SHARES OF EXPEDIA AND TRIPADVISOR SOAR

Shares of Expedia and TripAdvisor soared Thursday, even though the travel website companies reported differing results for the fourth quarter.

The Azamara Quest, which is due for a US $25 ($35.5) million upgrade in April, has suffered damage to the hull in an incident now under investigation. There are reports that the ship came into contact with Wheki Rock in the Marlborough Sounds (the north end of the south island of New Zealand) and it may take up to 18 months for the results of the investigation to be announced.

Wave day used to be the Monday in the first full week of the year. It was a surge of bookings for the coming cruise season. Eventually with the proliferation of cruise lines and the popularity of the travelling experience, the Wave is now a season and covers the first three months of the year. That is when 40 percent of cabin space is booked for the coming months.

So here I am, with my 12-year-old son, happily breezing along New York’s bucolic, traffic-free Taconic State Parkway en route to an annual weekend hockey tournament in idyllic Lake Placid, New York.

Following a lengthy 11 hour flight from Malaysia to Auckland, New Zealand, a man headed for the 'something to declare' desk, and declared that he had “commercially packaged dung” in his luggage.

Palestinians are urging Oscar nominees to decline a free trip to the Israel sponsored by the Israeli government. Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Lydia Weitzman says 26 stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon Israel are being offered gratis ten-day luxury vacations.

Nathan Chan is a 22 year old musician. He booked two seats from Vancouver to Toronto - one for himself and one for his cello. The booking was made with American Airlines, (which allows passengers to purchase an extra seat to bring an instrument into the cabin) but the flight was operated by WestJet which does not.

Over 30 years have passed since the infamous "Patty Wars" were waged in Toronto. Now Jamaican Patty Day is a peaceful and tasty affair. This year, the Jamaica Tourist Board will be paying homage to this humble treat with a "Patty Party" at the Drake Hotel's 86'd event on February 22.

Forget the negative headlines from the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates thinks it's time to focus on something brighter instead. Prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce a new Cabinet that includes the country's first-ever “minister of state for happiness.”

February is here and that means that love is in the air. As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, many Canadians have romance on their minds. So, do you ever wonder just what kind of impact vacationing has on Canadians in terms of love, lust and romance?

Montreal taxi and limousine drivers targeted the city's airport Wednesday as part of their protest against Uber. Meanwhile, a newly formed group of Toronto taxi drivers says it will go on strike during Friday's afternoon rush hour.

A Chinese woman going from Wuhan to Guangzhou was flying solo last week. She was not only travelling without a companion, she was travelling without any other passengers on the Southern China Airlines plane that normally transports 137 passengers.