News

With Canadians in the midst of a trillion-dollar wealth transfer, baby boomers are rewriting the rules of inheritance. A survey from Flight Centre conducted by YouGov reveals that some grandparents aren’t waiting to pass along financial assets; instead, they’re creating a living legacy by funding multi-generational vacations.

In a world where everything seems to be going up in price, Contiki says it is “flipping the script” to offer its 18-to-35 clientele lower tour costs, plus other benefits on its Europe 2026 roster of trips. The “bold new global pricing model” is designed to make travel more affordable, transparent, and accessible, says the company.

This week: WestJet Vacations and Las Vegas hit a home run with TRAVELSAVERS Canada advisors at the Rogers Centre (even if the Jays didn’t win); Aqua Expeditions has introduced a new loyalty program for the travel trade; and there’s still time to register for Antigua’s Black Pineapple Awards.

It’s going to be a case of Jailhouse Rock for a Missouri woman has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for scheming to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland home and property before a judge halted the brazen foreclosure sale.

Canadians might be shunning trips to the U.S. as the tariff war trundles along, but Americans are still heading north, so much so that July marked a milestone. Statistics Canada said Tuesday that more U.S. residents came to Canada that month than Canadian residents returned from the U.S. It’s a feat that’s only happened one other time in roughly the last two decades, if you exclude the COVID-19 pandemic outliers of August and September 2021.

After it formal recognition of the Palestinian state this week, Canada has updated it’s travel advisory for “Israel and Palestine,” though still warning visitors to avoid non-essential travel to the former and “all travel” to the latter.

Several unidentified drones shut down airspace over Copenhagen Airport on Monday night, prompting concerns that Russia could be behind the flyover above Scandinavia’s largest airport. There was no indication that the operators of two to three drones intended to cause harm to anyone, police said, and the drones disappeared after several hours. But the incident caused a major disruption to air traffic in and out of the airport.

Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) welcomed members from across Canada (except Quebec) at its annual flagship event, Rendez-vous, in Mississauga, Sept. 20-21. Held under the theme “Star Power. Lighting the way in a sky of choices”, the gathering brought together agency owners and managers, travel advisors, the TDC leadership team, and around 55 preferred partners.

Despite political tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs and fears of treatment at the border, data from SAP Concur suggests Canadian business travel to the U.S. during the first half of the year has remained stable compared with last year’s levels, even if it means some companies are taking more precautions at the border. 

A recent West Group team-building workshop marked the official integration of WestJet Vacations trade sales team members with the existing Sunwing Vacations. Travel advisors will continue working with their established contacts at both brands, which will maintain their distinct identities and product offerings.

Goway Travel has officially concluded its first-ever Micro Film Festival, celebrating the creative power of short-form storytelling. Launched earlier this year in celebration of Goway’s 55th anniversary, the festival invited travellers, travel advisors, and professional creators to share their globetrotting journeys in a compelling 55-second film.  

Fallout from a cyberattack that affected check-in systems at several European airports extended into a second full day on Sunday, as passengers faced dozens of cancelled and delayed flights and airport teams scrambled to limit the damage to travel plans. At press time, one airport official had admitted it was unclear when operations would return to normal.

Air Canada Vacations announced the winners of its first-ever ‘Travellers’ Top Picks Awards’ at the tour company’s gala product launch event in Toronto late last week – an event that saw a close to a thousand travel advisors be the first to learn the winners as voted on by 100,000 Canadians across the country.

The Jamaica Tourist Board has issued a statement asking Canadian travellers and advisors not to “misinterpret” recent language changes in Canada’s travel advisory designation for Jamaica.

The Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism (PROMPERÚ) says that train services to Machu Picchu, as well as tourist activities within the Inca citadel, have officially resumed after local protests halted visits to the UNESCO World Heritage Site last week, affecting thousands of visitors.

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