A prominent Canadian tour operator executive once famously opined to an audience of travel advisors at a fall product launch, “We’re hoping for a very cold and snowy winter. But not so cold and snowy that people can’t make it to the airport to leave.” With this in mind, we’ve called on The Weather Network’s forecast for this winter, asking what we all need to know: “Will Canada’s winter weather be wild?”
Underscoring how economic conditions continue to drag, the sting of a second year of high consumer prices affecting everything from the cost of bread to room rent has majorities saying they will spend less on holiday preparations this year (55%). But while even more (64%) say they have cut back on discretionary spending overall in recent months, only a third say plan to scale back on travel.
Stealing soaps or pens seems harmless for many hotel guests, however, some are so bold that they carry TVs, pianos, mattresses, or even stuffed animals out of the hotel. Wellness Heaven, a German-based luxury hotel and spa guide, asked 1,376 hotel managers which items are most commonly stolen. And the most bizarre.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Québec is truly an enchanting destination bursting with colourful and illuminated events and markets to ring in the most wonderful time of the year. Here are just a few suggestions to help make the most of the city for a December retreat that is sure kindle the Christmas spirit.
With a raise of the glass to the importance and continued growth of wine tourism, the United Nations World Tourism Organization recently hosted its annual conference on the subject in La Rioja, Spain, one of the world’s leading wine tourism destinations.
If it seems that Canadian airlines are announcing or inaugurating new routes almost every day, it’s because they are. And while that’s great news for consumers as the increased competition helps drive down fares from unprecedented peaks at the tail end of the pandemic, as one industry observer stated at a travel event in Toronto this week: “It’s like the old days – there’s too much capacity out there.”
There’s always an asterisk when tourism recovery numbers are assessed: it doesn’t include China and its massive middle class, which hasn’t yet fully returned to pre-pandemic travel levels. But that’s about to change, not just in the present, but over the next decade, during which the country is poised to become world’s most dominant tourism market.
Air Canada has earned two honours in the recently announced federal Employment Equity Achievement Awards, presented by the minister of labour. This is the fifth year that the awards are presented, and this year marks the second time that Air Canada has been recognized.
The first commercial airliner to cross the Atlantic on a purely high-fat, low-emissions fuel flew Tuesday from London to New York in a step toward achieving what supporters called “jet zero.” The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 flight was powered without using fossil fuels, relying on so-called sustainable aviation fuel made up largely of tallow and other waste fats.
Swan Hellenic’s Antarctica 2024 season will open on Nov. 13 with a 20-night cruise on SH Diana from Cape Town to Ushuaia, exploring Tristan Da Cunha, South Georgia, and the Antarctic Peninsula. The cruise line will boast two boutique five-star ice-class ships in the polar region with journeys continuing into 2025.
Cape Town Tourism has launched “Limitless Cape Town,” a first-of-its-kind universal access movement designed to make the city more inclusive to all individuals, giving them equal opportunity and access to the region’s tourism environment, regardless of their social class, ethnicity, or physical disabilities.
In the dynamic world of travel and tourism, keeping the Press Room pages of websites up to date is crucial, not only for the convenience of the media but also for enhancing a website’s search engine optimization (SEO) performance.
Citing “highly complementary” route networks, Air Transat and Porter Airlines are creating a joint venture “alliance” that the companies say will transform the current Canadian aviation competitive landscape. To be implemented gradually in 2024, the arrangement will extend the airlines’ existing code-sharing agreement to give travellers access to a broader network through enhanced commercial collaboration and optimization.
A record number of passengers traveled through US airports over Thanksgiving weekend, but travel was relatively smooth despite the crowds, reported the Transportation Security Administration, which said it screened just over 2.9 million passengers on Sunday, surpassing the previous record of 2.88 million set on June 30.
With earnings this year surpassing 2019 levels, Alexis von Hoensbroech says he’s cautiously optimistic about the company’s prospects for 2024. Speaking to staff in Calgary last week, the Westjet CEO hailed their efforts in the company’s return to profitability this year – and announced the welcome return of profit sharing to employees. And despite economic headwinds, he mused that this year’s momentum will carry the carrier successfully into the new year.
In this week’s round-up, Ensemble was jamming with Jamaica, Marlin welcomed new agencies, Amex GBT lent a helping hand, TTAND went coast to coast, and TRAVELSAVERS was dining and dashing.
Over seven years in the making, including 900 days of construction, Royal Caribbean has welcomed Icon of the Seas to its fleet in gala hand-over ceremony from Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. The ship is set to debut in Miami in January,
Sunwing Vacations Cyber Monday deals will continue all week. The tour company’s “biggest sale of the year” runs through Sunday (Dec. 3) for travel between Dec. 14 and April 30, 2024, with clients able to score up to 40 percent off holidays in southern climes, from Mexico to the Dominican Republic, Central America, and the US.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) has announced its Canadian Tourism Awards winners for 2023. The honours recognize outstanding achievements in the tourism sector and aim to showcase the dedication, innovation, and excellence of individuals and organizations that contribute significantly to the growth and success of the Canadian tourism industry. Sponsors included WestJet, Air Canada, Air Transat, VIA, and Hilton.
Florida has set a visitations record in the third quarter of 2023, with an estimated total of 35.1 million people arriving in the Sunshine State between July and September 2023. Visitations were comprised of 32.2 million domestic visitors, 2.2 million overseas travellers and 666,000 Canadians. Additionally, Florida continues to beat overall annual visitation records with 105.2 million visitors so far in 2023, 724,000 more than the first nine months of 2022.
Relais & Châteaux has added 27 new members to its list of unique hotels and restaurants for 2023 and two of them are Canadian: pioneering Fogo Island Inn (Newfoundland), and Restaurant La Tanière3 (Rue Saint-Pierre, Old Quebec).
Penny Martin will be leaving her role as VP Agent Experience at The Travel Agent Next Door next August. The gregarious travel industry veteran has been with the company since its inception, working alongside Flemming Friisdahl as they built the company from scratch 10 years ago. But while Martin may be retiring from TTAND, she says “(I) hope to stay involved in the travel industry. Travel is in my blood!”
The authority overseeing the Montreal airport has announced measures to reduce congestion after a surge in car traffic over the summer prompted a wave of frustration among passengers trying to make their gate on time.
With warmer oceans serving as fuel, Atlantic hurricanes are now more than twice as likely as before to rapidly intensify from wimpy minor hurricanes to powerful and catastrophic, says a new study. Recently Hurricane Lee went from barely a hurricane at 129 kph to the most powerful Category 5 hurricane with 249 kph winds in 24 hours
A new marine centre will be built by MSC Cruises on its Ocean Cay marine reserve in the Bahamas, along additional new environmental infrastructure, plus amenities for passengers, as the company continues its transformation of the site.
It was a curious event, on many levels. “Europe invites the curious” was the theme, but the Toronto trade gala last week was also the first-ever collaboration between the European Travel Commission (ETC) and the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO).
According to new research from Hilton, travellers will have high expectations from the hotels they choose in the coming year – and Millennials, Gen Z, Gen X and Baby Boomers have all provided telling insights into the changing preferences of travellers by generation.
Canadian trophy hunters will be barred from bringing home elephant tusks or rhinoceros horns as Canada adopts new trade controls to help stop the critical decline in the animals’ populations. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says that as of Jan. 8, raw ivory will only be allowed to be imported into Canada for research and scientific purposes or for use by law enforcement.
With the expanded international air agreement between Canada and Panama, Copa Airlines says it will increase frequencies between the countries in 2024, culminating in daily service between both Toronto and Montreal starting May 20 and 21 respectively.
To complement its previously announced year-round flights to Morocco from Montreal starting next June, Transat has launched a suite of packages, hotels, tours, and excursions in the north African country.