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SPEEDY CRUISE INTERNET REACHES FAR CORNERS OF THE WORLD

Staying connected on expeditions to remote locales or even on a leisurely sail in the Caribbean is becoming easier this year as cruise lines swap their old satellite equipment for the speedier Starlink system.

LISTENING IN: Chris Isaak did a good, good thing

Visit California was in town (well, Niagara on the Lake) recently, which, naturally leads to wine talk. And California wine makes me think of Chris Isaak. Why? Because a few years ago I was at the Robert Mondavi winery in the Napa Valley for dinner (spectacular, I might add), and was greeted by a roadside marquee: “Chris Isaak performing.”

CANADIAN KILLED IN OAXACA

A Canadian man was shot to death in Mexico’s Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido, prosecutors said Tuesday. He was the second foreign tourist killed in the southern state of Oaxaca in less than a week.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: All that glitters in the Golden State

It didn’t take The Mamas and the Papas to start Canadians dreaming about California. Indeed, with visitation numbers from this country expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this year – and surpass them in 2024 – many Canadians are ready to turn dreams to reality again and return to the Golden State.

AIR CANADA READY TO FLYDUBAI

Air Canada and flydubai have announced a new partnership to give customers flying between Canada, the Middle East, East Africa, Indian Subcontinent and Southern Asia more travel options. The carriers will codeshare on nine markets and interline on more than 60 others beyond Dubai

‘APOCALYPTIC FLOODS’ DEVASTATE ITALY, BALKANS

Exceptional rains this week in a drought-struck region of northern Italy have swelled rivers over their banks, killing at least eight people, forcing the evacuation of thousands, and forcing Formula One to cancel this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to not overtax emergency crews that are already stretched thin.

WESTJET IMPASSE THREATENS SHUTDOWN

The travel plans of WestJet customers are up in the air after its pilots’ union issued a 72-hour strike notice Monday night. The gambit by the Air Line Pilots Association started a countdown to a flight crew walkout at 3 a.m. on Friday morning, just ahead of the busy May long weekend.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: Mastercard reveals 2023 trends

The Mastercard Economics Institute has released its fourth annual travel report, Travel Industry Trends 2023, offering insights across markets about the global state of travel punctuated by shifting economic landscapes, persistent consumer demands, and a reopening mainland China.

CANADIANS CONTINUE ORLANDO LOVE AFFAIR

More than 74 million visitors came to the Orlando in 2022, making the destination the most visited in the US, according to Visit Florida. Among them were over 860,000 Canadians, representing the Florida city’s top international market.

BIKE FEST SHOWS OFF BEST OF MONTREAL

If the 21-storey Leonard Cohen mural that commands Montreal’s skyline could talk, it might tell you what this city’s crackling cultural life was like when the pandemic hit and everyone hunkered down. To borrow from his lyrics, it was a cold and a broken hallelujah. The party’s back on.

AMERICAN AIRLINES DOES DALLAS

American Airlines has signed a new lease at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport – the world’s second busiest airport – that will include US$4.8 billion to build a new terminal and renovate one of the five current terminals, airline and airport officials said Tuesday.

CUNARD SETS COURSE IN 2025

Cunard has announced its Winter 2025 program, offering over 133 voyages, with stops at 159 unique destinations around the globe. The luxury cruise line also revealed that its highly anticipated Queen Anne will be the only one of vessels to offer a full World Voyage in 2025.

THE ROAD TO RABAT: Four Seasons headed for Moroccan capital

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts its preparing to open a new luxury property in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, the luxury chain’s fourth hotel in the country. Expected to open later this year, Four Seasons Hotel Rabat at Kasr Al Bahr will be set within a 19th-century palace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, 90 minutes from Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport.

CANADIAN TRAVEL & TOURISM BOUNCES BACK

A new report by the World Travel and Tourism Council finds that Canada’s travel and tourism sector is poised for major recovery this year and is within sight of its previous peak in 2019. If achieved, the activity would furnish some 90,000 more jobs to reach 1.64 million this year, recovering nearly all the travel and tourism positions scrapped during the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE HEAT IS ON: BC bakes, sets unwelcome records

Several heat records were broken over weekend as British Columbia continues to be gripped by heat, fire, flood risk. Unseasonably hot temperatures are afflicting much of province with a heat warnings issued for the north coast, including Kitimat and Terrace.

EMIRATES ON THE MOVE: Record profit, expanded interline, and Canadian news

Emirates recorded its most-profit year ever in 2022, earning US$2.9 billion after bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic shutting down global aviation. The carrier’s revival matches Dubai airport, which posted record passenger traffic in the first quarter. Emirates has also announced an expanded interline agreement with Etihad, and a new country manager for Canada.

LEGENDARY HOSPITALITY: Something for everyone at Palm Beaches’ hotels

Stroll out of your ocean-view room, fresh cup of locally roasted coffee in hand, gaze past the palm-tree-shaded pool and out onto the combed beach to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. This serene experience has been happening for more than a century at Florida beach hotels in The Palm Beaches, America’s First Resort Destination.

INDIA TO HOST FIRST PATA MART IN THREE YEARS

After a hiatus of three years due to the pandemic, PATA Travel Mart 2023 will return Oct. 4-6 in New Delhi, India. The annual trade show of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will be hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY? WestJet pilots in position to strike

Talks between WestJet pilots and their employer were unresolved over the weekend as the union warned a walkout could come as early as this week. Members of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) will be in a legal position to strike as of May 16, but first must give a 72-hour strike notice ¬– something union boss Bernard Lewall said on Friday was “premature.”

FLYING HIGH: Air Canada posts record revenue

Air Canada posted a record $4.9 billion in revenue in the first quarter – nearly double what it earned a year ago. The quarter also marked the second in a row where the carrier has turned a profit following 11 straight quarters of losses totalling $10.1 billion. Results at Air Canada Vacations were also “remarkable,” says the airline.

SHAPING THE FUTURE: Caribbean looks beyond recovery

With travel to the Caribbean at 99% of pre pandemic levels the region is in a “pretty fantastic” place, the president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association told delegates at last week’s 41st annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Barbados.

ROUND-UP: May 8-12, 2023

A new look passport is coming for Canadians, plus the ability to renew online. Also last week, Emirates announced a new country manager in Canada and interline agreement with Etihad; Qantas added new meaning to the term ‘long haul’; travel agent month incentives continue; and German rail workers cancelled a planned strike.

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