News

Six people were hurt – two critically – when part of a heating and ventilation system collapsed at a resort pool in Colorado on Saturday. There were 50 to 100 guests in the pool when the collapse occurred about 9:50 a.m. at the Gaylord Rockies resort near Denver International Airport, Aurora Fire Rescue said.

WestJet made all kinds of news last week, while Canadian passport office and some border staff were back at it as federal workers settled their two-week strike. Amongst the other round-up items: an interesting opinion on the prospects of the Canadian airline industry and – wait for it – the US finally ended vaccine requirements at the Canada-US border.

Most personal finance advice boils down to this: Save as much as you can, and spend as little as you can. Yet when it comes to travel rewards – those points and miles earned through airline, hotel, and credit card programs – this conventional wisdom is turned on its head. Saving a million miles might sound impressive, but it’s generally a poor financial decision.

The UK will be rocking tomorrow (May 6) with the coronation of Charles III. But if you’re not already in London, odds are there’s a TV remote with your name on it. But not all is lost: the capital, and the rest of the country, will be celebrating for weeks and months to come, and visitors will find a host of special events and exhibitions, experiences, hotel packages, plus food and drink – all dedicated to the UK’s royal history, and the remarkable milestone of its present king.

Canada’s Wonderland opens today (May 5) with new rides and a full lineup of events and entertainment in store for the 2023 season, including a new Brazilian food festival and the return of guest favourites: long weekend fireworks, Celebration Canada, KidZFest, and Halloween Haunts.

G Adventures is planning the world’s biggest community tourism summit this fall in Peru. The multi-day mega-event will include the inaugural GX summit, the first World Community Tourism Summit, and G’s 2023 Change Makers event and will be a travel convention “unlike any the travel industry has seen before,” according to G founder Bruce Poon Tip.  

With Travel Agent Appreciation Week (and month) now in full swing, a host of suppliers and trade partners have stepped up to thank agents for the important work they do. Here is a sampling of just some of the messages, programs, events, and – most importantly – incentive offers communicated on Travel Agent Appreciation Day yesterday (May 3).

Bounteous Belize, a colourful combo of Central America and the Caribbean,
is reporting a positive outlook for its tourism sector and expects to come close to full post-pandemic recovery this year, in part with the help of the Canadian market.

What a busy week in the retail community as agencies introduced a new name, new conference and events, new team members, and presumably new a record for selling out an event. This week’s round-up includes Tripcentral.ca, Uniglobe, Trevello, The Travel Agent Next Door, Travelsavers, and Ensemble.

Effective May 12, the US is officially lifting COVID-19 vaccination requirements for foreign air travellers and at the Canada-US border. The day before, May 11, will mark the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency the US imposed back in 2020 as the world was coming to grips with the scale of the pandemic.

Today, May 3, is an auspicious day. It is national lumpy rug day. Tomorrow, national Star Wars day, Friday tuba day, and so forth, until packaging design day at the end of the week. But in the annals of national day lore, the first Wednesday of May is also, most importantly, Travel Agent Appreciation Day.

Days after Disney sued Florida’s governor in federal court for what it described as retaliation for opposing the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Disney World’s governing board – made up of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees – filed a lawsuit Monday against the entertainment giant.