Travel advisors have been called therapists, curators, creators, and “architects of dreams.” Add another honorific: peacemakers. That’s according to Jamaica’s minister of tourism Edmund Bartlett, who spares no hyperbole in describing the important role travel agents play in the world.
In this special Christmas Eve edition of ‘Listening In’ I will offer that without a doubt my favourite Christmas song is “Christmas in Killarney,” a song written in 1950 and performed by many artists over the years, though the best IMO is unquestionably The Irish Rovers version, recorded in 2002 (a video we posted a couple of years ago).
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has become as much a part of Christmas as Frosty or The Grinch, ever since its landmark album “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” album debuted over 25 years ago. The collection of Christmas-themed “rock operas” included this week’s offering, the epic instrumental “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo,” which cleverly incorporates echoes of a familiar Christmas tune.
Princess Hotels & Hotels celebrated its official opening last weekend in Jamaica, marking the Spanish company’s first property in the country and the biggest hotel on the island in the past 15 years. Not by coincidence, the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) annual One Love Affair top travel advisor weekend – which included 15 Canadians (and Travel Industry Today) – aligned with the long-anticipated opening, which culminated with a spectacular fireworks display.
“Architect of dreams, therapist, curator and creator…” – all of them rolled into one: travel advisor. And 50 of Jamaica’s best global agents were honoured by the island’s tourist board for being just so over the weekend at the brand-new Princess Grand resort during the Jamaica Tourist Board’s annual One Love Affair celebration and gala.
Curious travellers have been visiting Egypt over 5,000 years ago, inspired by a list of treasures that keeps growing, even today. Recently an extraordinary new statue of Ramses II has been unearthed, ancient tombs discovered, gold-tongued mummies brought to light, and an incredible 2,500-year-old funerary tunnel revealed.
Boston’s “More than a Feeling” was about how music can take you back to people or places from the past, so it’s not surprising that hearing the song today does just that for me – back to 1976 when the band exploded into public consciousness with a self-titled album that became the fastest- and best-selling debut LP in US history.
Close to 200 travel advisors turned out for a lunch Tuesday hosted by Cuban hotel group Gaviota and partner Sunwing to catch up on the latest in the Caribbean destination, which has recently suffered weather and electrical grid problems that have generated high profile international headlines.
With over-tourism particularly acute in Greece in the summer, the country’s tourism sector is looking to pivot to a model that encourages and supports year-round options, coupled with a strong focus on sustainability.
What could be better than banging a gong and getting it on with Marc Bolan than also doing it with Elton John, who was a surprise guest with T-Rex in this performance of their 1971 classic on Britain’s Top of the Pops?
Sunwing and RIU Hotels & Resorts hosted their annual holiday season partners trade lunch Wednesday with good spirits for the upcoming winter season and even a bit of snow to thrill RIU team members that had flown into chilly Toronto from some of the much warmer destinations to which most Canadians are already longing to escape.
With Chicago primed to host US Travel’s premiere IPW trade event in 2024, the Windy City will garner the gaze of the global travel industry for almost a week next June. But Choose Chicago’s chief marketing officer Lisa Nucci says her job is to ensure Chicago remains top of mind year-round – especially for Canadians.
Spain’s tourist office in Canada is welcoming new Air Transat flights from Montreal to Valencia starting next summer, sentiment that was shared at an event last week in Toronto hosted by the country’s new Consul for Tourism affairs, Isabel Martin.
Trevello is going public, expanding in the US, adding agents, and making waves in the cruise sector, but they’re all just steps towards total towards “world domination,” laughs the host agency’s CEO Zeina Gedeon, who entertained and informed industry partners at a Toronto gathering late week.
Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (aka Hozier), the thoughtful Irish singer-songwriter, sure gets his money’s worth out of his music – not syrupy ballads or inane love songs for him. His breakthrough smash “Take Me to Church” in 2013 was an audacious indictment of the Catholic church’s homophobic doctrine; and the song we covered previously, “Nina Cries Power,” was an homage to the legacy of protest songs and singers who were there at the beginning of the movement.
One hundred and fifty travel advisors from across the Canada took part in ACTA’s first International Destination Conference in Portugal’s Azores islands last week. Travel Industry Today was there, pen – and camera – in hand. Yesterday, we reported on the conference (scroll down in the newsletter if you missed the story); today we offer some flavours and faces from the corresponding FAM.
Pronouncing Azores properly, which is to say, in Portuguese, is an undeniable challenge for the English-speaking human mouth – so, in this case we’ll go with the Canadian version – ‘Eh-zores.’ Fortunately, almost everything else about the amazing archipelago – nine volcanic islands peaking out of the mid-Atlantic ocean 1500 kms (and a two-hour flight) due west of Lisbon – was much easier to grasp for 150 travel advisors from this country attending last week’s first annual ACTA International Destination Conference.
ACTA’s inaugural International Conference kicked off in Portugal’s Azores Wednesday with 150 travel advisors from across the country, plus several partners and media, including Travel Industry Today, for a program of learning and on-the-ground experience in the island archipelago.
Dennis DeYoung called it the Styx song that the record company “missed.” The Chicago band’s ultimate masterpiece, “Suite Madame Blue,” anchored the 1975 album Equinox, challenging and encouraging a “changed” America to “lift up your heart and make a new start” to be a mature and worthy world leader once again.
Gastronomy and cooking were on the front burner this week during the annual visit by a representative from the Florida Keys to Montreal and Toronto, the latter including a trade event featuring a cooking demonstration by Key West chef Paul Menta at the Dish Cooking School.
World Travel Market attendees seemed to take the US election results in stride last week – beyond at least one avowed Democratic who was considering seeking asylum in the UK – instead focussing on the business of travel at a time it was being reported that international tourism arrivals are expected to hit 1.5 billion this year, surpassing 2019 values (the global benchmark for record tourism numbers).
On almost every level It’s hard to compare Fiona Apple with Fats Domino, but that doesn’t mean the exceptional American singer doesn’t do justice to the great early rock and roller. From John & Yoko to Cheap Trick, plenty of artists have covered “Ain’t That a Shame,” but Apple and her collection of talented friends give it their own rootsy treatment, which is fun and refreshing.
This week marks the anniversary of one of my most memorable days in the travel trade: when Trump won! It was eight years ago at World Travel Market, which kicks off tomorrow (Tuesday) in London, with expectations of close to 50,000 people from across the global travel industry in attendance.
US Travel wants to play ball with Canadians. And hockey. Plus, all the other sports and entertainment offerings, like concerts (can you say Taylor Swift?). That was the theme for last week’s Discover America Day Canada, an annual accounting of travel affairs south of the border as revealed by a couple of dozen partners ranging from all corners of the country.
Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is a rock classic, but has always seemed a little creepy, nonetheless. Which is to say, the perfect song for Halloween this year! Having said that, we’ll take the edge off a little (and mostly because all the BOC videos are quite long), with a version by the rather more wholesome Choir! Choir! Choir!, a Canadian-based initiative we introduced recently doing Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”
Goway held the latest edition of its long-standing annual Africa & Middle East event Monday at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto with approximately 125 travel advisors in attendance for a day of learning and networking, plus trade show featuring over two dozen supplier partners – “from Saudi Arabia to South Africa” – on hand as well.
If you grew up in the ‘70s, odds are that “Frampton Comes Alive” in some way penetrated your existence – if not spinning hundreds of times your turntable, then certainly on the radio and TV. The double album came out of nowhere in 1976 and went on to be the best-selling live album of all time (at the time), and ultimately setting in motion the wheels that led to the English singer-songwriter being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last weekend.
The Jamaica Tourist Board recently held a gala reception recognizing close to 60 partners from across the country representing the trade, media/influencers and the Jamaican diaspora. Held at the tony Hazleton hotel in Toronto, Canadian regional director for the JTB Angella Bennett said the event was meant to celebrate the success of Brand Jamaica and thank those who contributed to it.
Travel Leaders Network (TLN) wrapped its cross-country fall regional PEAK showcases last week boasting “biggest ever” numbers. Such was the turnout in Toronto – 160 members plus 72 supplier partners – that the TLN was forced to relocate to a larger venue near Pearson Airport than was required in previous years.
Recently we ran an early-days clip of U2 when the band were hardly recognizable as what they would become. Here’s another – of AC/DC – from 1976 on Australian TV, though the band isn’t so much unrecognizable as just kinda funny.