Six major tour brands under The Travel Corporation umbrella – Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Costsaver, Brendan Vacations, and Contiki – have now aligned under one rewards program: Global Tour Rewards.
GayTravel.com has named the recipients of its annual Gay Travel Awards for the past year, with 39 inclusive LGBTQ+ winners selected from hundreds of finalists, in categories across the industry spectrum, including hotels, destinations and Pride events.
More protests rocked France on the weekend; Crystal cruise line is back and set to sail again this summer; there was more news about NEXUS; a new tourism day gained UN approval; and Sunwing said ‘I do’ again to its popular annual destination weddings guide.
Paris is the world’s most powerful city destination, according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council, but the French capital is bound to be overtaken by ‘staggering’ Beijing by 2032 reveals the WTTC forecast.
For the past couple of years, hotel and airline loyalty programs have extended elite status in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2023, that’s coming to an end. A tsunami of downgrades will wipe out some travellers’ elite status because pandemic-era offers are expiring and loyalty programs are upping the qualification requirements.
When Cirque du Soleil created its first permanent Las Vegas production with Mystère at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in 1993, founder Guy Laliberté said his fledgling circus troupe wanted to “grow a flower in the desert.” Safe to say that flower became a bouquet even he couldn’t have imagined.
Egypt has unveiled dozens of new archaeological discoveries, including two ancient tombs, at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside of the capital Cairo. The artefacts, unearthed during a year-long excavation, were found beneath an ancient stone enclosure near the Saqqara pyramids and date back to the fifth and sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, spanning from roughly 2500 BC to 2100 BC.
There are more than 3,500 pubs in London but, to be honest, some lack the distinctiveness that truly sets an establishment apart when it comes to having a memorable and quintessential British experience when dropping in for a pint or glass of wine (or two).
Sparking blue waters line a beautiful wave-free beach of fine white sand. Palm trees sway in a gentle breeze while friendly bartenders offer up as many cool drinks as you want. It’s the picture that appears in your mind’s eye whenever you think of an idyllic day on a Caribbean beach. That mental ideal seldom lives up to reality in many Caribbean cruise ports, as thousands of cruise passengers flock to the nearest beach at some popular cruise ports.
Burt Bacharach died yesterday at the age of 94. The Oscar and Grammy-winning composer has had Top Ten hits since the 1950s, and was known for such standards as “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” “Walk on By,” “Alfie,” “That’s What Friends are For,” and “Raindrops keep Falling On My Head.”
With 98 percent of the delayed passport applications having now been processed, according to the federal government, the Passport Office is preparing for its next large wave of renewals as the first passports issued with a 10-year expiry date come due in July.
Against the backdrop of a global pilot shortage, hopefuls aspiring to a career in the skies say their Canadian licensing applications are taking far too long to process. Student pilots who have completed the training requirements for their private or commercial pilots’ licences say their credentials are being delayed due to what they say are unacceptably lengthy processing times at Transport Canada.
The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution to have Feb. 17 officially declared Global Tourism Resilience Day, which will be celebrated for the first time next week. Pioneered by Jamaica, the initiative was supported by over 90 countries.
The International Air Transport Association has issued new guidance to assist airlines and handling agents to transport mobility aids safely and efficiently and improve the travel experience for passengers with disabilities.
Marco Island is the most expensive destination in Florida for hotel stays, according to a new survey by CheapHotels.org, which compared hotel rates across 30 popular Florida destinations early this year – typically the high season for most destinations in the Sunshine State.
The US Congress began considering critical aviation legislation on Tuesday in the aftermath of recent close calls involving airline and cargo jets at airports in New York and Texas. Lawmakers celebrated the small number of deaths on airline flights in the United States since a 2009 crash that killed 50 people, but they noted the recent scary incidents.
Holland America Line has extended its “Culinary Cruise” program into 2023, whereby celebrity chefs share their expertise and kitchen secrets on select voyages, offering tips, tricks, and techniques to foodies, while sharing their passion for gastronomy.
The union representing WestJet pilots says contract negotiations with the airline have been unproductive and federal conciliation may be needed to avert a strike. ALPA Canada, which represents approximately 1,800 pilots at WestJet and its low-cost subsidiary Swoop, says it has been negotiating unsuccessfully with the Calgary-based company since September.
Disney’s government in Florida has been the envy of any private business, with its unprecedented powers in deciding what to build and how to build it at the Walt Disney World Resort. Those days are numbered as a new bill released this week puts the entertainment giant’s district firmly in the control of Florida’s governor and legislative leaders in what some see as punishment for Disney’s opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The Los Cabos Tourism Board returned to the Canadian market last week heralding 2023 as the year of wellness, both physical and mental, in the Mexican resort destination, with platforms extending to luxury and sustainability.
Princess Cruises has revealed a first glimpse of the most contemporary and state-of-the-art designs imaged yet onboard Sun Princess – the cruise line’s newest and most innovative ship, which is scheduled to debut in early 2024.
With major cities welcoming travellers once again after the pandemic, Australia’s Travel & Tourism sector is at last getting back on track, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
As carriers worldwide try to lessen their carbon footprint, Emirates says it has successfully flown a test flight with one of its two engines entirely powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel.
Crystal Cruises – a high profile victim of the pandemic – has officially relaunched under new ownership with the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony vessels set to sail again beginning this summer.
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and neighbouring Syria on Monday, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring thousands more as it toppled thousands of buildings and trapped residents under mounds of rubble.
A New York congressman wants to add some Zoom to the sluggish effort to clear a bilateral backlog of NEXUS trusted-traveller applications. Rep. Brian Higgins, a frequent champion of streamlined travel between Canada and the US, has introduced legislation on Capitol Hill that, if passed, would require the Department of Homeland Security to deploy video conferencing to replace in-person interviews.
Banff tourism officials want to thin the herd – of people, not animals – joining the call for better management of visitor traffic in the most heavily visited parts of the national park – a situation that has resulted in not only damaging traffic bottlenecks, but also shocking amounts human waste left behind that is not “garbage.”
Vietnam, Spain, Borneo, and South Africa are fam destinations being offered by G Adventures in 2023. The trips are available to agents at a discounted rate and prospective participants must apply for the opportunity to take part by Feb. 13.
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that a viewing platform at London’s Tate Modern art gallery made residents of glass-walled luxury apartments next door feel like animals in a zoo, and impeded “the ordinary use and enjoyment” of their homes.
Canadians have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to travel to Britain, according to the country’s national tourism agency chief executive Patricia Yates.