22 OCT 2018: In case you missed it, and even if you didn’t, here’s a quick look at some of last week’s need-to-know travel news:
AIR
For the first time, Sunwing will offer flights to Tobago from Toronto this winter with the Thursday service starting Dec. 20 and running through to April 18. Read more HERE.
Porter Airlines will connect Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor passengers to Melbourne, Fla., with seasonal service starting Dec. 19 through to April 13, 2019. Flights will operate twice weekly from Toronto Billy Bishop, and once per week from Ottawa and Windsor. Get the full story HERE.
TOURS
Vancouver’s newest cannabis tour company is providing free walking tours to educate the cannabis curious. Movement Cannabis Tours aims to help Vancouver’s residents and visitors aged 19+ enjoy the city’s cannabis industry safely and legally. The free informational walking tours will run five times a day next (Oct. 27-28). The tours run every two hours, starting at 9 a.m. near the Vancouver Art Gallery, and include stops at some of Vancouver’s key locations in cannabis history.
DEALS & DISCOUNTS
Until Oct. 28, Air Canada Vacations clients can fly for just $49 (economy, plus taxes) when booking a balcony stateroom category or higher on select Costa Cruises’ sailings from Barcelona or Rome. Travel must be between March 25 and June 28 and Sept. 2-Oct. 1, 2019.
The Canadian Resident Blowout Sale by TravelBrands Cruises, by Encore Cruises, is giving Canadian residents substantial savings on their next sailing. For balcony stateroom or above bookings made on select Royal Caribbean cruises made by Oct. 31, travellers will receive multiple savings including: $250 air credit or $250 gas card per file, free prepaid gratuities for two, US$200 onboard credit and one bottle of wine. Applicable cruises (all from Cape Liberty, N.J.) include: 8-night Bahamas (Nov. 17 and Dec. 21); 4-night Bermuda (Dec. 6 – note the onboard credit and bottle of wine are not applicable with this sailing); and 11-night Eastern Caribbean (Nov. 25 and Dec. 10)
Through Nov. 5, Turkish Airlines is offering discounted fares to international destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East departing from either Toronto or Montreal. Sample fares include Tel Aviv from Toronto for US$869 and Mumbai from Montreal for US$1,189. Travellers can also take advantage of the airline’s recently launched Stopover Program where transfer passengers departing from any of the airline’s Canadian gateways can extend their layover in Istanbul with complimentary accommodations. Travel must be completed by May 15, 2019, and blackout dates apply.
HOTELS
W is heading to Brazil with W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International, announcing the signing of the brand’s first hotel in the country. Slated to open in 2021, W São Paulo will join W openings in the region including W Panama (open as of February 2018) and W Costa Rica (opening in late 2018). W São Paulo will feature 179 luxe guestrooms and suites, as well as rooftop dining with sweeping views of the city. The hotel will be located 25 km. from Guarulhos International Airport.
“Highly personalized and holistic service paired with understated sophistication, comfort and intimacy,” are the hallmarks of the newly opened NoMad Las Vegas, a 293-room and suite hotel situated on the top floors of Park MGM on the Las Vegas strip (beside New York New York). Highlights include culinary offerings from Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Humm and Guidara, a casino with historic Tiffany glass ceiling that is original to the former Monte Carlo, and garden-like oasis inspired by the Majorelle Gardens of Morocco (opening in 2019).
RESORTS
Travellers booking a family getaway at AMResort’s Sunscape Star Cancun resort from Nov. 1 to 21 for travel from April 1 to June 28, 2019, will receive Pre-Opening rates starting at $139 p.p., welcome in-room amenity, up to $200 in resort coupons per room, and one free night when booking a minimum five-night stay. The resort features reservation-free dining at four à la carte specialty restaurants, unlimited drinks, an Explorer’s Club for Kids, Core Zone Teens Club, four pools and watersports galore.
CRUISE
An astronaut, Academy Award-winning film director and one of the original designers of Apple are among the distinguished names taking part in Seabourn Cruises 2018-19 speaker series, Seabourn Conversations. Other topics include mountaineering, television production, culinary, history, politics, and the arts. For the full schedule of speakers, along with ships and sailing dates, visit www.seabourn.com.
Carnival Cruise Line is launching a completely redesigned version of Travel Agent Finder. The upgraded tool is more user-friendly and provides enhanced individual agency information, as well as displays to help consumers find a local travel professional within Carnival’s extensive network. It also uses Google Maps to display agency locations, providing a greater degree of detail and accuracy than was possible before.
CAR RENTAL
Hertz has partnered with the SkyTeam alliance as its first non-air affiliate enabling frequent flyers of all of SkyTeam’s 20 member airlines to receive a variety of car rental benefits while notching up miles towards air travel when they rent a vehicle from Hertz. Passengers participating in the frequent flyer programs of SkyTeam member airlines will receive a special code for their Hertz car rental bookings. Hertz covers SkyTeam’s global network of 1,072 destinations with more than 10,000 rental locations around the world. Reservations can be made online, by phone or through the Hertz app.
THEME PARKS
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort.
Citing popular demand, Universal Orlando Resort has added another date, Tuesday, Oct. 30, to this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. The intense Spooktacular runs on select nights through Nov. 3, starting at 6:30 p.m.
A new nature-inspired, mixed-use Disney resort will welcome families in 2022 along the shoreline of Bay Lake. Located between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, the 900-room resort project joins three others underway at Walt Disney World Resort, bringing a total of more than 1,700 new hotel rooms and proposed Disney Vacation Club villas online over the next four years. The projects are part of Disney’s most significant expansion in 20 years.
EVENTS
Travel agents from numerous cities across Canada are invited – along with their clients – to a series of free events to take place in November hosted by the Globus family of brands. Each of the 20 cities where the “Travel the World” 90-minute presentations are held will feature information and insider tips on Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways’ river cruises. Space is limited for the events, which includes refreshments and a special offer for clients. Click HERE for dates and locations.
FAMS & INCENTIVES
From the top of the Andes mountains to the unique wildlife and islands of the Galapagos, agents (and companion) will be able to explore extraordinary Ecuador on a Feb. 19-March 1, 2019, familiarization trip hosted by Toronto-based tour operator, NARAT. Cost for the 11-day trip is US$2,885 p.p. plus flight taxes of US$645 and incudes international flights from Toronto and Montreal and all domestic airfares in Ecuador. (A US$250 add-on supplement from YVR applies). Accommodation is with deluxe hotels, historic haciendas and an overnight with a traditional family. A four-day FAM extension to the Amazon can be added and single supplements are subject to availability. To apply for the Ultimate Ecuador & Galapagos FAM, email: fams@narat.org.
Oct. 23 is the final day for agents to earn double STAR points on all new Sunwing bookings to Mazatlan for departures Nov. 1 to April 30, 2019.
PEOPLE
Dedicated air specialist Mary Takla is the newest member of Goway Groups Only. An industry veteran with experience in executive sales and customer service, Takla has worked for major international airlines both in Canada and in her home country of Egypt and brings a wealth of air contract and routing knowledge to the department.
Kathy Motton is back at Reach Global Marketing Ltd. after six years away. As director of communications and marketing, Motton will manage NYC & Company and Arizona accounts for Reach, reporting to president Charmaine Singh. She can be reached at kathy@reachglobal.ca .
SUSTAINABLE
Transat is now Travelife Certified, marking the first time that the United Nations supported international certification from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has been awarded to a major international tour operator for the full range of its activities. This recognition, says Transat, underscores its “longstanding efforts and leadership in sustainable development.” To hold and maintain Travelife Certified status, companies must comply with more than 200 criteria covering its workplace practices, product range, business partners, and customers.
BY THE NUMBERS
Trafalgar recently commissioned a survey of 1,400 global travellers to discover what they are seeking from their holidays and what “the good life” means to them. But the results, says the tour operator, were “somewhat disconcerting,” with a general sentiment suggesting that “rather than travel evoking wanderlust, the wonder of travel is getting lost”:
• 89% of respondents said travel is enjoyable but stressful and difficult to plan
• 49% surveyed claimed that “real” travel experiences didn’t actually feel that real – that travel is becoming a common tourist trail
• 37% surveyed felt they didn’t see any “real culture” on their last trip and almost half of participants said if they did, these experiences were not unique
• 61% of guests are feeling the negative effects of over-tourism.
• 53% said that the pressures of social media posting on holiday were enough to put them off
On the positive side:
• 83% of participants said happiness is more important than success
• 79% valued being well more than being wealthy
• 76% preferred having experiences over having “things”
• 71% saw trips where they had new experiences as being more important than those where they visited all the sights.
Trafalgar says it is “driven” to help restore the sense of “wander lust” and eliminate the feeling of “wonder-lost” amongst such travellers.
DESTINATIONS
Flamboyant festivity is the name of the game during the Bud Light Fantasy Fest Parade set for the night of Saturday, Oct. 27. The lavish procession is the highlight of Key West’s Oct. 19-28 Fantasy Fest costuming and masking celebration. The exotic parade typically includes more than 50 decorated and motorized floats, and featuring music, light shows, marching groups and street dancers garbed in elaborate sequined and feathered costumes.
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