Guest post by Jemima Herman, Worldwide Partner Conference lead for the Microsoft U.S. Partner Team.

jemimagAre you a planner or a procrastinator? If you’re like me, whether you plan ahead or put things off probably depends on how many immediate demands you have on you. The 2012 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference is taking place in Canada, so for U.S. attendees, there are some important international travel details to add to your to-do list for attending the Conference. If you take care of them in the next few weeks, they won’t surprise you in a few months, when you are about to travel for the event in July.

  1. Passport. All U.S. citizens are required to present a valid U.S. passport to enter or re-enter the United States via air. It may take up to six weeks to have a passport issued to you. The sooner you start the process, the sooner you can relax about it. See the U.S. Department of State website for more details on traveling to Canada.
  2. Health Insurance. Check with your health insurance provider to understand what coverage, if any, you will have while you are in Canada.
  3. Phone: Calls, Text, and Internet Access. Check with your mobile phone provider about international rates and coverage plans, as you’ll want to communicate with fellow WPC attendees, as well as family and colleagues back home.

Toronto has built a great reputation for being an amazing city for holding important gatherings. Some things to know about Toronto thatSanta Claus Parade - photo courtesy of Tourism Toronto make it the right fit for hosting the Worldwide Partner Conference:

  • 65 airlines offer flights to and from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, which handles more than 1,250 flights daily, with half of those from the U.S.;
  • Several major American cities, and about 60% of the U.S. population, are within a 90-minute flight of Toronto;
  • It’s a safe, clean, urban center, with the lowest crime rate in North America for a metropolitan area of its size;
  • Getting around the city is easy, with readily accessible public buses, streetcars, and subways.

To learn more about traveling to and within Toronto, plus its sights, restaurants, entertainment, and other activities, try the Tourism Toronto website, which I have been regularly visiting myself.

Watch for my next WPC 2012 post in the New Year. Happy Holidays!

U.S. WPC Community

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