A small group of foreign tourists has visited North Korea in the past week, making them the first international travellers to enter the country in five years except for a group of Russian tourists who went to the North last year.
Once coveted as a Canadian province (how does that feel now?), Turks and Caicos bears no ill will. Quite the opposite in fact, as Canada rates as the Caribbean islands’ second largest market after this country’s current would-be colonizers, the US.
Britian’s Royal Collection Trust has announced its program of group visits and private tours at the official residences of King Charles III – Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Holyroodhouse (Scotland) – for 2025.
The historic, aging ocean liner that a Florida county plans to turn into the world’s largest artificial reef departed from south Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront last week, marking the opening segment of its final voyage.
Expert advice, saving time, or something else? New research from Expedia Group provides deep dive insights into the preferences, values, and planning habits of travellers – including why Canadians choose to use a travel agent.
The crash landing of a Delta Air Lines flight in Toronto last week highlighted the potential dangers of flying with a young child sitting on an adult’s lap. The plane flipped over, which would make holding onto a baby extremely difficult. Authorities haven’t said whether the 18-month-old child who was injured in the crash was riding on a parent’s lap, but young children have died in previous crashes.
A Winnipeg firm that owns several northern airlines has announced plans to buy Canadian North, the airline that serves the Arctic. Exchange Income Corp. said it made a deal to buy Bradley Air Services Ltd., which operates as Canadian North, for $205 million from the two Inuit organizations that own the airline.
This week, plenty of news from Travel Masters, Transat Distribution, Ensemble, Virtuoso, Exotic Journeys, Collette, Embratur, and Air Canada Vacations.
Air Canada Vacations is expanding its South America program with new guided tours to Chile that will complement extended multi-country options in South America that include destinations like Peru and Colombia, as well as existing ePackages (Flight & Hotel) and Flight & Cruise vacation offerings.
A new Ritz-Carlton has debuted in Bangkok. Part of the Luxury Group portfolio by Marriott International, the hotel is set in a 216-m. high tower at One Bangkok business and lifestyle destination in the heart of Bangkok with a mandate to “blend Thai tradition seamlessly with global influence” while reflecting the dynamism of the Thai capital.
On an average day, approximately 47% of Air Canada’s flights and 46% of its customers pass through Toronto Pearson – the airline’s global hub. Because many of its aircraft and customers connect through Toronto at some point in the day, the airline says a disruption at Pearson can impact flights elsewhere in the system, creating a domino effect that can also affect flights not immediately travelling to or from Toronto.
2025 is shaking up travel amid persistent financial pressures, geopolitical uncertainty and rising over-tourism and climate change concerns, says a new study by Blue Cross. But Canadian travellers are adapting their habits to consider such external factors, while a new generation of adventure lovers is driving change towards a more conscious future of travel, the report adds.
As the snow was piling up at home, even in the torrential rain California was a more desirable place to be than Canada. Such was the case earlier this month as Visit California and some 35 destination partners hosted a couple of dozen members of the Canadian trade for a reverse mission in San Diego, followed by post conference FAMs throughout the state.
Amid declining safety ratings for Canada, the country’s air traffic controllers and airline pilots are calling on governments to take decisive action to prioritize and strengthen – not roll back – critical safety protections for air travel in this country.
The Globus family of brands (GFOB) has refreshed its leadership structure in Canada. Specifically, Denise Harper has been promoted to managing director, Canada sales, overseeing national and regional partnerships at the head office and consortia levels. At the same time, Billy Stewart has been named national trade sales manager, taking full accountability for Canada’s Business Development Manager (BDM) team.
An iconic metal sculpture of a dragon that spits real fire in the Polish city of Krakow will hold its breath for a month to check why it’s been devouring so much fuel lately. Experts are checking the gas feeds for the six-metre sculpture to find ways of reducing the dragon’s energy bills.
Toronto’s Pearson airport says operations are back to normal roughly a week after a crash landing that sent 21 people to hospital and led to days of travel disruptions at Canada’s busiest airport.
Making the trip from Vancouver to Seattle to watch baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays play the Mariners has been a tradition for Peter Mulholland and his wife, but not this year. Mulholland was already frustrated over US President Donald Trump’s threats of crippling tariffs on imported goods from Canada and talk about the country becoming the 51st state. The final straw came when Trump referred to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a dictator.
A relative pause in Middle Eastern tensions in Israel and the easing of Egyptian visa processing is seeing Canadians flocking back to the Land of the Pharaohs in 2025, according to Goway, which reports that bookings are up 250 percent in the past few months compared to the year before – a year blighted by full-fledged war between neighbouring Israel and Gaza.
Canada’s travel industry were out in full force as usual at the annual Outdoor Adventure Show, held over the weekend at the International Centre in Toronto. Exhibitors included a host of varied suppliers, including tour ops, resorts, air and cruise lines, outfitters, and international destinations from the Caribbean to US, and Africa to Asia – and of course, across Canada.
Air Canada says it will resume flights to Israel in June, a year and a half after it halted trips to the region amid the Israel-Hamas war. With a fragile truce in place, the country’s largest airline said in a travel update that four direct round-trip flights per week from Toronto to Tel Aviv will begin on June 8.
Greece’s air traffic controllers say they will join a nationwide general strike on Friday (Feb. 28) called to demand justice for the victims of the country’s worst rail disaster two years ago. The air controllers’ participation in the protest, called by labor unions representing public and private sector workers, is expected to ground all commercial passenger flights heading to and from Greek airports.
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.
After watching videos of a Delta Air Lines jet catch fire upon landing and flip over on a Toronto runway, it’s fair to wonder how anyone could have survived. But aviation experts said it was not surprising that all 76 passengers and four crew walked away from Monday’s disaster, with 21 people suffering minor injuries and only one still hospitalized on Wednesday. It’s a credit, they said, to advances in plane design as well as a crew that flawlessly executed an evacuation plan.
Among other air carriers, this has been a difficult week for Sunwing. The airline said in a statement,that there were, “tremendous operational challenges for air carriers across the country.” The problems began, “with the extreme winter weather events experienced in cities across Canada which broadly affected airport operations, both locally and in destination, and air carriers’ flight plans.”
“Let it snow,” Saint Lucia tourism execs exclaimed while visiting Toronto this week, as the city (and much of the eastern part of the country) continued to dig out from far too much of the white stuff. And to be clear, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority CEO Louis Lewis smiled, there is no snow on his Caribbean island. “Absolutely none!”
A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed. The incident, caught on camera, quickly went viral. Located about 3,000 km. south of Santiago, the Strait of Magellan is a major tourist attraction in Patagonia, known for adventure activities. Its frigid waters pose a challenge for sailors, swimmers and explorers who attempt to cross it in different ways.
One of Japan’s most picturesque seasons is on its way: cherry blossoms – or sakura – are preparing to bloom. Starting in mid-March and continuing through mid-May, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has announced 2025’s cherry blossom season forecast, with dates and locations to help travellers experience the hanami (the custom of flower viewing in Japan) season from city to city.
After firing hundreds of FAA air traffic controllers and personnel earlier this week – and as protests south of the border grow – the Trump administration has set its sites on the US National Park Service, dismissing about 1,000 permanent employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions – a move critics says will hurt tourism.
The federal government is moving ahead with a high-speed, fully electric rail network between Quebec City and Toronto. The new system – to be called Alto – will slash travel times in half and get travellers from Montréal to Toronto in just three hours. Additionally, there will be stops in Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, and Trois-Rivières.