A Valentine’s Day snowstorm closed school and caused travel delays across parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The nor’easter dumped up to 37 centimetres of snow on Nova Scotia by Wednesday morning before heading to Newfoundland, where the wind picked up and a swirling snowfall enveloped much of the province.
It’s probably no surprise that Las Vegas Harry Reid Airport saw its busiest day ever following Super Bowl LVIII. The airport handled almost 104,000 air travellers, with early morning flights extremely busy on Monday.
During my recent visit to Lee County, Florida I couldn’t help but strum along to Jimmy Buffett’s 1977 hit song, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” As I walked the streets and beaches of Fort Myers, Sanibel and Captiva islands, these lines in particular stood out:
Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), has announce the theme of its next annual conference, to be held at the Sheraton Toronto Airport and Conference Center on September 21 and 22, right after the event at the St-Hyacinthe Convention Centre on September 14 and 15.
Cunard has announced the first event voyage on Queen Anne with a special British Isles Festival to coincide with her maiden voyage around the British Isles, departing May 24. The 14-night roundtrip voyage is designed to showcase the very best of Britain’s shores, taking in Cunard’s spiritual home of Liverpool and along with Belfast, the Highland cliffs, and the scenic Scottish coast.
The eyes of the world will be on Paris this summer when the City of Light hosts the Summer Olympics; but first France will show its gratitude toward World War II veterans who will return, many for the last time, to Normandy beaches this year for 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day to mark the defeat of the Nazis.
With a rich cultural heritage and vibrant culinary scene, Denmark always has plenty on the go to entice visitors, not least a host of new events and experiences set to take place in 2024. From unique sightseeing and active adventures to only-in-Denmark culinary celebrations, here are seven mouthwatering reasons to visit this year.
Happy Valentine’s Day. Thousands of Uber, Lyft and DoorDash drivers are set to cause chaos on today in Toronto and other cities across Canada and the US, during a mass strike for higher wages. The Valentine’s Day strike is expected in Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, as well as dozens of cities across the US. and Europe. The drivers, who are considered independent contractors, have accused the platforms of taking disproportionately high amounts as commissions.
Newfoundland and Labrador has released a new advertisement that appears to respond to an ad by a vacation rental company that angered many in the province. Vrbo ran an ad during the Super Bowl broadcast on Sunday showing disappointed travellers discovering that their vacation rental is overrun by squealing livestock, while the beloved folk song “I’se the B’y” plays in the background.
Universal Orlando Resort has revealed the first official look and details of its new theme park, Universal Epic Universe. Located a few miles from the current Universal footprint, the park is set to open in 2025, promising an “unmatched level of theme park innovation” that includes five immersive worlds featuring attractions, dining, shopping and more, all set in “breathtaking gardens.”
With 95 ‘Make Travel Matter’ experiences available this year, Travcorp’s luxury safari outfitter Africa Travel Inc., says it is ahead of schedule its mission to provide meaningful experiences that ensure guests “leave the continent more vibrant for future generations to enjoy.”
WestJet faces indefinite delays on dozens of new aircraft deliveries after a panel blowout on a Boeing 737 Max plane last month prompted a halt to greater production at the US aircraft maker. The Calgary-based carrier bought 42 Boeing 737 Max 10 jetliners in 2022, with options for 22 more – on top of nearly two dozen earlier Max orders still in the pipeline.
Canada is providing consular assistance to a Canadian citizen who was taken into custody last week after Thai authorities say the person opened an emergency door on a Thai Airways plane and triggered the evacuation slide prior to takeoff. According to a statement issued by the Chiang Mai International Airport, the incident took place on the night of February 7.
A grainy sonar image recorded by a private pilot has reinvigorated interest in one of the past century’s most alluring mysteries: What happened to Amelia Earhart when her plane vanished during her flight around the world in 1937? Numerous expeditions have turned up nothing, only confirming that swaths of ocean floor held no trace of her twin-tailed monoplane. Tony Romeo now believes his new South Carolina-based sea exploration company captured an outline of the iconic American’s Lockheed 10-E Electra.
In an initiative to enhance the knowledge of travel agencies across Canada about Taiwan’s diverse travel offerings, the Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) has announced the launch of its online Taiwan Tourism School. This e-learning platform is specifically designed to acquaint Canadian travel professionals with the unique allure of Taiwan as a premier tourist destination.
With its six brands of its 19 brands now representing nearly a quarter (22%) of its global pipeline – nearly double its stake from just five years ago – IHG Hotels & Resorts, says it will continue to expand and invest in the segment, particularly in the Americas. Globally, IHG has transformed its Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio through notable acquisitions of Six Senses, Regent Hotels & Resorts and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; the growth of its legacy InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Indigo brands; and the launch of Vignette Collection.
Guaranteed sunshine, lush green mountains, a turquoise sea and enough margaritas to stave off scurvy are a few of the reasons why I’ve made the Bay of Banderas my home-away-from-winter for almost 20 years. But I am also a self-confessed golf fanatic and Riviera Nayarit is arguably one of Mexico’s top golf destinations. Now the golf scene here is even better with the transformation of what was originally called Litibu, now called Higuera Golf Club, named after the wild fig trees that proliferate the area. In fact, the golf club’s logo was modelled after the humongous higuera tree at the back nine taco shack.
Each aircraft has a set maximum weight for safe takeoff. Almost everything that gets onto a commercial plane — fuel, checked-in baggage, cargo and meals — is weighed. For passengers and their cabin bags, most airlines use average data. But Finland’s national carrier Finnair said Friday that it started asking passengers this week voluntarily and anonymously hop onto a scale with their hand luggage at the country’s main airport in Helsinki.
Concerned about potential escalations to the conflict in the Middle East, Virgin has announced a major detour for the repositioning cruise of its ship, Resilient Lady, departing Australia on March 27. Leaving from Sydney, the repositioning cruise will sail around the coast of Africa.
The oneworld alliance is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024. Launched on Feb. 1, 1999 by founding members American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas, the alliance has flown nearly nine billion customers on its member airlines and currently boasts a takeoff or landing somewhere in the world every six seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Take a bow Casino Rama. The Ontario casino has taken the top spot with 26,587 posts. New research has revealed the most Instagrammable casinos in Canada. Niagara Fallsview Casino, also in Ontario, ranks second.
A passenger returning from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that his luggage contained dried fish after US Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out something unusual in his bag. However, an inspection at Boston Logan Airport revealed something quite different – mummified monkeys.
Visit Tampa Bay has introduced a new and comprehensive training, marketing, and sales tool designed specifically for travel advisors. The Tampa Bay Specialist Learning & Sales Companion features cutting-edge technology and is touted as “a significant advancement in remote destination sales and training” that goes beyond a typical educational course.
Last week, the shoe dropped on new TICO registrant fees in Ontario, while news emanated from the second airports in both Montreal and Toronto. Air Canada Vacations launched its Europe tool kit featuring bonus offerings for travel advisors, while G Adventures invited agents to be ‘change makers.’ And Chinese New Year celebrations got underway in grand style in Hong Kong.
As travel, both domestic and international, increases, appalling behaviour by tourists is unfortunately also on the rise. In recent years such behaviour has included inappropriate or insufficient clothing at sacred sites, driving a car across a fragile medieval bridge, and defacing cultural and historic sites and artifacts. Tourists have damaged heritage sites, eaten endangered species, and – in the case of one couple – stolen nearly $2 million worth of wine from a Michelin-starred restaurant. Tourists have (allegedly) insulted border guards, and flashed in front of kids. And when they’ve been caught out, they’ve often pleaded ignorance.
With a record winter tourist season on the horizon and 10 consecutive quarters of growth posted, Jamaica is reporting visitor arrivals of approximately 4.1 million for 2023. This represents a 16% increase over the previous year’s numbers and a 7.5% increase over 2019 pre-pandemic numbers. Of this total, more than half of the island’s visitors are from the US at approximately 3 million.
It’s the bane of every traveller: lost luggage. Indeed, last year 26 million bags of luggage were misplaced or lost on flights and in airports around the world, according to 1st Move International. With this mind, the British-based company that has helped customers transport belongings across borders for the past 25 years has made a list of tips to get where there going with minimal baggage burdens.
As romance travel season kicks off, TRAVELSAVERS Canada advisors are sharing affordable and less-visited destination options for couples looking for a budget-friendly escape. As typically frequented locales may experience high traffic during peak romance season, destination dupes offer less-mainstream alternatives for travellers.
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors (ACTA) has expressed its disappointment with TICO’s recent announcement regarding the significant increase in fees.
The Travel & Tourism sector is delivering soaring employment opportunities to women and young people around the world, according to new research. A recent report shows that the sector directly employed a rapidly rising number of women between 2010 and 2019, increasing from 38.6 million to 47.8 million, an increase of 24%.