NYC HITTING A HOME RUN WITH CANADIAN MARKET
There’s always something new in New York, a constant that helps inspire a million Canadians a year to visit, says senior city tourism exec Reginald Charlot.
MEET ONVIGO, CANADA’S NEWEST HOST AGENCY
Onvigo says it’s a host agency with a “twist.” The brainchild of Chippy Jegathesan, CEO of Canadian consolidator Voyzant, the enterprise recently launched with a “no fees, no (social) barriers” model designed to “empower individuals from all backgrounds to thrive in the travel industry.” The agency also aims to equally appeal to existing independent agents, those who may have been “away” for a while during the pandemic, and especially individuals looking to join the industry.
LISTENING IN: Annie does Elton
If you love Elton John (and Bernie Taupin), the performance honouring the pair with the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song for 2024 is a must. The gala aired on PBS earlier this week and featured a host of performances, including Joni Mitchell, Brandi Carlisle, and Garth Brooks covering John/Taupin classics. Even Metallica weighed in for “Funeral for a Friend/Loves Lies Bleeding” (oddly, it worked!).
TRAVELBRANDS HOSTS AGENT APPRECIATION EVENTS
TravelBrands celebrated its relationship with travel advisors and partners at gala evening events held in Toronto (Tuesday) and Montreal (Wednesday) this week. About 1,000 attendees were expected at the Agent Appreciation Events, which featured presentations, reception, and a massive trade show.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: New Caribbean tourism group has fresh vision for Canada
A new Caribbean tourism group founded by the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s former Canadian BDM has launched in Canada. One Caribbean Canada is the brainchild of Nancy Drolet, who has assembled an inaugural list of 18 destinations and several hotels in the region, with the notion of banding together to better promote the Caribbean in this country.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE: TravelBrands still devoted to travel agents
Remember the old days? Get to the Sunquest launch before all the roast beef sandwiches (or Jamaican patties) are gone was the common refrain. How things have changed.
LISTENING IN: Once upon a time, there was a total eclipse
You may have heard there’s a total eclipse coming on Monday. With this in mind, it seems appropriate to dust off “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, the song by husky-voiced Welsh chanteuse Bonnie Tyler, but notably written by inimitable Meat Loaf collaborator Jim Steinman after the two split.
THE PRICE OF BORDER BLISS SET TO RISE: Apply now to beat NEXUS price hike
Most NEXUS members in Canada will say the fast-track trusted traveller program is the best $50 they ever spent. (Many others lament they just haven’t gotten around to it yet). But after 20 years of border bliss without a price hike, the cost of the card is set to more than double effective Oct. 1.
DUBAI: Lifestyles for the rich and famous, and everyone else
Dubai welcomed more tourists than ever before in 2023, attracting 17.15 million international overnight visitors. And they weren’t all rich and famous – a perception that Visit Dubai is eager to dispel, urging the trade to consider that “If you think you know Dubai, think again!”
AGENTS MEET THE REAL NEW ZEALAND
Accompanied by key suppliers from New Zealand, the South Pacific country’s national carrier called in Toronto and Calgary this week as part of a North American mission designed to “harness everything New Zealand… and bring a touch of New Zealand” to the trade.
LISTENING IN: Paul Kelly’s Aussie anthem for us all
It’s Australia month at Goway and any mention of DownUnder always gets me thinking about my favourite singer, the amazing Aussie Paul Kelly – a multi-talented singer-songwriter-poet I have previously introduced in this space, comparing his band and style to Blue Rodeo.
LISTENING IN: New video reveals Jimmy Buffet’s Bourbon Street ‘education’
These are a few of my favourite things: Jimmy Buffet, New Orleans, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. And now the three of them have amazingly come together with the unexpected new video of a song recorded in 2023 just before the late singer’s untimely death.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE: Anniversary milestone for The Travel Agent Next Door
It sounded like an Oscar speech, so many people thanked by Flemming Friisdahl. And in a way, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the company he founded, The Travel Agent Next Door, was an Oscar of sorts from the Canadian travel industry. But the point, Friishdahl was determined to make, was he couldn’t have done it alone.
JAMAICA DECLARES NEW BENCHMARK FOR TOURISM
As Jamaica prepares to host global delegates at the Caribbean’s pre-eminent travel trade event, Caribbean Travel Marketplace, in May, the country’s tourism minister has declared a new benchmark for tourism metrics: 2023. “Normally we talk about 2019 (before the pandemic), as being the benchmark,” Edmund Barlett said during a zoom event ahead of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s 42 annual event. “Now we have changed that. 2023 is the new benchmark for Jamaica’s tourism.”
MAD ABOUT TRAD: Delightful Dublin is music to our ears
Since the age of four, when my mother first played the irrepressible song “Off to Dublin in the Green” by an obscure group called The Abbey Tavern Singers, I’ve been hooked on traditional Irish folk music.
LISTENING IN: Getting tipsy with Celtic Thunder
In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday, it naturally behooves us to offer an Irish song this week, and I’m a sucker for the classics, like “The Rocky Road to Dublin,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” and “The Orange and the Green” – which is why we’ve done those in years past.
GOWAY FAM: There’s no better time to walk like an Egyptian
For those whose bucket list is beckoning, there may be no better time to travel to Egypt – a destination that our recent Goway FAM group found utterly unaffected by the ongoing situation in Gaza, but which is nevertheless experiencing a dip in tourism that has created an unintended silver lining of fewer fellow visitors for those who do go.
A COUNTRY OF CRUISERS: And other Virtuoso Canadian trends
“We are a country of cruisers,” says Una O’Leary. As evidence, the Canadian GM for Virtuoso points to a “staggering” rise in future cruise bookings across the network – and figures showing that cruising comprised nearly half (48%) of all 2023 sales in the region.
SPRING FEVER: Unexpected Arizona is calling Canadians
Spring is in the air in Arizona – and that means spring training baseball, desert blooms, and plenty of Canadians. And while the former are annual rights of Spring, the latter is especially welcome news as the southern US state expects to at last surpass pre-pandemic numbers in 2024.
LISTENING IN: Just a couple of (rad) girls
Gwen Stefani made news this week. Travel news. The glimmering pop star performed Godmother duties for Royal Caribbean International as the cruise line launched its new Jubilee flagship in Miami on the weekend.
THE LATEST ON LOS CABOS – A CANADIAN FAVOURITE
Located on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, Los Cabos might be the “most isolated” region of Mexico – “you have to come by air,” notes the managing director of the region’s tourist board, Rodrigo Esponda – but Canadians clearly have no trouble finding the vacation hotspot.
BRENT AND ELAINE’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE: ‘Unexpected’ Albania a European gem
Brent Carnegie admits he wouldn’t likely have ever listed Albania on his travel bucket list. But the Canadian travel industry veteran recently found himself in what has traditionally been considered a rather mysterious Balkan enclave for a family visit – and he loved it.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: France road show touts Olympics and more
There was certainly no shortage of top-of-mind topics at Atout France’s annual Canadian roadshow this week – a four-city tour that winds up in Vancouver Thursday after gala event in Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary. After all, the Summer Olympic Games awaits the starters gun July 26 in Paris, D-Day will be thoughtfully remembered in Normandy on its milestone 80th anniversary on June 6, and the long-awaited re-opening of Paris’s landmark Notre Dame Cathedral is scheduled for Dec. 8 (it was famously devastated by fire 2019).
IS EGYPT SAFE? Our Goway FAM found out (and the answer is yes!)
The cruise ships dot the Nile like planes coming into an airport, though the procession belies the fact that they are operating at half capacity or less as Egyptian tourism continues to be rocked by the country’s perceived proximity to the war in Palestine – despite the fact that the distance from Gaza to Giza is close to 500 km., and through the Sinai desert no less.
72 HOURS IN VEGAS (WITHOUT BETTING A PENNY)
Beyond keeping up with Karly (our host and a speed-walker of the first order), Las Vegas is meant to be experienced at double speed. The current concept of “slow tourism” does not apply here.
LISTENING IN: Remembering a kick-amp classic
Late last month Mary Weiss, lead singer of the pioneering 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las passed away. The band was best known for its classic “Leader of the Pack,” but also the hit “(Remember) Walking in the Sand.”
SONGS OF THE SOUTH: ‘Country roads’ culture can’t be beat
Travel South USA arrived in Canada this week to court the travel trade at gala events in Toronto and Montreal, enticing guests with “bacon, bourbon and blues” – the latter courtesy of special guest, American Idol winner (and Alabaman) Taylor Hicks, whose rootsy refrains provided the soundtrack of the evenings.
LISTENING IN: Time to get away with The Black Keys
A buddy messaged me the other day and said, “Have to say it’s the first time I’ve ever landed in Vancouver to see everything covered in snow.” It was so cold in T.O. my wife wouldn’t let me walk the dog (her concern was for the dog!). And don’t get us started on the rain and fog. Needless to say, winter is wearisome in this country, and there’s so much more to come.
PUBS, PATIOS & BARS: ‘Illicit whisky’ and dream drams at London’s Síbín
“Hidden in plain sight behind a secret door,” and situated in one of London’s most historic and cherished buildings, the Síbín whisky bar has launched a global “Whisky Passport” designed to take patrons on a flavour journey beyond the British capital with some of the world’s best vintages.
LISTENING IN: Doobies do their part to help Maui victims
In the tradition of great charitable relief songs like “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” “We are the World,” and “Tears Are Not Enough,” The Doobie Brothers have recorded a song – “Lahaina” – to help raise funds for recovery in Maui from last year’s devastating wildfires. The band has deep connections to the Hawaiian island, as has Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood (who lost his restaurant on Maui to the fires).