Don't Get Tagged: Bag Tag Safety & A Campbell River Escape

Have you heard about the issue of bag tag switching at Canadian airports? It doesn't happen often but you certainly don't want to be the one caught up in it. Travel expert Onanta Forbes will join me to discuss what it involves and what you can do to make sure you're not. Then we'll head to Vancouver Island and visit Campbell River, home to the Naturally Pacific Resort. We'll chat with the GM to get the highlights of visiting Campbell River this summer.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveler Podcast, a weekly travel podcast where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveler. And I'm your host, Randy Sharman. Have you heard this story about bag tag switching at Canadian airports? It doesn't happen often, but you certainly don't want to be the one caught up in it. In a few seconds, travel expert Onanta Forbes will join me to discuss what it involves and what you can do to make sure that you're not. And then we'll head to Vancouver Island and visit Campbell River, home to the Naturally Pacific Resort. We'll chat with the general manager to get the highlights of visiting Campbell River

Don't Get Tagged: Bag Tag Safety

SPEAKER_01 0:42

this summer. But first, let's kick things off chatting with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to talk about the latest travel news, trends, and travel tips in general. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and ex at Onanta Forbes. OnantaForbes.com is her website. Hello, Onanta.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

How are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

I'm well, thank you. Uh, we're gonna talk about this story. It was uh in uh Travel Pulse, Canada's or on Travel Pulse, Canada's website, uh their uh news headlines, and then also W5 did uh did a bid on it apparently too because they referenced W5. But it's uh bag tag switching.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Oh my goodness. Well it's asked.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

It it doesn't happen often, luckily, but if you're one of those people caught up with it, depending on the country you're in, it can be a real real nightmare.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Oh yes, and it's absolutely getting a lot of attention um with us in the Canadian travel industry. Um and and then it's saying, you know, every traveler should be aware before going on their next trip, um, as well as everything else that we have to be aware of in this changing world. Um so a recent investigation highlighted allegations of bag tag switching at Canadian airports. And so this is where criminals may be exploiting weaknesses in airport baggage systems. And according to these reports, innocent travelers have found themselves linked to bag uh luggage containing illegal drugs after bag tags were allegedly removed from their own student cases and then attached to different bags. So in some cases, um, travelers were detained, questioned, and even jailed overseas before authorities determined they were not involved. And how scary is that? Like you're already holy cow, like you're already tired, and then this happens to you. Um so the destinations involved uh reported uh that the countries that the these countries happen have very strict drug laws, so the consequences potentially were very severe for anyone caught up in these uh thief. So investigators say that the bag tags were from legitimate Czech luggage um that were removed and placed on tags containing the the the uh contraband. So if the authorities intercepted this a suspicious bag, the travelers' name, um, the travelers whose name appears on the tag may initially become the focus of the investigation. Um these incidents remain relatively rare, but it's a reminder that travelers should be proactive in protecting their themselves. And some of the precautions that experts recommend is take photos of your luggage before checking it. I actually do this just because if my luggage gets uh lost and they ask you the description of the luggage, I actually don't remember. And then um photograph your bag tag and uh keep your claim receipt, and then consider using a tracking device such as an air tag or similar um luggage tracker, and make note of your bag's appearance and any unique identifiers. And this is um another uh hint or tip. If possible, travel with carry-on luggage for um shorter trips. And I notice when I travel too, people are are buying these skins that you put over your luggage that are quite colorful and fun. Yeah. And that might be an idea as well instead of buying brand new luggage. It's probably the skins are cheaper. So I guess probably the best news is that awareness is probably the best form of protection because you know that this is happening. So maybe taking a few extra photos um um can it can help you if something does ever go wrong.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Uh yeah, the whole idea of taking a photo of your luggage, uh, I haven't done that, but uh I'm going to start doing it and mostly for the fact that you mentioned if it gets misplaced, uh you don't have to describe it. You just have to show them a photo of it and they can figure it out themselves. So that's a good idea. And and then I thought, like, you know, uh keeping the uh baggage receipts and the claim tags, I do that too uh as well. But it doesn't really matter because they're taking the the initial tag that was on your suitcase and attaching it to the uh drug-loaded uh suitcase, right? So that that would match either way.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Yeah, it it is um they're they're saying exactly what you say that don't discard your bag tags till after your journey is complete. But it it doesn't matter if um your bag is is in question because of the drugs.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

So uh you're gonna have to prove more than just the bag tags are Yeah, because they're literally taking that bag tag off of your luggage and putting it on the drug-loaded luggage. So um I'm not sure how if you have that the claim tag that matches that uh that tag is gonna help you. I just reinforces the fact that that's your luggage.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Yes, absolutely. Um, and you know, uh and and in most cases, I I wouldn't even know how to address like a an an official, a police person, you know, really asking you some pretty determined questions, like you're already rattled. So it's it's something that you do have to be aware of, but in a sense, um i every little thing counts as far as making sure, you know, that air tag's a really good idea. Yes. Um I I really like that um for the fact that um if it goes astray or for whatever, you could say, no, this is what I have. Yes, my bad tag and such.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

The countries that uh the story uh mentions are Dominican Republic, Germany, Morocco, Paris, Bermuda, the Philippines, which you were just in, uh, South Korea, and you know, countries where drug where drug trafficking offenses can carry uh severe penalties. So uh it's uh the the trouble doesn't arrive uh arise until you arrive at your destination. And of course, uh there's language barriers, there's different laws, and the police may not be uh very friendly in the destination that you're at. So yeah, it can really cause some anxiety.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Oh, absolutely. And I think you know, you're not expecting this situation. Um you're you you you get put in a uh a place where you have to go and and have a very, you know, I guess focused conversation with a uh a border services agency person, and it you know, it it can get quite aggressive. So yeah, not a good thing to be a part of. Um and it you know, it starts in our own i in this case the uh report says that it starts in our own country with regards to um it being at Toronto Airport. But um, you know, drug smuggling can carry the death sentence in different countries. So a very serious uh scenario that um we don't want to be put in. But you know, w one of the things that I am finding more and more in travel. You try to be preventative, but at the end of the day, what's the scariest thing? It's what you're it's it's what you didn't plan for that that is is um hard to manage because I I you know before this report came out, I would have never thought to do this.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Oh, same here. And I we do the bag tag thing as well because again, it's just so you know where your your bag is, and I'm gonna start doing the photo thing because it's easier to describe, but that's more for misplaced luggage. And yes, this this is uh pretty rare, but you don't want to be that one, right? Like no one wants to be that one, even though you know the the chances of it happening to you are very slim. But it really doesn't say much for Toronto Pearson Airport as far as lack security or any other airport for that matter across the country. If people um obviously it's an inside job that has to be done to switch bag tags so it happens sometime after you've uh checked your bag and before the the bag goes on the aircraft.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

But it's a major gateway. I think that's what it is. It goes to a lot of different destinations in the world. And I think that's you know, where the um the scenario um maybe for criminals um or people are trying to take advantage of a situation is because they do have the opportunity to go to different destinations from the in the world from a major gateway such as Toronto Airport.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Well, the good news is that if you do those things, take photos of your luggage before handing it over, uh taking a photo of your bag tagged clearly on your piece of luggage and you know, use uh air tags. Um it's easily disputed, but again, you don't want to be that person, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Oh no. Um the the you know, in this article it did say that there was um a couple in the Dominican Republic that had to that were detained like a hundred days there trying to get this all sorted out, even after the the um the charges were dropped. So again, um pretty scary situation um for them to be in, and then having to manage a hundred days of expenses, like you know, having to stay there, as well as your job that you have um that you are not able to get back to or your family life. So again, it's a it's a huge ripple effect.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Well, and even the whole stigma of, oh, they were arrested on drug dealing charges. Even though you're innocent, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:42

And then you have to think, does that follow you? Like, you know, when you go through customs and you I'm not one that gets pulled over.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

You gotta wonder. Yeah, you gotta wonder exactly. Uh good stuff. People can find the story on Travel Pulse uh website, travelpulse.ca. Uh Onanda Forbes is a travel expert. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and ex at Onanta Forbes. OnandaForbes.com is her website. Uh good chatting, Onanta.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Take care. Have a good week.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

This is the Informed Traveler Podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, theinformed traveler.org. That's where you can find our contact page if you have any questions or comments about the podcast. You can also email me too with any questions you might have. My email address is randy at the informedtraveler.org. You can check out our social media pages too at facebook.com slash informed traveler, Instagram at informed traveler, or on X at InformTraveler. That's where you'll find a number of videos and photos from our recent visit to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and other interviews and stories. Plus, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our June issue is available now. Just go to our website, the informtraveler.org. Click on the newsletter button. It'll take you right there. Or you can subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each month. Well, Campbell River, BC

A Campbell River Escape

SPEAKER_01 12:10

offers visitors a spectacular blend of ocean, mountains, and wilderness on the east coast of Vancouver Island. It's also home to the Naturally Pacific Resort, which offers spectacular views and access to all those outdoor experiences. So joining me now to share all the things the Naturally Pacific Resort has to offer is Michael Johnstone. He is the general manager of the Naturally Pacific Resort. NaturallyPaci.ca is the website. Hi, Michael. Hi. Uh well, thanks for doing this. Uh it's not officially summer yet, but uh, how how are things so far in Campbell River going for you? And I'm sure you're looking forward to the summer weather.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

We are looking forward to the summer weather, of course. It's a we are looking forward to a record uh summer business-wise for sure. Yeah, things are looking good.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

So let's start with the basics. Uh where is it uh located in Campbell River? And uh uh it's easier now than ever to get there. I'm just adding now. WestJet has uh new flights with Campbell River and uh Harbor Air. So let's talk about that first. And then once you've landed, how do you get to the resort?

SPEAKER_02 13:19

So we're we're located um 700 Peterson Road, and we just are a little bit um out of the town center. Uh it's a nice quiet location. Um bedroom stock either overlook the the downtown area with the waterfront um or overlooking the golf course and the mountains. And yeah, we've just had um recently um not quite daily yet, I think it's three or four times a day direct flights coming in from Calgary um with WestJet, which is really um improving the accessibility because it now means that you know our European business is is growing. It doesn't mean it's not worth working a feeder market, but it's definitely growing. So it means that people can fly from Europe and any one of WestJet with many um partners, um and then they could come straight to Campbell over with the same airline, which is really easier. And then we've got harbor air coming um in a few weeks, uh July 6th, and they're gonna have uh daily seaplane service from Vancouver. Um that is going to be another added connectivity for us. And it means that that you know people can get here from Vancouver in a different way. So the ferries are great, but they're a little bit more timely. And this is going to be quick um harbor to harbor in 15 minutes. And we've also got an existing Pacific coastal flight direct from Vancouver three times a day. So I think the harbor area, um the harbor air, sorry, um service, especially for the the tourists coming on board, it just adds to that a West Coast experience that can get a float plane. It's it's different, it's nice.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

I've been to the uh Harbor Air Um place in Vancouver. You can have a nice lunch there, and it it's really cool to watch them take off. And I've I've I've only flown them once a long, long time ago, not with Harbor Air, but with on a on a float plane. But it is an interesting experience and a fun experience and a totally different experience.

SPEAKER_02 15:39

It is, and it's the you know, come straight from Vancouver downtown harbor to downtown here, so it's really convenient. Um, you know, they don't need to land in an airport and then get transportation to where they're going. And it's interesting when you mention transportation. We have two um shuttle services. We've got a luxury Cadillac service. Oh, nice. And then we've got a minibus to hold like 12, 14 people, I can't remember exactly. But we do uh complementary um candle of airport, shuttle back and forth to the resort. And then once at Harbour Air Kicks, then we'll be doing a complementary shuttle back and forth. And people can also pre-book these shuttles to take them to various locations. You know, Elk Falls being one. If they want to golf in a different golf course, we can arrange that. So the the transportation in this, you know, it's a small town and it it can be a little bit difficult to get public transport and taxis are sometimes difficult to get. So that's you know, we're we're offering that, which is is really good.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

One of the advantages though is the the airport isn't huge. So it's really quick to uh access, right? Compared to you know, a bigger airport like Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

It's a it's a really good point, Randy, because you know, I've flown in and out many times and uh it's like almost getting off a bus. You go off the aircraft two minutes, you're through, and you're out. So it's really it's really quick. Yeah, yeah, it's really good.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Let's talk about the resort itself. It's not overwhelming. I'm looking on the website, naturallypacific.ca. It's a nice size, right? Like I said, it's not it's not huge, overwhelming. You're not gonna you know get lost in a corridor or something, but uh but it's a nice size to offer enough amenities as well.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Yeah, it's uh 100 bedrooms. Um then we have within the main um hotel building, we've got an immersion spa, which is a beautiful spa service. We've also got carve, which is our um one of our um dining options, open for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Predominantly, you may call it a steakhouse, but we also look after our our people, our you know, vegan customers, vegetarians. Um we do fantastic fish dishes. So although you know we do a lot of beef dishes, um, we certainly look after everybody. And then we've got uh a nice meeting space and a separate building, um, which holds about a hundred people. And then we've got Velocity, which is our virtual golf um food provider, um, and there's you know an option to have some food and drinks in their separate kitchen, more a casual approach. And then we've just opened our sunset terrace, which is our barbecue um uh patio. Um so we do um, you know, there's an external full kitchen barbecue that the food comes from. A lot of the the salad and vegetables, and I'll come to that in a second, comes from our Pacific Apache Garden. And we also do a smoked takeout um option there. And people can also order from the smoked menu and uh and the you know have the the food um on the patio and that's a located owned smoke and brisket pork fish chicken. It's absolutely ideal.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Yeah, it sounds good.

SPEAKER_02 19:26

So that's that's all the Sunset Terrace is not new, but it we've it opened last year, but as many things we looked at the first year and thought, well, this stuff needs to be changed and this needs to be uh redone. So it's a very different um facility now. So that's kind of an out the outdoor hot tub and an indoor pool with a steam room and sauna with a gym. So everything that that somebody would need to enjoy a few days in the resort for sure.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Well, and the name the name is unique too, with naturally Pacific. I think that sort of says the the philosophy behind running the resort in general, right? And you're and you were touching upon uh again, I get this from your website, a garden where you're getting you're pulling the vegetables right out of your own garden.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Well, I mean that and I didn't really mention the golf course. I mean the golf course right now is in pristine condition. And uh that's you know, we do get uh a big draw from golfers coming and joining the golf course and spending a couple of nights. Um just before I I speak about the the garden, another new thing um for us is uh a property called the Residence Naturally Pacific Resort. And that is on the it overlooks the golf course. It's not really part of the main complex, it's maybe a it's a two-minute drive, ten-minute walk. Um, but it's a a five-bedroomed luxury residence, self-contained. Um sleeps with ten people, you could go there, spend a few days, you know, gourmet kitchen, everything's there for you. You can pre-order um food, there's an outdoor barbecue area, a chef can go along and cook for you if you wish. So it's a really elevated option for, and we're finding it's popular with families, groups of friends, also corporate groups that are coming to the resort, and some of them may want, you know, the CEO, for example, may want an option to stay a little bit privately. So that is new. Um the specific patch, I'll touch on that. So, you know, this is unique. It's a 22,500 square foot um garden on property. And you know, we cultivate, for example, we're self sufficient in garlic. Right now it's asparagus season. We've got fruits, we've got berries, we've got bees, which gives us honey. Many, many things that I I could list. We grow we grow flowers and everything that's grow edible that's grown there goes directly into carve and uh velocity and our um outdoor patio. And it's it's really is you know, we extended it last year, so it's just now becoming its own. And really interestingly, we don't use any pesticides and the the uh uh the team there are so knowledgeable, so the plant flowers that are a natural deterrent to bugs. So for example, the the the the grow marigolds next to I think it's peas or strawberries, I can't remember, but that naturally pushes away any nasty bugs. So cool. Yeah, yeah, are are really are really knowledgeable.

unknown 23:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:03

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Let's talk a little bit about just Campbell River itself, some of the activities, and there's whale watching, uh lots of outdoor activities that uh uh you can organize too, can't you?

SPEAKER_02 23:13

Absolutely. They can book the guests can book through us or they can book directly with the the our our uh partners. You know, we've got uh Himalco First Nation um Wildlife and Cart Cultural Tours. We've got later in the summer, we've got grizzly bear tours. Right now it we're just the our partners are just starting up whale watching and fishing. The whale watching is really amazing to see orcas in the wild and humpbacks and all sorts of things. I was out in the water last Monday with some of the team and we saw the whole thing, we saw eagles feeding, we saw whales, as many as you could count on two fingers, two hands. They put on a good show for you then. We saw bears, we saw you know the lot, it was amazing. Yeah. Nice. And then the fishing people can choose either sea fishing or or river fishing. Both are pretty amazing um days, and they're they're pretty much all full day trips. So yeah. That's one of the main draws, I guess, that people come to Campbell River is to experience what's on the doorstep. Another good thing, the big thing to mention is you don't have to sit in transportation for hours to get to these facilities. It's yeah, it's uh two or three minutes from the the resort. And again, we can we can transport guests down to the harbor area in our one of our shuttles. So it's it's some of them are quite long days because you know, just because of what you need to to see, but it's not uh it's quick to get there.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Yeah. Yeah, you're not wasting an hour just to get to see all the things, right? Yeah, yeah. You're gonna see them right away, even though it's a long day, but you're you're gonna get a shot.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

So we work with our our partners, you know, really closely. Another thing that a guest can do is a company called 49 North Helicopters. That's a completely different thing that can take you up and and you know, you can see Discovery Package, A Passage, Alpine Lakes, Glaciers. It's I've not been in it personally yet, but it's uh it's it's quite special. It's it's fun. It's totally unique. It's totally unique. Um and you know that the if you do the the ocean fishing, um, which I've done a few times, if you catch uh a salmon or that's big enough, you can keep it and they will cut it. And you know there's a there's a facility downtown that they will package it up and and make it airline friendly and also they will smoke it for you, or if you bring it up to the resort, we've got a dedicated freezer just for guests fish, so you can throw it in the freezer and if you're kind of more local, you can take it away. So that's all really going on.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

So well, you were mentioning before that you're getting uh the opportunity to host more European visitors. Um do you get a lot of people from, say, the Vancouver area or Western Canada? Where where do you get most of your visitors from?

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Yeah, I mean, British Columbia, um Vancouver Island, uh Vancouver definitely is our top feeder market. But because of the enhanced um air traffic coming in, we get we've always done well from Alberta, but that's increasing from Calgary. Edmonton in the winter would do well um with Alberta because of the extreme cold. They can come here in a short space of time and golf in the winter, and that's a big attraction. That is a big attraction, exactly. Yeah, but we we get guests from all over. You know, I I hosted a manager's cocktail party last night and was speaking to a ton of people with some people from just out the coast, with some people from Victoria, with a really lovely um family from uh Edinburgh, so from my home country. Um they're here, they're in Canada for a month doing all sorts of things. So that that was quite interesting. So it was interesting speaking to the clients to understand why they chose to come here and what's their traction. And last night people were telling uh well, the couple from Edinburgh were saying they're here to do the whale watch and thing, which they absolutely loved and never done that before, and then another couple of ladies were here just to, you know, enjoy the resort and golf, and they didn't really need to go anywhere but the resort. So it's uh it's a good mix. It's a nice mix.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Well, I guess that's one of the fun parts of the job, too, getting to know the people that are coming to visit and why, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:04

Yeah, definitely. Definitely. But we are seeing uh a nice growth from Germany and the UK as the main um growth markets from Europe, which is is really interesting.

SPEAKER_03 28:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

Anything I've missed that you might want to add?

SPEAKER_02 28:21

And just uh a a little bit on our sustainability, that it's a big part of who we are. We're a biosphere certified resort, and you know, uh the garden that I mentioned, our horticulturists, you know, last year we diverted over 10,000 pounds of food waste from our restaurant operations away from landfill through our on-site composting program. So it's composted and then it's returned to the garden to use as fertilizer. Um, you know, across the resort, we really invested heavily in the golf course a few years ago in advanced irrigation systems, um, which has reduced our environmental footprint, really our water usage substantially. And we've got all sorts of things, uh we've got a sustainability committee within the resort, and we're all always coming up with ideas of how to improve our sustainability footprint. A tiny example, every guest room gets um slippers. Um so we've now found a supplier that supplies them that are not wrapped in plastic. So that's that's a big that's a big saving.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Mm-hmm. Well, Naturally Pacific. That's the name, right? Michael Johnstone is the uh general manager of the Naturally Pacific Resort. You can find out more information on their website, naturallypacific.ca. It was uh pleasure chatting with you, Michael. Here's to a great summer. Thank you so much. It was my pleasure. And that is our show for this week. If you have comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a show idea, send that along as well. My email is Randy at theinformedraveler.org. And if you like what you heard, tell a friend. You can check out our website too at the informed traveler.org. In the meantime, thanks for listening. Travel safe and be an informed traveler.