A new reality is setting in for travellers worldwide: rising fees, fewer flight options and difficult decisions about whether a trip is worth the cost. The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.
With a theme of “Resilience and Renewal,” the Cuba Tourist Board is set to host a hybrid version of its International Tourism Fair, FITCuba 2026 and members of the Canadian trade are invited to attend.
Canada Place is celebrating 40 years as one of Canada’s most recognizable landmarks on Vancouver’s waterfront. Since opening on May 2, 1986, as the Canada Pavilion for Expo 86, it has become a popular destination for residents and visitors, a venue for major public events, and home to the Port of Vancouver’s award-winning cruise terminal, which is the largest in Canada.
By JOE KONECNY/ If everything goes as planned, St. Thomas, Ont., world traveller Syed Hasan will be in Nigeria now, beginning a six-country solo tour of the African continent, on his way to increasing his lifetime total for independent nations visited to 193.
WestJet guests now have the ability to book interline itineraries comprised of both WestJet and interline partner segments through the airline’s website and contact centre. The “significant enhancement” for bookings is “in addition to existing options through our travel trade partners,” says the airline.
By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ Virtuoso On Tour Canada events concluded Wednesday in Toronto, with the leading luxury network welcoming member agencies, advisors and preferred partners over two days at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The gathering followed a similar event in Vancouver at the Fairmont Pacific Rim March 31-April 1. Together, 180 advisors and 135 partners took part.
Air Canada has launched an alternative process to resolve compensation claims in a pilot project that seeks to avert the massive backlog at the country’s transport regulator.
Flight Centre Canada has strengthened its leadership team with two strategic appointments as the business continues a period of sustained growth. Angela Bokma joins the business as Director of Marketing, while David Ardagh steps into the role of Commercial Financial Manager, transitioning from his previous position as Senior Financial Analyst within Flight Centre Travel Group.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Alberta is enjoying a recent uptick in interest spurred by a random shout out on a popular American television show – and its head of marketing hopes that curiosity translates into a bustling summer season.
The number of safety incidents on Canadian runways is on the rise, having reached new highs in recent years even as the tally of extremely close calls seems to be levelling off. Data from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada shows that so-called runway incursions – when a plane, vehicle or person winds up on or near a runway when they shouldn’t be – hit a record 639 in 2024, the latest full year for which the watchdog has statistics.
By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ In late March, the Guadeloupe Tourism Committee (GTC) hosted five accomplished travel advisors from Ontario to help them get to know the Caribbean islands intimately and in person – and to share what they learned as the French-Caribbean destination continues to make inroads in English-speaking Canada.
Citing new research from MMGY Travel shows that small group touring is the most appealing travel style for 55% of travellers, Globus is shining a spotlight on its expansion of Small Group Discovery tours, which reflect travellers’ growing appetite for experiences that feel more personal, flexible and immersive.
This week: Canadians agents were treated to a Transat FAM to Rio; ACTA and Los Cabos announce an upcoming Destination Learning Experience; Ensemble has a new Make A Wish partner; Collette updates its learning platform, the Jamaica Tourist Board raises the curtain on a cinematic incentive, and Rocky Mountaineer and Trafalgar offer agent rates.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines celebrated the 40th anniversary of its service connecting Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) on April 2.
Newfoundlanders were having a chuckle on Monday over international media reports saying passengers on a British Airways flight diverted to St. John’s last week were stranded on a frozen island somewhere in Canada.
WestJet says it will be introducing a temporary $60 surcharge for certain bookings and has consolidated numerous flights due to skyrocketing fuel prices. The moves come as some U.S. carriers have also announced higher checked baggage fees to cover the increasing fuel costs.
Air Canada will fly to several new destinations for the Winter 2026-27 season, including the only non-stop flights from North America to Tenerife in the Canary Islands (beginning Oct. 25 and 31 respectively from Toronto and Montreal). The flights will operate seasonally.
By ROBIN LAWTHER/ Soccer isn’t just a game – it’s a global movement that mobilizes millions and reshapes travel patterns every four years. In 2026, the world’s biggest soccer event will make history: 48 teams, 16 cities, and three countries – the United States, Canada, and Mexico – hosting an event that transcends the sport and becomes a cultural phenomenon.
Brand USA has announced the appointment of Marion Certain as Trade Manager for Canada, notably filling a position that had been vacant since the death last May of Casey Canevari.
Thirty passengers were evacuated from a cruise ship that ran aground on a reef in Fiji, the ship’s owner said Monday. The MV Fiji Princess, operated by Blue Lagoon Cruises, ran aground Saturday near Monuriki Island, scene of the 2000 movie starring Tom Hanks “Cast Away,” the Fiji-based tourism company said in a statement.
The Cayman Islands welcomed over 49,000 stayover visitors in February, representing a 10.1% increase year over year and marking the second-strongest February on record. Canada led February’s performance and continued its record-setting momentum with double-digit percentage increases in stayover visitation for the fourth consecutive month.
Caribbean tourism continued its expansion in 2025, recording a 2.5% increase in international stay-over arrivals to an estimated 35 million visits, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). However, a decline in Canadian arrivals tempered the gains.
Russia plans to send a second oil tanker to Cuba, the country’s energy minister said late last week citing the island’s ongoing energy blockade and reiterating Russia’s solidarity with the troubled Caribbean nation. Donald Trump countered with “Cuba’s finished!”
Citing unpaid work as a key issue, the union representing approximately 360 WestJet Encore cabin crew members, has officially served Notice to Bargain a new Collective Agreement.
G Adventures marked the first ‘Jane Goodall Day’ – April 3, on what would have been the late pioneering British primatologist, ethologist, and conservationist’s 92 birthday – with the news that it has renewed its partnership the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada for an additional 10 years.
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.
By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ Start with the name. It’s Guad-el-oup – which is to say, not Guad-a -loup-eh (a city in Mexico). You could call it “the biggest small island in the Caribbean,” as some inhabitants boast, or, better still, just call it Gwada, as the locals do in their creole dialect.
With over 267,000 islands, Sweden has more islands than any other country on Earth – islands that are defined by calm, rest, clean air and restorative nature, large or small, set in the sea or emerging from a lake. With a rethinking of what luxury means, Sweden is now offering five of them for free to use and care for during a year.
Despite the current challenges in the Middle East that are further disrupting both global and regional travel and costing the travel industry hundreds of millions of dollars daily, The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says research of previous crises shows that tourism demand following security-related incidents, with the right response, can recover in as little as two months when governments and industry act quickly to restore traveller confidence.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday allowing Palm Beach International Airport to be renamed the President Donald J. Trump International Airport. The change is set to take place in July, formally rebranding the airport near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.