A pair of the iconic ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” will soon be embarking on an improbable global exhibition tour following their own yellow break road to Los Angeles, New York, London, and Tokyo. (Stay tuned for dates, Ozzies). The tour follows the unexpected return of the iconic shoes to their owner, nearly 20 years after they were stolen from a museum in the late actor’s hometown.
Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines opened its doors Wednesday, welcoming its first guests to a nature-forward resorts brimming with island inspiration and stirring ‘Sandals Firsts.’ The opening marks Sandals Resorts’ long-awaited introduction to the largely undiscovered Eastern Caribbean destination.
More than half of travellers surveyed by Virtuoso say global developments in 2023 have encouraged them to travel more responsibly, citing geopolitical conflicts, overtourism, and the effects of climate change, such as natural disasters, pollution, and rising temperatures.
Citing strong financial results– including record annual revenue – Air Canada issued its 2023 Annual Report highlighting the carrier’s achievements for the year, including progress made on several key strategic initiatives.
Viking “floated out” its newest ship for the Nile River – the 82-guest Viking Hathor— late last week, marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Set to debut in August, the Viking Hathor will join the company’s growing fleet of state-of-the-art ships for the Nile River and will sail Viking’s popular 12-day ‘Pharaohs & Pyramids’ itinerary.
In this week’s retail round-up, Direct Travel agents are “pulling off the impossible,” while TRAVELSAVERS and Virtuoso are welcoming new team members; plus, a couple of countries have specialist news.
During the pandemic, the Ontario government implemented several measures to help reduce the burden on Ontario’s registered travel agencies and tour operators and to assist certain travellers impacted by the pandemic. While some of the changes were permanent, others were time limited. Now, TICO is reminding that the final two temporary amendments are set to expire this year, beginning next week.
Passengers at busy Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas can test self-screening at customs – a new system that US federal airport security officials are calling “a step into the future.”
France’s capital resurrected a 110-year-old race for its servers Sunday. The dash through central Paris celebrated the dexterous and, yes, by their own admission, sometimes famously moody men and women without whom France wouldn’t be France.
Italy followed France on Monday in stepping up security following the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall and the claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group.
American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is buying CWT. Subject to customary conditions, the “definitive agreement” between the two business travel giants is valued at approximately US$570 million, with a closing date expected in the second half of the year.
G Adventures and its non-profit partner, Planeterra, have confirmed that the second annual GX Community Tourism Summit will be held in India this fall. The destination has been a closely guarded secret by G since the inaugural event in Cusco, Peru in 2023.
By the simplest measurement, the answer to that question is ‘no’ but you would never know that by reading about the torrent of flight problems in the last three months. The last deadly crash involving a North American airliner (Colgan Air, which operated for Continental Express, United Express and US Air Express) occurred in February 2009 – 15 years ago – an unprecedented streak of safety, especially given there were 9.6 million flights in the US alone last year.
US Federal regulators are increasing their oversight of United Airlines following a series of recent issues including a piece of the outer fuselage falling off one jet, an engine fire and a plane losing a tire during takeoff.
Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship’s engineering space, the cruise line said. The unidentified crew members died Friday while the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America said in a statement.
Blue Diamond Resorts is mapping its entire portfolio with immersive 3D scenarios that take each resort into the metaverse and make it easy for travellers and travel professionals to experience 360° virtual tours of all on-property details through an easy-to-use interface.
Goway is celebrating having booked 500 group vacations worldwide in the past year – a milestone the tour company says marks its Groups Only division’s most profitable period to date and showcases the burgeoning demand for custom group travel experiences.
In a decision hailed by an environmental group as a historic victory, an Amsterdam court has ruled that Dutch national airline KLM misled consumers in statements about sustainable aviation in a case that accused the carrier of “greenwashing.”
ACTA and Avalon Waterways are combining for a 2024 cruise summit and TTAND turned 10; in other news highlights, there were glad tidings for all-inclusives, and plenty of cruise happenings – not least a name for Disney’s newest ship, a date for the MSC World America debut, and release of NCL’S latest agent tool.
Call them ‘travelebrities’ – the celebrities, icons, and digital influencers who are increasingly shaping the travel desires of a younger demographic when it comes to planning their ‘scenecations,’ according to a new survey from the Flight Centre.
Avalon Waterways and ACTA are reprising their successful European River Cruise Summit for a second year during which 130 Canadian travel advisors will be invited to sail the Danube River aboard the Avalon Illumination on Oct. 28, 2024. Deadline to apply is April 8.
On March 24, 80 years ago, in one of the most ingenious and audacious acts of defiance of World War II, 76 prisoners of war tunneled out of a German POW camp into a snowy forest. For most of the escapees, it ended tragically. Three made it to safety, but the others were recaptured and 50 of them were executed.
Canadians are not only polite, but also a punctual bunch, observe execs at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. With this in mind, the facility – a popular gateway for southern Ontarians heading to New York, Florida, and other points in the US – is eager to point out to travellers from north of the border that it has plenty of options and activities for those who arrive early at BUF before winging off to somewhere else.
Canadian arrivals numbers to the Caribbean reached 88.1 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2023. And with an estimated three million tourist visits by the end of the year, the performance of Canada represented a whopping 46.1 percent increase over 2022, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
Advocates and Air Canada served up opposing views of on-board accessibility for passengers in the House of Commons on Tuesday, though both sides agree that consistency remains a problem. Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau told the House transport committee that an overwhelming majority of the 1.3 million passengers who requested special assistance last year had a positive experience. About 1,950 – or 0.15% – filed complaints.
Disney Cruise Line revealed the first details about its next ship, including its name – Disney Destiny – as the ship marked a construction milestone this week with a keel laying ceremony at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The ship will sail in 2025.
VoX International has announced the return of Colin Wood as Senior Account & Business Strategy Director to lead the Hawaii Tourism account and support overall client strategy and business development for the Toronto-based marketing and PR firm.
Cuba is renowned for its sandy beaches, but there’s more: unlimited opportunities for adventure and discovery lie just beyond the shore. From calm, shallow waters that are ideal conditions for a family swim to sunken shipwrecks on the ocean floor waiting for the true adventurer, the Caribbean Sea offers unforgettable experiences above and below the surface.
Those who are open to innovations are best equipped to make the most of artificial intelligence for their businesses, delegates at the recent ITB Berlin travel trade show in Germany were told. For example, AI enables the search and reservation processes to at last “escape the tyranny of the search bar.”
It sounded like an Oscar speech, so many people thanked by Flemming Friisdahl. And in a way, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the company he founded, The Travel Agent Next Door, was an Oscar of sorts from the Canadian travel industry. But the point, Friishdahl was determined to make, was he couldn’t have done it alone.