News

Travel advisors continued to learn, expand, dine, discover, and, of course, sell, in this week’s round-up of Canada’s retail scene.

The Big Easy is enticing at any time of year, but summer is when New Orleans sizzles – and not just from the heat. This year, from June through August, over 20 hotels throughout New Orleans are offering travel advisor rates, which agents can supplement with a VIP pass to make the most of their visit to the Louisiana city.

Calling the recent move by some US civil rights groups to issue a “travel advisory” for visitors to Florida a “stunt,” members of the state’s tourism trade are taking exception to the claim that the destination is “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”

Just in time for the summer season, an increase in GO Transit services between Toronto and Niagara Falls has made it easier for visitors to get to the famous Falls, and popular nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Brian Keaulana is the quintessential Native Hawaiian waterman, well-known for his deep understanding of the ocean, gifted with surfing and lifeguarding skills passed down from his big-wave rider father. Now, as one of the islands’ standard-bearers of surfing, Keaulana wants to further boost the sport in his homeland by building an artificial wave pool – a splashy proposal that is making waves, particularly among some Native Hawaiians.

On a day when a toddler was shot in the head by a stray bullet while playing outside at daycare in Utah – just another day in the life of a country where gun violence has claimed nearly 17,000 lives in the first half of 2023 alone – the US Travel Association gamely tackled the issue of gun violence in America at last week’s IPW travel trade event in San Antonio.

A rocky start to the travel high season in Europe is fuelling fears of a repeat of last summer’s post-pandemic air travel chaos that unleashed delays, cancellations, and mountains of lost luggage from London to Sweden to Amsterdam.

With a lineup of key seasonal sun destinations throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, Air Canada Vacations has unveiled its 2023/24 offerings aimed at early planners for the winter season.

Declaring the pandemic now endemic, Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization, opened IPW 2023 last week showcasing the country as an unrivalled travel destination that is poised for a historic year in travel.

Travellers arriving in the UK faced long delays Saturday after a technical problem shut electronic border gates at airports across the country for most of the day, forcing everyone to have their passports checked manually on what was expected to be one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

With “strong interest” already brewing for next winter, Air Canada has released its winter 2023-24 schedule, featuring nearly 10 percent capacity over its 2019 pre-pandemic high water mark.

Last week, there was good news for Canadian trusted travellers; two Canadian carriers boosted their codeshare; Sandals unveiled its newest resort; there were flash sales galore; and Allianz stepped up – again – for Dreams Take Flight.

From a boat-float parade along its famous River Walk to a closing night gala at The Alamo, delegates will long remember this year’s IPW in San Antonio as US travel officially emerged from the pandemic.

The all-new Sandals Dunn’s River has opened to guests as the 17th resort in the Sandals Resorts portfolio. Having debuted over 30 years ago, the 260-room Ocho Rios property is “utterly transformed” – except for the stunning stretch of white sand beach it inhabits.

Four years after buying a bust for $34.99 at a goodwill store in Austin, Texas, Laura Young said goodbye this week to a friend as the priceless 2,000-year-old Roman artifact headed home to Europe.