COULD BE WORSE: Air Canada confirms drop in U.S. business
- On a day that Air Canada celebrated the resumption of flights between Ottawa and London Heathrow, the carrier confirmed that its cross-border flight bookings for the next six months have decreased about 10% – though considerably less than some industry suggestions that traffic has dropped by up to 70 percent.
BLUE LAGOON ON RED ALERT AS ICELAND VOLCANO ERUPTS AGAIN
- A volcano began erupting again in southwestern Iceland again, just hours after authorities evacuated a nearby community and a geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions. Flames and smoke shot through the air as the volcanic fissure opened near the town of Grindavik.
CANADIANS SHOW GROWING AFFINITY FOR ASIA
- Canada is forecast to be Asia-Pacific’s sixth largest source market in the next three years, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), which is forecasting a strong travel rebound and growth in the region through 2027.
RETAIL ROUND-UP: Agent news, fams & incentives
- This week: Transat Distribution Canada, Nexion, Expedia TAAP, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Virtuoso-Allianz, and Zebrano Travel.
JOKE’S ON YOU: Trade pranks and a history of April Fool’s day
- No, Air Transat hasn’t changed the name of the Atlantic Ocean to the Canadien Ocean. But with a nod and a wink to the potus across the border, the company said it was unilaterally changing the name and announced as much in onboard announcements across its network yesterday – April 1.
SUNWING HAS EYE ON IBEROSTAR IN APRIL
- Iberostar Hotels & Resorts Cuba is in the Sunwing spotlight in April as the tour company’s partner of the month. Travel advisors booking their clients by April 30 (for travel by Oct. 31) will be able to take advantage of special limited-time offerings, as well as earning up to up to 3X STAR Points themselves.
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GO CANADA!: Porter adds more Maple Leaf to network tree
- Claiming “Our goal is to fly where our customers want to travel,” Porter Airlines is adding more Canada to its summer schedule. The carrier says domestic flying will comprise 80% of its total network capacity, up from 75% in its original seasonal plan.
‘POTENTIALLY PROBLEMATIC’: Quebec university issues U.S. travel guidelines
- Université de Montréal has issued a series of guidelines to students and staff who will be travelling to the United States for academic purposes amid what it described as growing anxiety among members of the community.
AIR CANADA EYES EUROPE WITH NEW ROUTE, CAPACITY
- Air Canada is adding a new route and boosting frequencies to popular Europe destinations for the summer, highlighted by new service from Montreal to Edinburgh, Scotland. The carrier is also adding close to 1,300 weekly seats to Paris and Athens, and is also extending its peak Toronto to Rome schedule until October.
TICO TOUTS BENEFITS OF NEW TOOLS FOR REGISTRANTS
- With 75% of Ontario consumers who are aware of the protection available to them more likely to book at a TICO-registered businesses compared to only 43% who don’t, the province’s regulatory body has added new resources to its Registrants Toolkit, which is designed to enable travel professionals to highlight the benefits of booking with a TICO-registered business to current and prospective clients.
DISCONNECT TO RECONNECT: How to unplug in Nassau & Paradise Island
- In a digital age where screens compete for our attention, finding time to truly disconnect and immerse in the present moment is more important than ever. And with white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, and slower-paced island life, there is no better place to do so than Nassau & Paradise Island, says the Bahamian destination’s promotion board.
U.S. TO RE-EVALUATE JAMAICA TRAVEL WARNING
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the State Department will re-evaluate its travel warnings for Jamaica and other countries to ensure they reflect real conditions on the ground. As part of a tour of the Caribbean last week, Rubio heard complaints from Jamaican officials about the warning for their country, which is heavily dependent on tourism.