Travel between U.S. and Canada tumbles

Quick trips between the United States and Canada have plummeted in recent years.

Since 2001, the number of day trips that Americans have taken to Canada has decreased by almost 70 percent, according to figures recently released by Statistics Canada.

And Canadians are traveling to the United States less frequently. In April, 13 percent fewer Canadians crossed the border compared with the same period last year.

The number of travelers could decline farther. Those statistics don't reflect cross-border travel since a new U.S. law took effect June 1; it requires U.S. and Canadian travelers at land/sea borders between the U.S. and Canada to show a passport or secure document to cross the border. (A passport already is required for all international air travel.)

In Victoria, B.C. — a destination for Washingtonians thanks to ferry services such as the Victoria Clipper from Seattle, the Coho from Port Angeles and service by Washington State Ferries from Anacortes — Americans' visits have dropped over the past few years, said Ken Kelly, the general manager of the Downtown Victoria Business Association.

Pet-friendly airlines

Which of the airlines has the pet-friendliest policies? According to Petfinder, a Web site specializing in animal adoptions, it's Continental, which the site applauds for, among other things, its climate-controlled cargo area and a program offering frequent-flier miles to pets. The other airlines in the top five are JetBlue (for its JetPaws program), AirTran (inexpensive pet fares), American (even zoos trust them) and United (they fly everything from cockatiels to ferrets).

Southwest Airlines last month began allowing small dogs and cats to travel in-cabin with their owners. The carrier that contains the animal must fit under the seat in front of the passenger, and the pet carrier counts as the passenger's carry-on bag.

Cuba eyeing U.S. tourists

Cuba's tourism industry will have enough hotel rooms for the surge in American travelers expected if U.S. lawmakers lift restrictions on visits to the island, say Cuban authorities.

Cuba agrees with an estimate by the American Society of Travel Agents that 835,000 U.S. tourists a year, excluding cruise ships or Cuban-American family visitors, would come after an end to the travel ban, said Cuban tourism ministry adviser Miguel Figueras.

Cuba aims to build 30 new hotels with 10,000 rooms and 10 golf courses by 2014 without counting on changes in U.S. policy, he said. The island nation currently has about 48,000 hotel rooms, and its beach resorts already are popular with Canadian and European tourists.

U.S. lawmakers may take up scrapping the ban on travel to the communist island, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo for almost five decades. President Obama in April loosened travel restrictions for CubanAmericans visiting family members and lifted caps on money Cuban Americans may send relatives there.

"Good Earthkeeping" at Seattle hotel

The Sheraton Seattle has won a 2009 Good Earthkeeping award from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The hotel was an early adopter of a voluntary recycling program, and in 2008 created a "green strategy" which cuts its electrical and water use; uses more environmentally friendly cleaning techniques; and recycles more than 24,000 pounds of material per month.

Good eats at N.Y. botanical garden

The New York Botanical Garden this weekend opens a new outdoor exhibit called The Edible Garden with programming that includes tastings, tours, demonstrations and celebrity lectures.

The Edible Garden will be a showcase for edible plants, vegetable-growing techniques and garden design through Sept. 13. It will also host presentations from famous guests including Martha Stewart and Dan Barber, who recently won the James Beard Award for "2009 Chef of the Year." An audio tour includes narration by Mario Batali and Bette Midler. Details, including directions to the Bronx garden by train and subway from Manhattan, at www.nybg.org.