Cuba’s power grid was restored Thursday after a nationwide blackout – the third one of this severity in less than two months – left millions without electricity for several hours in Cuba on Wednesday. Authorities said that scheduled power outages will now resume.
Air Canada will begin serving Manila from Vancouver next spring – the first Canadian carrier to offer direct service to the Philippines – at the same time notably continuing its international expansion and marking the launch of a third South-East Asia destination in the last two years. The airline says the Philippines is the largest market it currently does not serve directly in Asia.
Overpacking continues to be the most common mistake the travellers say the continue to make, according to the Fall 2024 Global Rescue Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey. A third of travellers (32%) admitted overpacking was their top travel blunder in 2024, followed by booking flights with connections instead of direct flights (13%) and an overly ambitious itinerary (12%).
Air Canada plans to bar carry-on bags and impose a seat selection fee for its lowest-fare customers in the new year as discount carrier tactics increasingly enter the mainstream. Starting Jan. 3, basic fare passengers on trips within North America and to sun destinations will have to check duffel bags, rolling suitcases and large backpacks for a fee – $35 for the first, $50 for the second.
Delta and United have become the most profitable US airlines by targeting premium customers while also winning back a significant share of travellers on a tight budget. That is squeezing smaller low-fare carriers like Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Sunwing and RIU Hotels & Resorts hosted their annual holiday season partners trade lunch Wednesday with good spirits for the upcoming winter season and even a bit of snow to thrill RIU team members that had flown into chilly Toronto from some of the much warmer destinations to which most Canadians are already longing to escape.
With travel to Brazil booming – the South American country set an all-time arrivals record in September – Goway Travel is shining a spotlight on the colourful destination this winter as part of an enhanced focus on its Latin American product line. That includes custom travel offerings and the introduction of 20 brand-new packages in the now visa-free country for Canadians.
The manager of a small hotel in northern Italy refused a reservation made by an Israeli couple, accusing Israeli people of being “responsible for genocide.” Jewish groups decried the incident as an example of antisemitism and Booking.com removed the property from its platform.
The culture of the “Würstelstand” – Vienna’s humble sausage stand – has become one of the latest additions to the national list of intangible cultural heritage, overseen by the Austrian UNESCO Commission. It joins the Austrian capital’s distinctive wine taverns, or “Heurigen,” which have been listed since 2019, and the city’s famous coffee house culture, which was honored in 2011.
Leading global travel app, Skyscanner has revealed revealed the top destinations with the largest year-over-year increase that Canadian snowbirds are flocking to this winter, as well as valuable insights looking at how adults are prioritizing their travel plans. The top destination might be a surprise.
The “crazy busy” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially has officially come to a close, bringing to an end a season that saw 11 hurricanes compared to the average seven, and death and destruction hundreds of kilometres from where storms came ashore on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
With Chicago primed to host US Travel’s premiere IPW trade event in 2024, the Windy City will garner the gaze of the global travel industry for almost a week next June. But Choose Chicago’s chief marketing officer Lisa Nucci says her job is to ensure Chicago remains top of mind year-round – especially for Canadians.
Tourism Ireland is hailing a re-established air link between Newfoundland and Ireland – two regions with strong historical and cultural ties. The non-stop route between St. John’s and Dublin being flown by WestJet will start in summer 2025.
During the month of December travel advisors can take advantage of special hotel rates and exclusive offers from the city’s hospitality community, through New Orleans & Company’s Holiday Travel Advisors independent familiarization trip.
Cyber Monday has been extended to Cyber Week at Sunwing Vacations, with savings extended through Dec. 8. Travellers will discover a new door crasher deals every day, plus up to 40% off other packages. At the same time, travel advisors will earn 3X STAR Points when they book the featured daily deal.
Allianz Global Assistance (Allianz) has named Kyle Sparkman as Managing Director (MD) and Head of Allianz in Canada, effective Dec. 1. With more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including the past five years at Allianz, Sparkman succeeds Chris Van Kooten who departed the company in October 2024.
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s an exciting time to reflect on the trends and insights that shaped the travel agent industry throughout the year and look toward the future. Expedia Group’s Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) saw dynamic shifts in agent needs and traveller behaviours.
WestJet has announced that WestJet Agent Direct is now available for new users to register and start booking. To celebrate the travel agent booking platform’s enhanced connectivity (it has been available since earlier this year for users of the airline’s previous tool, WestJet Agent), the airline is recognizing new and existing users with a contest and 10 giveaways.
Spain’s tourist office in Canada is welcoming new Air Transat flights from Montreal to Valencia starting next summer, sentiment that was shared at an event last week in Toronto hosted by the country’s new Consul for Tourism affairs, Isabel Martin.
Christine James is celebrating 25 years at Travel Leaders Network; TTAND added to its trophy case; TRAVELSAVERS CANADA members cruised in South America; and Virtuoso revealed soaring sales data.
Thousands of giant panda sculptures will greet residents and tourists starting Saturday in Hong Kong, where enthusiasm for the bears has grown since two cubs were born in a local theme park. The 2,500 exhibits were showcased in a launch ceremony of PANDA GO! FEST HK, the city’s largest panda-themed exhibition, at Hong Kong’s airport on Monday.
According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travellers, 7% will travel more internationally because of the results of the 2024 presidential election. In contrast, only 3% will travel less internationally during the next 12 months.
With hurricanes, heat and drought afflicting many regions of the world, Canadian travellers are increasingly taking the weather into account when planning their holidays, according to Virtuoso’s 2025 Luxe Report, which reveals that 44% of Canadian travel advisors surveyed say their clients are adjusting their plans to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Starting in Vancouver Tuesday (Dec. 3), Air Canada will be the first Canadian airline to offer customers the ability to use facial recognition to board domestic flights. The voluntary Digital Identification program is designed to create faster, seamless boarding by eliminating the need for passengers to produce passports or other physical ID. It will soon be rolled out at additional airports across the country.
Five years after a catastrophic fire reduced Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to a smoldering shell, journalists got a first glimpse of the Gothic masterpiece’s fully restored interiors during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. The transformation is nothing short of breathtaking: light dances across brilliant stone, gilded accents gleam anew, and the iconic monument’s majesty is reborn. From Dec. 8, visitors will once again marvel at the cathedral’s blend of history and craftsmanship.
Trevello is going public, expanding in the US, adding agents, and making waves in the cruise sector, but they’re all just steps towards total towards “world domination,” laughs the host agency’s CEO Zeina Gedeon, who entertained and informed industry partners at a Toronto gathering late week.
ACTA president Wendy Paradis has been named chair of the executive committee of World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), a global organization that focuses and advocates on issues impacting the global travel agency community.
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.
The biggest shopping day of the year is here and there are travel deals are a-plenty, some extending into Cyber Monday, ‘Travel Tuesday’ (Dec. 3) and even further. Here is an updated at-a-glance look at some of this year’s best travel deals for travel advisors and clients.
A new route between Montreal and Valencia, Spain, highlights Air Transat’s just-released 2025 summer schedule, which in sum will include 275 weekly non-stop flights to over 40 destinations from Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City.