Frustrated and anxious travellers continue to clamour for flights out of the Middle East and other regions where a widening Iran war has stranded tens of thousands of people, closed major airports and caused widespread cancellations. However, some wealthy travellers are getting out – by paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe via airports that are safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks.
In a strategic departure from its traditional international sales missions, the San Francisco Travel Association (SFTA) brought the Canadian travel trade directly to the California city ahead of the 2026 spring and summer travel season.
The ITB Travel & Tourism Report 2026/2027 shows that the mood in the industry is optimistic, but that strategic preparation often lags behind the challenges of an increasingly complex world. Released at ITB Berlin last week, data from the market research institute Phocuswright forecasts that global annual growth of around 5.3% until at least 2027.
Canadians leaving the Middle East began arriving at Toronto’s Pearson Airport over the weekend as the war in Iran reached the one-week mark. The first were passengers arriving from Dubai aboard an Emirates flight that the government booked 51 seats on to secure travel for Canadians out of the region.
Travel preferences in 2025-26 vary sharply among Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, shaping everything from cruise demand to tour styles and wellness vacations, according to an analysis from the ‘Internova Index: North American Traveler Insights’ report.
After the recent disruption to life and travel in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara following the takedown of a prominent cartel leader on the Pacific side of the country, the Mexican state of Quintana says it’s strictly business as usual on its Caribbean beaches and at its resorts.
By Michael Baginski/ As bombs dropped and drones swarmed in the Middle East/Gulf, the contrast couldn’t have been starker – and more welcome – in Toronto, as G Adventures celebrated diversity, community and happiness – and the tour company’s travel advisor partners.
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors (ACTA), in partnership with Atlantis Bahamas Resorts and Auto Europe, is launching the CTC & CTM Bursary Program, where 27 bursaries will be awarded to encourage ACTA travel advisors to pursue and achieve the Certified Travel Counsellor (CTC) and Certified Travel Manager (CTM) designations.
News nuggets, airlines, hotels/resorts, cruising, tours, events, FAMS/incentives, deals, destinations and more are covered in our weekly round-up of travel industry news you may have missed.
Canadians stranded by flight cancellations in the Middle East since U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran sparked an escalating conflict say they now face an indefinite wait, with one traveller calling on the government to do more to help them get home.
Need a beach right about now? Weather, war, and tax season suggest as much. Just in time, Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform, has revealed its best beaches for 2026 to provide a little inspiration.
Air Canada’s first of 45 updated Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft has entered service at Rouge, marking the latest step in the carrier’s comprehensive cabin renewal program across the fleet. The rest of the aircraft are expected to transition to Rouge by the end of the year.
Most passengers boarding a flight on a cold winter morning don’t give much thought to the trucks and equipment moving around their aircraft. Among them are de-icing teams – carrying out a procedure that is absolutely essential to flight safety in cold weather.
Ottawa says it has secured “a limited number of seats” on commercial flights out of Lebanon for Canadians trying to flee the region, though the government is not offering assisted departures.
While a big chunk of Canadians who were dreaming of fun in the Mexican sun are now rebooking their trips elsewhere after violence erupted in parts of the country last month, even more plan to stay the course, according to a new poll.
A blackout hit the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people in Havana and beyond without power in the latest outage to affect an island struggling with dwindling oil reserves and a crumbling electric grid. At the same time, another critical international airline said it was suspending service to the beleaguered island.
Spain set a new tourism record in 2025 when it welcomed 96.8 million foreign visitors, according to figures released by the National Statistics Institute. The number of international visitors increased 3.2% compared to 2024, when there were 94 million tourists.
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency Tuesday, only about a month after the end of the previous one, as authorities in the Caribbean nation continue to grapple with high levels of violent crime.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she has asked Oman for use of its airspace “if necessary, for Canadian citizens to get out” of the Middle East. But Anand’s office said yesterday the minister is urging Canadians to leave the region by their own means, and that there is no current plan for Ottawa to co-ordinate evacuations.
The World Travel Agents Associations Alliance is alerting the global travel agency community to a sophisticated fraud scheme involving the unauthorized use of agency IATA accreditation numbers to obtain airline NDC access and issue fraudulent tickets. The world body (of which ACTA is a member) says travel agencies should review NDC registrations and closely monitor accreditation activity following confirmed incidents across multiple markets, including North America.
Media magnate Pierre Karl Péladeau has failed to convince a pair of leading proxy advisory firms to back his bid to overhaul the board at Transat A.T. Inc. and seize effective control of the travel company.
This week: ACTA announced regional chairs and vice chairs, and promotes a key exec; a first for Marlin Travel; TTAND signs new luxury suppliers; Ensemble has a new cruise partner; and Direct Travel launches a host luxury division
In the lead-up to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), Tourism Ireland is celebrating Irish Heritage Month with a comprehensive activation at the Toronto Eaton Centre, with both travel advisors and their clients invited to drop by a little inspiration and hopefully to engage in some on-the-spot trip planning.
Building respectful, mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous communities and advancing tourism systems that are owned, guided and governed by Indigenous Peoples is the objective of a new trade toolkit unveiled at the recent 2026 International Indigenous Tourism Conference in Edmonton.
Several international airlines cautiously resumed a small number of flights from the United Arab Emirates on Monday, offering some relief for travellers stranded by sweeping airspace closures after the U.S. and Israel bombarded Iran, and Iran struck back at targets across the Middle East.
Remember Cuba, last week’s centre of attention? Lost in the fear and loathing of war in the middle east over the weekend was Donald Trump’s declaration Friday that the U.S. is in talks with Havana and the suggestion of the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”
ITB Berlin has seen a lot in its 60-year history. Indeed, the world’s largest travel show was born in the middle of the Vietnam War. This year, thousands of delegates scrambled to get to the show (if they could get there at all) due to the sudden outbreak of a new war in Iran and the Middle East
The United Arab Emirates has sold itself to foreigners for years as a sunny, safe, tax-free oasis.
Goway is celebrating women and marking International Women’s Month with an exclusive incentive for travel advisors booking solo women travel. Throughout March “every travel advisor who helps women discover their passions in far-flung destinations” by booking a solo women travel tour with Goway will earn $100 with the GowayPro Loyalty Program.
Hundreds of thousands of stranded travellers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines Sunday after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel. Iran’s retaliatory strikes directly hit several airports in the region, which resulted in at least five deaths and more injuries.