News

In this week’s round-up there’s news and notables from Transat Distribution, which has concluded its annual National Leadership Conference (photo), plus Amex GTB, Egencia, Ensemble, and Navigatr.

Nudists in Austria are up in arms about plans for a cable car that would pass over a popular beach on the northern edge of Vienna where clothing is optional.

In the face of the world of travel becoming increasingly more “complicated” and, in particular El Al suspending service to Canada as of last October, Israel’s tourism consul for Canada says the tourist board wants to help those selling Israel move forward and succeed – and has introduced new programs to help them do so.

As Windsor, Ont.’s American cousin, and at one end of the busiest border crossing between the Canada and the US, Detroit is familiar to many Canadians. From Ford to Motown; Alice Cooper to Madonna and Eminem; long-standing sporting rivalries between the Leafs and Red Wings, and Jays and Tigers; and Little Caesar’s, of course, Detroit is an indelible part of the cultural consciousness of many Ontarians.

Strike news affecting travel abounded last week – including news that flights at Berlin Brandenburg are cancelled today (April 24); there was also big news from Air Canada, Sunwing deals, a Holland America Line milestone, and ACTA revealing Travel Agent Day plans in a couple of weeks.

Expedia Group Media Solutions has launched an industry first advertising and travel technology platform that gives travellers the tools to shop and book travel as they are watching travel content, making entertainment tourism bookable.

The centerpiece of spring in Istanbul is a giant carpet of millions of tulips woven into the city’s iconic Sultanahmet Square – once the Roman-Byzantine hippodrome – that fronts the Blue Mosque.

Disney is inviting Canadian Travel Agents to expand their product knowledge and increase their sales potential at a Disney seminar. The offer is exclusive to Canadian Travel Agents who are invited to join Canadian Disney Business Development Manager for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Canada, Cindy Charest, to find out the latest Disney Destinations news. Presentations will be offered in both English and French.

Senjuti Sarker needed to renew her passport for an upcoming trip to Europe but her attempt at doing so failed Wednesday after federal public service workers went on strike. Employment and Social Development Canada has said essential services such as employment insurance and social insurance numbers will be maintained, but passport services are not deemed essential.

The travel industry has been through a lot in the past three years, says ACTA – from working overtime with no guarantee of outcome due to pandemic restrictions, to political unrest, severe weather, infrastructure issues, mass schedule changes, cancellations, and more.

Joined by dignitaries from both The Bahamas and Canada, and staff from the Bahamas tourist office, Bahamas prime minister Philip Davis opened the island’s first-ever Consulate General in Toronto this week amidst a flurry of positive tourism news from destination.

Ensemble has announced it has become the first travel advisor consortium to partner with Women Leading Travel & Hospitality, a membership-based association that connects executive women across all sectors of the travel and hospitality industry.

The Ontario Science Centre will be moving to a revamped Ontario Place on Toronto’s waterfront. Premier Doug Ford unveiled plans for the next stage of a redeveloped Ontario Place that includes the new location for the science centre, an expanded amphitheatre, a public beach, bars, restaurants, a new marina, and a massive spa.

A parliamentary committee has recommended sweeping changes to Canada’s air passenger rights framework, stressing tougher enforcement and compensation rules around flight delays. Tabled Tuesday, the report comes after chaotic travel seasons over the summer and winter holidays brought on by soaring demand, labour shortages and poor weather.

Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) is hosting a delegation this week of travel agency owners, preferred partners, and members of the TDC network’s management team at the Breathless Riviera Cancún Resort & Spa in Mexico. The five-day National Leadership Conference kicked off on the weekend with strategic reflection and the exchange of best practices between members in the spotlight.

Tourism Ireland’s new global campaign “Fill you heart with Ireland” has launched in Canada. Designed to “win hearts around the world,” the promotional endeavour “is all about celebrating the different ways in which the island of Ireland fills the hearts of our visitors and of locals – and inviting potential holidaymakers to experience those for themselves,” according to the tourist board.