Summer travel has begun and Booking.com has aggregated the latest Canadian data to determine where Canadian families are travelling, and why. The survey is based on booking data and flight and accommodation search volume from the online retailer, and from Kamloops to Kalamata, Greece, some of the choices are sure to surprise!
While the communities of Greater Phoenix attract much of the attention in Arizona, nearby Tuscon has its own unique allure, not least over 300 days of sunshine a year and winter temperatures that are guaranteed to appeal to Canadian snowbirds and vacationers eager to escape the cold up north.
ACTA will host an online Leadership Panel on Friday (June 14) focussing on the importance of selling travel health insurance. It is the second panel for ACTA, which in April announced a series of quarterly professional development sessions focusing on different segments within the travel and tourism industry.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ new Uniworld University course for 2025 is now available in its online travel advisor education program. The course details what’s to come in 2025 for the luxury river cruise line, including five new itineraries, expanded land extensions, more ‘MAKE TRAVEL MATTER’ experiences, and a new ship setting sail next year, the SS Elisabeth.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Star Alliance are enhancing their long-standing relationship in the field of travel compliance solutions, with the Alliance adopting a next-gen travel documentation and verification system that supports contactless travel for its 26 member airlines.
The bustling and high-stress atmosphere of airports can be challenging for neurodiverse individuals. To address this concern, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Pacific Autism Family Network (PAFN) have launched of a series of interactive travel training videos that simulates the travel experience from the curb to cloud, enabling individuals to familiarize themselves with various travel processes and empowering them to approach real travel situations with confidence.
As France readies for a tourism surge for this summer’s Olympic Games, UN Tourism has revealed that the country is already the world’s most visited destination, easily maintaining its status for the second year in a row with 100 million international tourist arrivals in 2023. But who’s next?
The union that represents 9,000 CBSA workers say they won’t strike until at least Wednesday, as mediation continues. The Public Service Alliance of Canada had initially said border workers were set to strike as early as 4 p.m. Friday if the two sides hadn’t reached a deal. But shortly after the deadline, a spokesperson for the union said negotiations would continue.
A new state-of-the-art new website and continuing commitment to travel advisors – and their clients – is at the heart of Goway’s first rebranding in the company’s 54-year history. The effort also includes a new logo designed to capture the “forward-thinking spirit of a company that has pioneered tailor-made trips for globetrotters for over 50 years.”
With Santa Monica having been a key partner at the recent IPW travel trade show – the destination dubbed LA’s “beach city” was the site of after-show festivities for delegates, including Canadian attendees, over the course of two nights – the timing was right last week for Team Santa Monica to follow up with their annual Canadian mission to engage and update the trade in this country on the latest happenings in the SoCal destination.
MSC Cruises has unveiled an expanded slate of itineraries for guests departing from the line’s four US homeports: Miami, Port Canaveral, New York, and Galveston, Texas. The company’s Winter 2025/26 season will feature seven ships, including MSC Grandiosa’s debut in the US from Port Canaveral; the cruise line’s inaugural season sailing from Galveston; and MSC World America’s first winter season sailing from Miami, following her debut as the line’s newest flagship in April 2025.
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) is commemorating the 15th anniversary of its non-profit arm, the Sandals Foundation with a new, year-long campaign titled, Empower 15. The project aims top harness the strength of the Caribbean sun to bring sustainable solar energy to Caribbean schools, ensuring a much-needed power supply that allows for digital learning to continue uninterrupted.
IATA said last week that flight fares are expected to rise. Also in the Round Up, Transat reported rising revenue, but overall losses; WestJet went back to basics, while Air Canada set it sights on inflight snacks; Disney got back on track for future growth in Florida, and Sunwing introduced an incentive in conjunction with partner Melia; plus, our usual categories, including cruise, incentives, tours, and hotels/resorts.
Months after Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees agreed to end a protracted legal fight, the two sides are set to approve an agreement that could result in the company investing up to US$17 billion into its Florida resort and opens the door to a fifth major theme park at Walt Disney World.
Where will the Edmonton Oilers go to celebrate if they win the Stanley Cup? Certainly not the White House, as many American teams do after winning a championship – or Disney. With this in mind, Canada’s own Rocky Mountaineer is offering the Oilers players an “ultimate Canadian victory tour” on the iconic train if they bring the Cup back to Canada this year.
Visitors injected billions of dollars into Toronto’s economy last year, a new study finds, but tourists have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels amid signs of slowing growth. Some 26.5 million visitors arrived in 2023 and spent $8.4 billion – the bulk of it on hotels, restaurants and transportation – according to a report from Tourism Economics.
A Hawaii oasis is at the top of Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches while one of America’s most picturesque beaches has been struck from the 2024 list following a coastal disaster that has left it off-limits to beachgoers.
Border personnel are set to begin a job action on Friday at 4 p.m. (EST) if no deal is reached by then, says the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents more than 9,000 union members who work for the Canada Border Services Agency and who have been without a contract for more than two years.
Air Transat and Porter Airlines have launched the first phase of the carriers’ joint venture in which bookings of direct and connecting flights can be made through each other’s distribution channels provided a wider network of destinations for passengers.
WestJet Airlines has replaced its basic ticket tier with a new fare category that does away with a free carry-on bag and other perks travellers once took for granted. The new “UltraBasic category,” the lowest priced of seven fare classes, is a no-frills fare and went into effect this week.
Brand USA, the face of US Travel abroad, came calling in Canada this week, continuing its commitment to the US’s top international market and the trade that fuels it. Events were planned for Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary, with the centrepiece being a day-long event designed to connect tour operators and the media from this country with a delegation comprised fully of 30 destination reps from across the US.
Trevello cleaned up at the Sandals Awards; Travel Masters celebrated advisors who made an “impact”; Redtag unveiled a new, improved call-in experience, and Red Label agents travelled with WestJet Vacations; and there’s a new face at F1S – all in this week’s Retail Round-Up.
Flair Airlines chief executive Stephen Jones will be stepping down this summer after nearly four years at the helm of the discount carrier. The CEO’s tenure spanned a turbulent period for the seven-year-old company as the airline expanded its fleet but also hit financial headwinds amid stiff competition.
A new agreement between Alaska’s capital city and major cruise lines seeks to cap the daily number of cruise ship passengers arriving in Juneau starting in 2026. The agreement, finalized late last week, seeks a daily limit of 16,000 cruise passengers Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays. However, officials in Juneau say that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be that many people every day.
A United Airlines flight from Vancouver to Houston was met by emergency responders from the Houston Fire Department on arrival as more than two dozen passengers suffered flu-like symptoms including nausea and vomiting. The plane was later withdrawn for deep cleaning as a “precautionary measure.”.
For a few moments the sky over Normandy, France, seemed to bleed. A helicopter, camouflaged to match the blue horizon, hovered over the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, dropping poppies. First in bursts of red clouds, then spread out on the breeze, like blood droplets dispersed in water. Each blood-red flower represented a Canadian killed in World War II. In all, 48,000 poppies fluttered onto the beach, building and crowd below.
As the pandemic fades into history, replaced in the public spotlight by elections and crises like climate change and war, health officials are racing to get the world to agree to new ways to prepare for and fight an inevitable future pandemic. The World Health Organization said member countries have approved new steps to improve global preparedness for, and response to, pandemics like COVID-19 and mpox and set a new deadline for agreeing on a broader treaty.
ACTA is urging that its travel industry members take part in a federal Competition Bureau market study on the state of competition within the domestic air passenger services sector. The study aims to identify opportunities for enhancing competition to benefit consumers, employees, and businesses, and the deadline for survey responses must be made by June 10.
Air Canada is ramping up its flights to India this year including new non-stop service from Toronto to Mumbai, the country’s financial capital. In addition, the airline says it will boost its service from Montreal to Delhi to daily flights as well as offering daily seasonal flights from Calgary to Delhi, via London. The services start Oct. 27.
Regional air service in New Brunswick will get a boost in September when Saint John Airport adds new weekday flights to Halifax, reviving a route that was cancelled because of the pandemic. Quebec-based PASCAN Aviation will offer two daily return flights between Saint John and Halifax from Monday to Friday, as well as one return flight between Bathurst and Saint John every weekday.