News

After years of restraint and missed travel, Canadians are on the roam again this summer, says TRAVELSAVERS Canada, citing a study by Narrative Research, which says that more than one-half of Canadians (56%) intend to travel in 2023.

An Amsterdam museum that severed ties with St. Petersburg’s Hermitage collection after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year has been renamed and on Monday announced partnerships with renowned galleries in London, Paris and Washington, DC.

Strong demand and supply-side issues will push up car rental rates in North America and other regions of the world during the next year, according to American Express Global Business Travel (GBT). The travel management company is projecting year-on-year car rental rate hikes of 5 percent in both Canada and the US.

The largest review of funding and fees for Ontario’s travel industry since the inception of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) in 1997 is nearing completion, but registrants will have to wait a little longer for the results.

New York City has received a federal approval for its plan to charge big tolls to drive into the most visited parts of Manhattan, part of an effort to reduce traffic, improve air quality and raise funds for the city’s public transit system. It will be the first city in the US to do so.

Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have vowed to find and punish the tourist who was filmed carving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, a crime that in the past has resulted in hefty fines.

North America is leading the global travel recovery this summer, comprising a global “powerhouse” for the travel industry, and, at the same time, surpassing 2019 levels, according to international analytics form ForwardKeys.

The federal government says passport delivery has returned to pre-pandemic processing times, there are no backlogs, and Service Canada is exceeding its delivery standard for most applications.

Coinciding with the one-year anniversary since its acquisition by Navigatr Group, Ensemble held its first Summit event for owners and managers at the Stein Erikson Lodge in Park City, Utah, earlier this month.

VoX International in collaboration with several Caribbean tourist boards and hotel groups, are organizing a new event for meeting and incentive planners – Caribbean ConnEX Canada, set to take place in Toronto on Nov. 1.

Swedish government investigators have launched a probe into a roller coaster accident that killed one person and injured nine at the country’s oldest amusement park.

When the Titan submersible made its fateful dive into the North Atlantic, it also plunged into the murkily regulated waters of deep-sea exploration. It’s a space on the high seas where laws and conventions can be sidestepped by risk-taking entrepreneurs and the wealthy tourists who help fund their dreams. At least for now.

Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) registered wholesalers now have the option of depositing all sales of travel services into their Travel Industry Act trust bank account, including sales made to out-of-province retailers.

A couple of Canadian carriers scored top marks in prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards last week, while in other weekly news highlights: Sunwing Vacations reassured the trade; an Indian airline conducted the biggest buy of planes in history, Ottawa announced a major investment in sustainable aviation fuel; and a popular Australian tourist destination took a new name.

OceanGate Expeditions has confirmed the deaths of the five men on the Titan submersible. The landing frame and rear cover of the missing submersible were discovered on the ocean floor, 500 meters from the bow of the Titanic. The discovery by a remote operated submarine is said to mean the sub suffered a crack and imploded under the underwater pressure, instantly killing those on board. The US Coast Guard said the men would have died instantly, their bodies may never be recovered.

Retail sales growth – including travel – in Canada is continuing to outperform much of the world so far this year, a sign of the ongoing resiliency of Canadian shoppers despite higher inflation and recession predictions, a new report has found.

The last segment of a higher-speed rail line stretching from South Florida to the central part of the state has been completed, a milestone that was celebrated Wednesday by mayors from across the Sunshine State and which heralds the imminent arrival of much-anticipated service between Miami and Orlando.

For a mere US$450,000 per person, travellers will soon be able to travel to edge of space with Virgin Galactic, which will start regular commercial flights beginning in August. The space tourism company has been working for years to send paying passengers on short space trips and in 2021 finally won the US federal government’s approval.