel (see photo) has carved out a peaceful spot just outside the main town, giving it the feel of a secret piece of paradise. Each private villa offers Classic Cycladic design and is perfectly positioned for soaking up the best sunset views on the island.

AKYRA SUKHUMVIT, BANGKOK

An innovative new hotel with serious style credentials, the hotel offers guests re-imagined urban accommodation in the heart of Bangkok. The hotel is ideally located on Sukhumvit Soi 20, an area of Bangkok known for its buzzing atmosphere, high-end retail, green spaces and fine dining.

FENDI PRIVATE SUITES, ROME

Dominating the buzzing Via dei Condotti, this sumptuous palazzo originally belonged to a noble family and has been the prestigious headquarters of Fendi since 2005 - and the world's very first Fendi hotel. Comprised of just seven impeccably designed suites, the hotel epitomizes the ultimate in elegance.

Whether it's wishfully thinking about the long -distance vacation we could've booked, or the road trip we should've taken, a Booking.com study reveals that 67 per cent of Canadian travellers have regrets over missed travel opportunities.

Some of their top travel regrets include not travelling more often (53 per cent), not travelling more while younger (33 per cent), not seeing more of the countries they travelled to (30 per cent), not doing more adventurous travel (27 per cent) and not going to more remote locations (17 per cent).

For half of Canadians, going on vacation has inspired significant life changes, including an increase in passion for life (16 per cent), overcoming a major fear (15 per cent), learning a new language (11 per cent), a positive effect on their mental health (53 per cent) and a desire to improve physical health (22 per cent).

One of the most common concerns holding Canadians back from being adventurous on a holiday is the language barrier (39%). In an effort to take this barrier away, they've partnered with ili - the world's fastest offline translation device. Canadians can enjoy a discount when purchasing their own ili devices using this link: www.booking.com/offers/limitlesstraveller.

Here's an odd item. Bloomberg this week filed a story that talks about self-cleansing airline seats potentially come your way.

It's too late to make up for the smelly cabin on that flight to visit Aunt Agnes last year, but Bloomberg said a company called Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH, whose customers are said to include Cathay Pacific, is developing a disinfectant that "destroys almost every germ on contact within seconds."

The Bloomberg report said the product is "a response to studies that consistently show almost everything inside an aircraft is festering with bugs."

How's that a happy Monday thought?