U.S. tourism to Canada nearing all-time low

U.S. tourism to Canada nearing all-time low

TORONTO — Canada’s tourism association says the number of U.S. tourists visiting Canada is at a 37-year low and declining, mainly due to the recession, but stricter new U.S. passport rules are also to blame.

Randy Williams, the head of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, said the numbers are at the lowest level since 1972. He said American traffic has been constantly dwindling for seven or eight years.

The number of overnight trips by Americans to Canada has declined from 16.168 million in 2002 to 13.371 million in 2007, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada.

The drop in visitors is primarily a result of the recession-plagued economy, but Williams also said that new U.S. passport rules have not helped.

Year-round skiing in Va.

LYNCHBURG, Va. — August wouldn’t come to mind as the right time of year for skiing, unless you were headed to South America.

But a year-round ski facility called the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre is scheduled to open in Lynchburg, Va., at Liberty University on Aug. 29.

Its slopes will be layered with a synthetic material that simulates snow for skiing, boarders and tubing.

The facility will include a main slope, two grind rails, an 11-foot-high quarter pipe, and a beginner slope.

For more information, visit www.virginia.org.

Cheesemakers Festival

SHELBURNE, Vt. — If you’re a fiend for cheese, head to Vermont for the state’s first Cheesemakers Festival, scheduled for Aug. 23.

The event will be hosted by the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, the Vermont Butter & Cheese Company, and the Vermont Cheese Council, and will take place at Shelburne Farms, near Burlington.

The festival will feature more than 100 cheeses for sampling, 50 different cheesemakers, 15 artisan food makers, four tasting seminars, two cooking demonstrations and more. Tickets are $20.

For more information, visit www.vtcheesefest.com.

Associated Press