25 September 2008

So where are the kangaroos, mate?

SYDNEY, Nova Scotia - An Argentine tourist got the city name right, but the continent wrong when she booked a vacation to Australia, and found herself in easternmost Canada this week.

The Age and AFP report that Monique Rozanes Torres Aguero of Buenos Aires had wanted to travel to Sydney, Australia, but ended up instead in the former coal and steel mill town of Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The mix-up, due to inattention while booking flights online, became evident when she boarded a small propeller plane in Halifax that would take her on the last leg of her journey.

"She was taking pictures out the airplane window and said to herself, 'Something is not right,' " resident Christiane Tanner, who befriended the accidental tourist, told the Cape Breton Post.

But rather than make a fuss, Ms Torres decided to stay and make the best of her trip.

"When things happen, you let them happen," she said through an interpreter.

Apparently, it is not the first time Canada has welcomed tourists intended for Australia.

In 2002, two Britons also mistakenly landed in Canada's sleepy Sydney, instead of Australia's bustling metropolis, a Cape Breton tourism spokeswoman said.

TravelMole says if there is anything to be learned from this story, it is that travel agents still have a big role to play in ensuring people reach their intended destination.

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Before the young Brits made their mistake between the Sydneys, there was Martina Navratilova. She was invited to test a new tennis product by a Sydney-based company. When she got off the plane in Nova Scotia, she told reporters, "I thought they meant Australia." But event travel agents get confused between Saint John, New Brunswick and St. John's, Newfoundland.

By Allan Lynch, Thursday, September 25, 2008