By Chris Shannon From Cape Breton Post

Some people including centenarian Olive Tetford can’t wait to feel the Caribbean [Cayman Islands] heat

SYDNEY — Olive Tetford smiles as she flips through old photos of her travels abroad.

The centenarian — she hit the milestone last week — is craving the warmth of the Caribbean sun.

Tetford has a granddaughter who lives in the Cayman Islands.

It’s a place she’s visited 10 times over the years. However, it’s been a few years since her last visit there.

“They have beautiful snow white beaches. Salty water but no sharks, and the movie stars come down because nobody bugs them for an autograph,” Tetford said sitting in the living room of her Sydney condominium.

Over the years, she’s made countless trips to the Caribbean, Europe, and across North America. Tetford, who is a great-grandmother, has taken part in Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, travelled to the Australian outback and has visited the ruins of ancient Turkey.

Even at 100, she still gets the urge to head down south like any other Canadian snowbird — anything to escape part of, if not the entire, harsh winter season in Cape Breton.

“I’ve been sitting here … I don’t know how many days I’ve been stuck in the house here. You don’t want to go out and get pneumonia.”

Her only worry — and it’s not her health as she says — is the cost of travel.

That’s been a growing concern for many as the Canadian dollar continues to sink to lows not seen since 2003.

While the dollar’s tumble has been good for some sectors of the economy such as exports, it has hurt investors, companies importing products from the U.S., and Canadian tourists looking for a sunny winter escape.

Tetford’s niece, Melanie MacLeod, operates her own travel agency, MacLeod Travel.

She says travellers ask how prices to sought-after Caribbean destinations like Cancun, Punta Cana and Varadero compare to years past.

Some ask for the best deals possible and it means doing a lot of research, MacLeod said.

“There is concern,” she said.

“I laugh — they (clients) say, ‘I want to go. The dollar is terrible but if something pops up, let me know.’ It’s still in the back of their mind,” MacLeod said with a laugh.

Some may look at Europe as an option but from January through March clients are looking for “sun and sand” destinations, particularly in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

“It all depends on the person and how desperate they are to get out of this snow. Some will pay it and others will wait. Right now the phone is ringing off the hook.”

The Bank of Canada’s latest business outlook survey released Wednesday shows data from late last year that continues a trend of Canadians curbing foreign travel that began in mid-2013 as the loonie fell below par with the U.S. dollar.

In turn, travel from non-residents in the country has stayed relatively constant up until late 2014 when a noticeable uptick in the number of foreign travellers was first recorded, the bank says.

On Wednesday, the Canadian dollar ended the day at 69.03 cents U.S., up 0.44 of a cent.

The peak travel period for sun seekers continues to be March break. It’s also the most expensive time to travel south, says Monique MacMullin of Maritime Travel on Charlotte Street.

Packages are still available but limited for the peak travel period, she says.

“The concern about the dollar doesn’t seem to be stopping them. They’re just taking into consideration the extra costs.”

The “travel bug” is powerful to overcome, says MacMullin.

“You just make up the difference. I think you’re more careful spending money when you’re down there. If you go on excursions, if you normally do three, you may do two instead.”

At Tetford’s condo, she’s flipping through old photos from her trips to Australia in 1977 and Hawaii in 1992.

“I’d like to go somewhere where it’s warm, not cold … especially when you’re old. When you’re young you don’t care about that,” she exclaims.

The plan for Tetford — at least for now — is to look into taking a February holiday in Grand Cayman.

IMAGE: Olive Tetford looks at photos and mementos from her travels on safari in Kenya from years past. Tetford, who turned 100 last week, is looking for a winter getaway to the Cayman Islands next month. Despite a falling Canadian dollar, travel agencies in Sydney aren’t seeing a slow down in people looking to escape the cold.

For more on this story go to: http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2016-01-20/article-4410420/Loonie%26rsquo%3Bs-fall-not-affecting-Cape-Breton-snowbirds/1