By Michael Baginski/ There wasn’t a foot of snow and bitter cold like at the recent Golf show, but rain, slush and general ookyness in Toronto over the weekend made an equally compelling case for winter-weary visitors to the annual Outdoor Adventure Show to find their inspiration to go somewhere else.
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.
Expedia released its 2026 Air Hacks Report, revealing a major shift in traveller savings: Thursday has become the cheapest day of the week to fly, driven by reduced business travel at the end of the week.
Feb. 19 was Destinations Professionals Day and the leading organization representing destination organizations and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) says it received a greeting from Prime Minister Mark Carney in recognizing of the day.
The Trump family company has filed to trademark the use of the president’s name on airports but says it doesn’t plan on charging a fee – at least for a proposed renaming of one near his Florida home.
Transat took flight on Feb. 18 with a trio of seasonal sun routes from eastern Canada, including non-stop flights from Quebec City, Charlottetown and Fredericton. Destination include Guadeloupe and Cancun.
Call it Canada Strong, Loonie Loyalists, or World Citizens, if current travel trends continue, a permanent reshaping of “where Canadian travel dollars flow,” could be at hand, says a new survey by Flight Centre.
In the face of declining tourism numbers to the U.S. – especially from Canada – two American senators (a Democrat and a Republican) have introduced a bill designed to eliminate Trump administration policies that are detrimental to tourism and ensure that the U.S. is working to officially support the sector through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed the constitutionality of a pandemic-related restriction that curbed travel to Newfoundland and Labrador for public health reasons. A 2020 order from the province’s chief medical officer limited the circumstances in which non-residents could enter the province due to COVID-19.
An arbitrator reviewing wages for flight attendants at Air Canada has finalized rates at the airline, bringing an end to the labour dispute that saw travel disrupted for thousands of people last summer. But the bargaining committee for the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says it was not the outcome the union fought to achieve.
WestJet Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members can now earn points with their preferred loyalty program on each other’s entire network including VS-WS codeshare flights. The update to the partnership particularly benefits WestJet guests travelling on Virgin Atlantic’s Toronto-London (LHR) route, which connects Canadians travelling through Pearson airport to Virgin Atlantic’s primary hub at London Heathrow.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing mounting calls to speak out against the United States for widening its restrictions on fuel reaching Cuba, or to send aid to the country.
Citing growing travel to and from Mexico by Canadians, Air Canada says it is strategically expanding its summer schedule to the destination with 18% more seat capacity than last summer.
Luxury and experiential travel specialist Virtuoso presented its third annual regional Virtuoso Awards at its recent Canada Forum at Fairmont Palliser in Calgary. The event brought together more than 100 attendees, including owners and managers from Virtuoso’s travel agency members in Canada and preferred partners from around the world.
Major airlines are claiming the initial findings of a federal probe clear their industry of allegations of unpaid work, but Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says investigators need more data before the issue is settled.
Collette has introduced Shane Coupland as its new Head of Sales, Canada, overseeing sales strategy, partner engagement, and market growth across the country.
China is dropping its visa requirement for Canadian tourists and business visitors, after moves by Prime Minister Mark Carney to put relations with Beijing on a better footing. China’s Foreign Ministry says Canadians will no longer be required to get visas for 30-days stays, starting today (Tuesday) until at least the end of this year.
Longer customs lines could be in the cards for travellers in the U.S. as a shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that took effect early Saturday impacts the agency responsible for screening passengers and bags at airports across the country.
By Michael Baginski/ Few cities embrace the Chinese New Year with the same energy and colour as Hong Kong. It even extends to foreign lands, including Canada, where the Hong Kong Tourism Board celebrated last week with a lengthy list of trade friends atop the Scotia Plaza in Toronto.
Air Transat says it’s cancelling its U.S. flights for the 2026 summer season as it looks to better manage its resources. A spokeswoman for the airline says flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in Florida will start gradually winding down in the spring.
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.
A majority of travellers believe international travel in 2026 will be either more dangerous or increasingly unpredictable compared to pre-2020 travel, underscoring persistent global security concerns and heightened risk awareness, according to the Global Rescue Winter 2026 Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey.
This year, nearly 10,000 travel partners in Canada have been recognized with a Traveller Review Award from online travel agency Booking.com – an increase of 24% award recipients over the last two years. Foremost among them is Newfoundland & Labrador, which scored as the second “most welcoming” region in the world.
Porter Airlines reports it has achieved a significant operational milestone with registration in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program.
Times are tough in Cuba right now, but the island’s resolute tourism board is looking forward to “brighter days ahead.” In the meantime, amidst pressure from the Trump administration and a crippling fuel shortage (caused by the former), and as Canadians are forced to be repatriated by the airlines, the board’s Canadian office in Toronto has penned an open letter to the Canadian travel industry, and the island’s “loyal travellers.”
ACTA has wowed members with the announcement that the association will hold its third annual International Destination Conference this year in Japan. Following massively successful events in Spain and Azores/Portugal the past two years, ACTA is partnering with the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) to host qualified travel advisors in Yokohama, Nov. 29-Dec. 4.
By Michael Baginski/ With the likes of Arizona, Colorado, Miami, and Myrtle Beach in town over the past week, the time was perfect for Brand USA to tag along on its own trade mission to Toronto – an effort designed to help “keep the lights on,” according to the US destination marketing organization.
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) Canada office has opened applications for its newly established Travel Agent Advisory Committee, inviting Canadian travel advisors, agency owners, and consortia leaders to apply. At the same time, St. Kitts has unveiled its board.
U.S. federal officials abruptly closed the airspace over El Paso, Texas, for several hours early Wednesday due to what the Trump administration said was Mexican cartel drone activity, temporarily grounding flights and angering local officials who said they were given no advanced warning.
ACTA is calling on airline and supplier partners to ensure clear, timely communication, flexible policies, and the protection of travel agency and travel advisor commissions in the wake of the recent decisions by Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet to suspend service to Cuba amid an island-wide fuel shortage.