Hotels posting fake reviews

BOSTON (AP) — The hotel review may sound too good — citing obscure details like the type of faucets — or perhaps one stands out as the only negative rating of an otherwise popular location.

The influential travel Web site TripAdvisor has been quietly posting disclaimers to warn customers of hotels writing fake reviews to improve their popularity rankings or hurt competitors.

The red disclaimers near the names of hotels show that TripAdvisor has a problem with fake reviews, travel bloggers and industry experts say. One blogger, Jeff Tucker, warned that without changes to restore credibility to the reviews the site is “going to come crumbling down behind them.”

But TripAdvisor said the disclaimers have been used since 2006 and involve a small fraction of the 400,000 hotels reviewed. The company, based in Newton, Mass., said it has a successful system to root out inaccurate reviews.

“The 23 million reviews and opinions are authentic and they’re unbiased and they’re from real users,” spokesman Brooke Ferencsik said. “The vast majority of hoteliers, they understand the risk to their business and reputation if they attempt to post fraudulent information to TripAdvisor.”

The problem of policing online reviews is not limited to TripAdvisor.

Last fall, Apple required that consumers purchase or download an application before they can review it online in the App Store. A plastic surgery company, Lifestyle Lift Inc., agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve an investigation into positive online reviews written by employees, the New York attorney general announced Tuesday. And the Federal Trade Commission is revising guidelines on testimonials and endorsements to reflect the growth of online marketing.

TripAdvisor, which is part of Expedia Inc., was the third most popular travel information site in June, with about 9.2 million unique visitors, according to the tracking firm comScore.

The company ranks hotels according to how well they have been reviewed, and loyal users say it is the best place to find accommodations, from ritzy resorts in major cities to mom-and-pop inns far off the beaten path. Users are directed to other sites such as Expedia to book rooms.

But last month travel Web sites and blogs began to log and discuss the red warnings, which read: “TripAdvisor has reasonable cause to believe that either this property or individuals associated with the property may have attempted to manipulate our popularity index by interfering with the unbiased nature of our reviews. Please take this into consideration when researching your travel plans.”

One industry Web site, BeatOfHawaii.com, said it found 92 hotels with the label in June, from a boutique hotel in Hawaii to a Radisson in Fort Worth, Texas. The disclaimers drew a lot of attention that month and by Monday, only 16 remained, said Tucker, co-author BeatofHawaii.com.

The disclaimers have an expiration date that varies with each hotel, Ferencsik said. He said TripAdvisor works with hotel owners to get the warnings removed, often after they promise to stop breaking the site’s rules.

“Not only does it give our travelers fair warning,” he said. “But also it should be a deterrent for any property that’s thinking about trying to game the system.”

The company has policies to weed out suspicious reviews, screens reviews before they are posted, and uses automated tools to identify attempts to corrupt the system, Ferencsik said. Users can also report reviews they find not credible.

Ferencsik declined to describe how the company decides a post is not legitimate, saying that could help fake posters subvert the rules.

But experts say manipulated reviews can be overly positive, citing features — such as the brand of faucet fixtures — regular travelers rarely notice. Or they can be extremely negative, with a competitor bashing a hotel that generally has more favorable reviews. Fake posters often have only one or a few reviews, whereas many regular TripAdvisor users post numerous reviews.

The disclaimers show TripAdvisor is taking threats to their credibility seriously, said Lisa Klein Pearo, an adjunct marketing professor at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration who has researched word-of-mouth marketing.

“I think this is TripAdvisor’s way of cracking down on them and, in some ways, standing up for the consumer,” she said. “I think it could work in TripAdvisor’s favor.”

But she and others say TripAdvisor could do much more to eliminate fake reviews. Steven Carvell, the associate dean of the Cornell school, said other opinion sites verify that consumers stayed in the hotels or bought the products they review.

On TripAdvisor, “there isn’t an actual connection between a verified reservation and a payment and who’s writing those things,” Carvell said. “People early on were not playing games with it. Now there are lots of games.”

Tucker said travel industry insiders — but often not casual travelers — understand the financial incentives hotels have to artificially inflate their rankings on the site. Some offer discounts or freebies to patrons who write positive reviews or hire public relations companies who say they can improve the reviews.

“I’d really like to see TripAdvisor deal with the public in kind of an openhanded way, talk to people this issue,” he said.

But Arthur Frommer, founder of the Frommer’s travel guides, said travelers should rely on the advice of experts, such as guidebook writers or journalists.

Frommer said he had to discontinue a popular feature in some of his guidebooks that included readers’ selections, largely because he could not be certain they did not come from businesses.

“Find write-ups by professionals whose judgments you trust and rely on that,” Frommer said. “I would never rely on the judgment of amateurs.”

Top 15 vacation spotsIMS announces nationwide availability of iLane

Top 15 vacation spots

It's not hard to find a common characteristic among Forbes Traveler's top 15 North American vacation spots: sun, sand and sea clearly dominate the leisure-destination favorites.

From the sprawling, desert-oasis swimming pools of Las Vegas to the golden sands of Maui, warmth and water rank high on the list of features sought after by vacationers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

We gathered data on flights, hotels, vacation packages and customer preferences from six major travel organizations and agencies (Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, Hotwire's Travel-Ticker.com, Vacation.com, the Carlson Wagonlit travel agency network, and Cruise Lines International Association, Inc.) to present a snapshot of the hottest vacation hangouts during the past year.

While tropical climates comprise the lion's share of our list, not all preferred vacation paradises are perpetually sun-soaked. Some sites, such as the famous sands of Oahu's Waikiki Beach or the theme-park mecca Orlando, Florida, were warm-weather shoo-ins. But others—like the decidedly un-tropical metropolises of New York or Chicago—appealed to travelers with their urban charms.

The vacations division at Carlson Wagonlit Travel has seen a roughly 35 per cent increase in clients booking vacations to North American cities this year, said Gerard Bellino, the company's Vice President of U.S. Leisure. New York, San Francisco, and Orlando top Carlson Wagonlit's best-seller list for 2009—and all three ranked highly on the lists of the other agencies we polled.

See our slideshow of North America's Top 15 Vacation Spots.

"Orlando has historically been a popular family vacation destination," said Bellino. "However, the increased popularity of New York and San Francisco is likely because hotel pricing is more affordable this year, making these normally pricey destinations much more attractive and affordable for vacationers."

Other travel experts echoed Bellino's findings about budget-conscious trends in recent travel. "A driving vacation or a regional vacation is looking more attractive this year than last," said Genevieve Brown, senior editor at Travelocity, who added that "value-added promotions are more plentiful this year. We're seeing an abundance of deals."

Travelocity's findings lined up with top-sellers at other agencies we polled—Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles and New York City led the online travel agency's best-seller list. And Brown pointed out some of the top-selling vacation activities within those markets: Blue Man Group, the multimedia theatrical performance, was the top Travelocity seller for Las Vegas and Chicago, while Broadway shows were the most popular activity for vacationers in New York City, and Disneyland drew tourists visiting Los Angeles.

See our slideshow of North America's Top 15 Vacation Spots.

The top destinations at Travel-Ticker (a division of Hotwire.com focused on "travelers looking for inspirational or leisure-focused travel") also revealed a mix of urban and tropical destinations. Las Vegas, Chicago and New York led the online agency's list of best-sellers for the past 12 months, but balmier destinations were well-represented: Among Travel-Tickers most popular vacation packages were waterfront San Diego resorts, four-star Orlando resorts near Disneyland, Big Island (Hawaii) and Waikiki condos, and resorts in the Bahamas.

Overall, the Forbes Traveler list is distinctly ocean-colored, and the Caribbean was home to many vacationers' favorite stops. (We’re pushing the boundaries of “North America,” but we felt that much of the Caribbean belonged on the list because of north-of-the equator location and proximity to the U.S. and Mexico.) A 2008 Cruise Lines International Association survey found that the Caribbean/Eastern Mexico was the most popular cruise destination (43% of respondents listed it as the destination they were most likely to go to on their next cruise vacation).

The Caribbean and Eastern Mexico also figured prominently on several other agencies' top-seller lists. Cancun and the "Mayan Riviera," the stretch of coastline along the Caribbean side of the Yucatan Peninsula, made the top 15 on the travel web site Expedia. Sunbathing and water sports, such as snorkeling and scuba diving in the spectacular Great Maya Reef, fill up travelers' itineraries in the resort-lined beaches along the coast of the Mexican state Quintana Roo.

From golf to shopping to fine dining to cultural and historical riches, the vacation destinations on our list will appeal to a wide variety of travelers. Read the slideshow to see which destinations made the cut.

Alberta’s UNESCO sitesNissan North America Announces Management Changes

Leave the skis at home

St. Moritz's slopes lure entertainment celebrities. Prince Charles and family have made Klosters their ski destination for years. And Davos is host every Christmas to the Spengler Cup, one of the oldest international hockey tournaments.

But it wasn't winter sports that took me to visit these celebrated Swiss resorts. It was to see what they have to offer when the snow isn't flying, and when hotel rates are substantially lower. The short answer is, lots.

With global warming threatening winter tourism, travel in other seasons is being promoted. The opening of SwitzerlandMobility was a big boost. Billed as the largest national network of routes for "soft tourism and slow traffic" in Europe, it covers 20,000 km, all linked to public transportation.

Besides uniform signposting for hikers, bicyclists, mountain bikers, inline skaters and canoeists, 57 maps in German, French and English and a brochure containing overnight offers along SwitzerlandMobility routes are available. Visit schweizmobil.ch/en/welcome.cfm.

I left the hiking and biking to younger and fitter colleagues, and focused on sightseeing.

And what sights there were. St. Moritz, Klosters and Davos are all in the Engadin valley in southeast Switzerland. It's a gorgeous area -- blue lakes, lush meadows, evergreen forests, snow-capped mountains and fairy-tale villages. It also contains Switzerland's only national park, a valley called Muestair -- a candidate for nomination as a UNESCO Biosphere -- and an annual wind surfing marathon on Lake Silvaplana, which attracts top competitors from around the world.

Although English is widely spoken, the Engadin has a strong Romansh culture, the language resembling Italian.

Some suggestions:

AROUND ST. MORITZ

- The town of Zuoz is something of a living museum. Inside the half-century-old Church of Sant Luzi are two striking stained glass windows by Augusto Giacometti.

- La Punt is the start of the road through the Albulapass, voted Switzerland's prettiest pass on several occasions. It's open May to late October.

AROUND DAVOS

- Stay at least one night at a participating hotel and you receive a money-saving card good for a day of bus or train travel in the area. It will also take you on the Schatzalp cable car to the historic Hotel Schatzalp and into an alpine botanical garden. Head gardener Klaus Oetjen told us the garden, which has 3,500 different varieties of plants, is at its best in July and August.

AROUND KLOSTERS

- Use the Davos card to ride the train to Klosters, then a cable car up 2,281 metres to Gotschnagrat. Take a windproof jacket; It was 9C at noon on a sunny day in early September. I was surprised at how many people, particularly the middle-aged to downright elderly, were hiking. That may explain why I don't recall seeing any obese Swiss, despite their love of stick-to-your-ribs cuisine.

Take the supper served at Gotschnagrat. It started with cabbage pizockels. Pizockel dough -- wheat and buckwheat flour -- is mixed with Swiss chard and bacon, sprinkled with cheese and doused with butter. I thought it would have made a good main course, perhaps accompanied by a salad.

But there was a main course to come, venison roulade, braised in beer, followed by a slice of Engadin nut cake, walnut parfait with honey and creme fraiche described as the region's most famous dish.

For more information, visit myswitzerland.com/en.

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Haliburton full of life for the active

The plan was to take the Walk in the Clouds, high in the forest canopy at Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve.

But after another of the downpours that had been dogging us for three days, my wife and I went to Plan B -- touring this 28,000-hectare property in Central Ontario's Haliburton Highlands where commercial logging coexists with recreational and educational activities.

Depending on the season, visitors can also :

- Get a close-up look at a wolf pack;

- learn to handle a dogsled team;

- follow a felled tree through a new timber mill;

- observe the night sky at an observatory and planetarium;

- hike, mountain bike, snowmobile or fish for a rare and ancient type of lake trout called Haliburton Gold.

The canopy tour requires hiking and canoeing to a drawbridge that lifts participants into the treetops. They're fitted with a safety harness and hooked to an overhead cable before following a narrow walkway as high as 60 metres.

There are three tours daily in summer but they're limited to 12 persons each, making reservations advisable.

At the wolf interpretive centre, we joined excited school kids watching the animals through one-way glass.

The two females and four male wolves have a six-hectare enclosure to roam but spend so much time near the centre that Bishop estimates 95% of visitors will see them.

You can get much closer to the sled dogs, 150 friendly Siberian huskies whose only threat is that they might lick you into submission.

There's a fee for each activity. If you simply want to hike or mountain bike, a daily use permit is $15 per adult. Snowmobilers pay $35 to access 300 km of groomed trails.

The reserve is less than an hour's drive east of Bracebridge, about a five-hour drive from London. Visit www.haliburtonforest.com.

Ninety minutes south of the reserve is Petroglyphs Provincial park, where a drive through a pine forest leads to the spirit world of Canada's first people.

Petroglyphs also has four hiking trails ranging in length from five to 16 km. This day-use park is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. early May to early October. In July and August, free natural heritage education programs are offered.

The park is 55 km north and east of Peterborough. Take Highway 28 to Woodview and then County Road 56. Visit www.ontarioparks.com/English/petr.html.

S-Class - S 400 Hybrid : Luxury for the EnvironmentCool cats & views of Galiano

Alberta's UNESCO sites

Here's something to brag about.

There are 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites worldwide, and five are located in the Wild Rose province.

Touring UNESCO sites can be a great opportunity for families to bond and explore Alberta, says Anastasia Martin-Stilwell of Travel Alberta.

WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK

Only a few hours from Calgary is a national park that combines the dramatic rise of the mountains with the flatlands of the prairies -- and, with two distinct landscapes come a wide range of wildlife.

Birds, bears and bighorn sheep are some of the animals visitors can expect to see in the 536-sq.-km. park, while Trappers restaurant -- known for its Saskatoon Berry Pie -- and the Serenity Spa are elegant ways to kick back.

HEAD-SMASHED-IN BUFFALO JUMP

Called estipah-skikikini-kots in Blackfoot, this is the largest, oldest and best-preserved buffalo jump in North America.

For more than 5,000 years, bison were herded over the edge of the 10- to 18-metre-high cliffs by the Blackfoot peoples, and today, the site is preserved with pits, a butchering camp, and a kilometre-wide expanse pocked with the remnants of meat caches and cooking pits.

DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK

A favourite for kids, this badlands destination was once a low-lying coastal plain at the edge of a large and shallow sea. Today, the eastern Alberta attraction is a maze of hoodoos, mesas and coulees, and hoards more than 300 first-quality dinosaur skeletons and other valuable fossils.

"You're awed by the dinosaur fossils that are weathering out of the ground," says Marty Eberth of Travel Alberta. "It really appeals to the 'explorer' in all of us -- and for those who want to take it to the next level, you can join a dinosaur dig for a day."

Or, she adds, families can simply visit the renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum to see the dinos that once called this area home.

BANFF AND JASPER NATIONAL PARKS

Two of Alberta's most popular tourist destinations, Banff and Jasper National Parks, are built around hot springs and railways that wind through the mountains. The birthplaces of Alberta's national park systems, Banff and Jasper are as steeped in history as they are breathtaking and rustic.

"Alberta's UNESCO sites are incredible attractions and destinations for all travellers to visit," Martin-Stilwell says.

WOOD BUFFALO NATIONAL PARK

Canada's largest national park is nearly 45,000 sq. km. in size, and houses boreal forests, sedge meadows and rivers, along with the largest free-roaming herd of bison in the world.

Located in northern Alberta, the park offers plenty of forest to explore and wildlife to see -- perfect for the outdoor lover's getaway.

NICOLE.MCLAWS@SUNMEDIA.CA

Volvo Car Corporation : American-made lithium-ion battery systems designed and produced by Ener1What they say about us

What they say about us

Canadians are often accused of not tooting their own horns, or only recognizing the great things in their own backyard when they are praised by foreigners.

This past year, Canada has been singled out by travellers and foreign publications alike for its many great travel offerings. Looking for the Happiest Place, the Top Islands and Cities of North America, Best Eco Trips or World Class Hotels? You'll find them here -- in Canada. Here's a sample:

- Canadian islands and cities are among the best in North America: Vancouver Island has come in first place again! For the seventh year in a row, the British Columbia island is No. 1 on a list of top 10 North American Islands, based on a survey of 32,633 readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Two other Canadian islands made it to the list: the Gulf Islands in B.C. which came in fourth, followed by P.E.I. in fifth place.

Meanwhile in the same survey, Canada had five cities in the top 10 North American Cities list. Vancouver came in second after Buenos Aires, and was followed by Quebec City and Victoria in third and fourth places respectively. Montreal took seventh place while Toronto placed ninth.

- Historic Canada: Canada may be a young country but not one without a history worth exploring.

In the new book 1001 Historic Sites You Must See Before You Die (Barron's Educational Series), editor Richard Cavendish -- in collaboration with UNESCO -- has selected 14 places of note in Canada. Along with the popular sites you'd expect to see such as the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (North America's only authentic Viking settlement), and Dawson City, Yukon, are a few lesser known places worthy of attention. These include Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon -- a sacred prairie site of Canada's First Nations; Fort Edmonton Park -- Canada's largest "living-history park," and former trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company; Hotel-Dieu de Montreal -- an illustrious medical institution; and Chateau Ramezay -- one of the oldest buildings in Montreal and home to the city's governor in 1704.

- B.C. is tops for world-class hotels: Canada has no fewer than 43 hotels and resorts that made it to the Conde Nast Traveler magazine's (January 2009 issue) Gold List of "710 World's Best Places to Stay." The list is based on data collected from the magazine's annual Readers' Choice Survey.

More than half of the Canadian properties (26) are in B.C. Among them are the King Pacific Lodge on Princess Royal Island, the Magnolia Hotel & Spa in Victoria, Long Beach Lodge Resort, Tofino, and the Pan Pacific Village Centre in Whistler. One of the highest rated is the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, described as a "glass hotel backed by mountains ... where guests can watch planes take off and land without hearing them thanks to soundproof windows."

- More Canadian hotels to love: Unlike the Conde Nast list above, which is based on a readers survey, National Geographic Traveler magazine (April 2009 issue) tapped into the experiences of veteran journalists, road warriors and local experts for its list of "129 hotels we love."

They based their picks on criteria such as a sense of place, architecture, a room with history, local food, sustainable practices, and whether the hotel reflects and defines its surroundings or engages with the community.

The 13 Canadian properties that made it to the list include Lazy Bear Lodge and Cafe in Churchill, Man., Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, N.B., and Cape Breton Island's Chanterelle Country Inn and Cottages and Crown Jewel Resort Ranch. Others on the list are the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, Auberge Place d'Armes in Quebec City, and two in the Yukon -- Bombay Peggy's Victorian Inn & Pub in Dawson City and Inn on the Lake in Whitehorse.

Four of the hotels are in B.C. -- Island Lake Lodge in Fernie, Hastings House Country House Hotel on Salt Spring Island, Sonora Resort on Sonora Island, and Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in Tofino.

- Ecotrips, cool camps and happy places: Kayaking the Yukon River has been rated one of the top three eco-trips, according to the book Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2009: 850 Trends, Destinations, Journeys & Experiences for the Year Ahead. The 3,770-km long waterway, once a principal trade route for gold miners, has Grade 1 waters that make for great wilderness paddling, the authors contend. They suggest a 315-km-long 10-day trip from Minto to Dawson, where you can camp on sandbanks and islands along the way.

The book also rates Canada as "one of the Top 10 Countries" in which to travel based on the many festivals and events and an "insane amount of terrain to play on ..."

Elsewhere, in the category of "Coolest Camps," they list Tipi Camp on the shores of Lake Kootenay, "a peaceful, low impact camp on the traditional lands of the Ktunaxa Nation with access by boat or a hike through the forest." One of the "Happiest Places" is Montreal, which stages one of the world's best comedy festivals -- Just For Laughs -- every July.

One of the top 10 places to experience the blues is in Blue River, an outpost between Kamloops and Jasper that offers "spectacular mountaineering, glacier adventures and wildlife encounters." In the "Best for Reflection" category, the book suggests going down the road from Lake Louise to the less-visited Moraine Lake for "mirror-image mountains in the glassy water."

- Canada has World's Top Cycling Routes: Two of Canada's cycling routes have received high praise in the book National Geographic's Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips.

Quebec's Route Verte (Green Route) ranks first in the top 10 bike routes on the planet, chosen for its "beauty, length and excitement," varied terrain and vistas, and because it is "well signed, easy to follow and includes directions to interesting sites."

In the No. 2 spot, is the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route, a portion of which goes through Canada. The 3,310-km route, in five segments, was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association, and runs from Mobile, Ala., to Owen Sound, Ont. The Canadian segment passes several places of historic interest from a plaque at Queenston Heights Park commemorating Ontario's first Coloured Corps to the place in Owen Sound where an Emancipation Picnic has been held every year since 1862.

- Two awards for the Port of Quebec City: The Quebec Port Authority (QPA) has received two notable awards presented by the DreamWorld Cruise Destinations magazine at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami conference held in March. The QPA got the "Most Responsive Port" award -- given to the port that most promptly meets requests for information and comes up with solutions to cruise line challenges and requirements. It also received the "Best Destination Experience Independent" award -- as voted by cruise passengers who planned their own land-based excursions. This is the third time the port has received this award.

- Toronto is hip: Under the headline "Canada's Cutting Edge," Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine, in its March 2009 issue, called Toronto, "the new cultural stop of the north."

It praised the Daniel Libeskind-designed crystal addition to the Royal Ontario Museum as well as two of the city's annual events: The Toronto International Film Festival in September and Luminato in June.

WRITER@INTERLOG.COM

Cool cats & views of GalianoNissan North America Announces Management Changes

Cool cats & views of Galiano

GALIANO ISLAND, B.C. -- When my travel pals found out I went for a ride to Bluffs Park with Humphrey Bogart, they all had the same response: "I hope he wasn't driving."

Of course not, I assured them. First of all he doesn't have a licence and second, he much prefers parking his butt up against the windshield while gazing at the passing scenery from the side window.

Humphrey Bogart is a handsome Bengal cat who lives at the Galiano Inn and loves going out for drives. On this day he was enjoying a ride in one of the inn's new Smart Cars, which guests can rent for $80 a day. I had asked proprietor Conny Nordin if she'd take me out for a quick spin to test the vehicle and Bogart, who apparently follows Nordin everywhere, seemed happy to tag along.

A sensitive cat with a mature countenance, he wasn't meowing as much as usual. I think he was concentrating on how to keep his balance on the new dashboard without falling onto my lap.

I had visions of travelling around the island with Bogart, a la John Steinbeck, who once took his dog on a drive around America, a tale he recounted in his book Travels With Charley.

At the Bluffs Park viewpoint, which resembles a Group of Seven painting, a ferry boat in Georgeson Bay was making its way to Galiano. Also visible from the 168-metre-high cliff was Mayne Island, Seal Rock, and the narrow Active Pass, where Orca whales are frequently spotted. A few metres from the lookout, a hiking trail runs along the clifftop ridge, among tall stands of Douglas fir, cedar and Garry oak trees.

Bluffs is just one of several parks on this slender island, which is 30-km long and 6-km at the widest point. There's also Dionisio Provincial Park with its beautiful beaches, and Bellhouse Provincial Park with its rocky peninsula and groves of copper-coloured arbutus trees. From hiking paths on forest trails to interesting sandstone formations along the coast, best viewed from a kayak, there's a lot to explore.

Bogart was left alone in the car for less than a minute but he meowed the whole time. On the drive back, Nordin recounted how she and her husband travelled every back road on all of the Gulf Islands looking for property but kept returning to Galiano.

"The views are always different and the people are interesting," she explained, reflecting on the decision to move to the island full-time.

Local painter, Kenna Fair, whom I'd met the previous day, believes Galiano is the arts hub of the Gulf Islands.

"We have three operating art galleries, which is good for this size island, and lots of studios."

One of the biggest annual events is the art festival on the first long weekend in August, which is so popular that visitors are advised to book a ferry ticket in advance.

Along with the "interesting people" are a few well-known (at least among islanders) and much-loved feline critters. Aside from Bogart, there's Shadow, a friendly 10-year old long-haired black cat at Galiano Island Books -- an excellent bookstore near the ferry dock, and Bart, who resides at the Hummingbird Inn Pub.

"Bart's hilarious," said Pam Welch, an esthetician at the Madrona del Mar spa. "If you order fish and chips he's right there, you have to make room for him."

Everyone told me Bart was a fluffy orange cat, but the animal I saw at this popular watering hole looked like he'd been freshly shorn.

"His hair was getting natty so we had to cut it," owner Debbie Spees said.

I watched Bart lap up some fresh cream, then go outside to sniff the air, before returning indoors where he crawled under a pool table. The bartender showed me a comical photo on the wall of Bart lazily draped over a railing. He really is a character.

With so many artists and well-known company cats on the islands it seemed natural that the two should merge in some quirky way.

"We're asking artists to put a concept forward for whimsical paintings of a cat in the context of a local business, so we'll have the cat in bookstore, the pub and the inn," explained Nordin.

The winning submissions will then appear on local souvenirs. As early as this fall, visitors may find artistic images of Bogart, Shadow and Bart reproduced on notecards, coffee cups and perhaps, appropriately, mouse pads.

---

ABOUT GALIANO

One of B.C.'s Gulf Islands, Galiano is less than an hour by ferry from Vancouver. It has a population of 1,100 and a mild, dry climate. During the summer the Hummingbird Inn Pub has live music on weekends and also runs a free pub bus for campers and boaters. A Daytripper shuttle bus also operates during the Art Weekend July 3 to Aug. 3.

If you're not staying overnight at the Galiano Inn, it's still possible to meet Bogart on your way to the Inn's "eat," restaurant -- the island's only oceanfront fine dining room or at the Oceanfront Terrace, which serves gourmet wood-fired pizzas. For more, check galianoinn.com or galianoisland.com.

writer@interlog.com

A romp through Barcelona