Rocking an Olympic-themed atmosphere, Transat Distribution Canada welcomed its English Canada members in Toronto over the weekend for the organization’s annual conference. Some 250 participants were on hand from across the TDC network, including Transat execs, agency owners, advisors (including from the agent@home program), and 60 preferred partners.
Playa Hotels & Resorts has officially opened reservations for Kimpton Tres Rios, its newest managed property – and first ever all-inclusive – for stays in early 2025. Set on a white sand beach and surrounded by lush mangroves, the all-age luxury resort is located in Mexico’s Riviera Maya has undergone a significant transformation since early 2023.
A total of 67 out of 120 destinations around the world recovered to pre-pandemic arrival numbers in the first half of 2024, resulting in international tourism reaching 96% of 2019 levels overall in the seven months through July 2024,
China promised tiny tourism-dependent Palau a million tourists a year if the country would only drop its allegiance to Taiwan, says the country’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. But the Chinese tactic of “weaponizing” tourism saw its visitors to the Pacific archipelago suddenly decline by half when Whipps Jr. declined the offer.
The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she’ll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
The Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) is urging Ontario’s travel trade to unite and make their voices heard at the Sept. 24 Travel Industry Council of Ontario annual meeting, particularly in calling for the provincial government to comprehensively review and update the Travel Industry Act, as well as to demand progress on a review of TICO’s own operations as the regulatory body for Ontario’s travel industry.
As Belfast continues to celebrate a year-long program of culture inspired by Belfast’s designation as a UNESCO City of Music in 2024 and its well-known literary reputation, Northern Ireland’s economic minister called in Toronto last week to talk travel with the trade.
Alaska Airlines has closed its $1 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airline, shortly after the US federal government removed the last major regulatory obstacle to the deal. Alaska says it will keep Hawaiian as a separate brand, eliminating the need to repaint planes.
The Travel Corporation (TTC) today announced the appointment of Melissa DaSilva as Interim CEO of TTC Tour Brands, effective immediately. DaSilva, who most recently served as President of TTC Tour Brands North America and brings over three decades of travel industry expertise to her new role, succeeds Gavin Tollman who will exit the business when the company sale closes later this year.
Air Canada’s pilot strike was settled – or was it? In a big week of news last week, ACTA also revealed foundational shifts in the retail travel industry, a new Explora Journeys vessel set sail, Flair flew to Guadalajara, Mexico, for the first time, and a eminent travel agent in this country announced retirement plans.
A new proposal from the country’s transport regulator would charge airlines $790 for each passenger complain it resolves – regardless of which party wins the dispute. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has launched a one-month consultation on the proposed reforms, which would apply to valid customer complaints processed and settled by the regulator.
Ariella Kimmel and Mandi Johnson were grabbing a bite to eat in Vienna, when their August trip to the Austrian capital was upended. The Canadian duo had travelled to the city to see Taylor Swift in concert only to learn her shows would be cancelled because of two men plotting to launch an attack on fans outside the venue, Ernst Happel Stadium.
At YVR, removing laptops and liquids from your carry-on at security is a thing of the past, thanks to a fresh use of half-century-old technology. Vancouver is the first flight hub in the country to deploy CT scanners in a bid to detect explosives and other threats, according to CATSA. And the agency plans to install the technology, which provides 360-degree views via computerized X-ray imaging, at airport checkpoints across the country in the coming years.
As you start planning your dream cold weather getaway, the first question to ask is where are you headed? It may not clear as you scan cruise websites, but there are two main routes around the Caribbean: Eastern and Western. They go back to the days of sailing ships and originally developed because of the trade winds and the ease of hopping between islands.
To mark its 100th anniversary this year, the Louisbourg Lighthouse, which stands at the same location as the first lighthouse in Canada originally built in Cape Breton in 1734, has revealed a full refurbishment designed to help the historic structure on for another century
Furthering the ‘90s musical revival, Malmö Opera in Sweden is hosting ‘Joyride the Musical,’ a new feel-good production paying tribute to the music of Swedish pop band Roxette. The musical takes audiences on a joyful, humorous journey that since its debut Sept. 6 has received rave reviews from audiences, comprised in large part by international visitors.
Low entry-level pay in the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement, some aviators and experts say. While the tentative agreement’s cumulative 42 percent wage hike over four years applies to all flight crew – a big topline gain after a decade of two per cent annual raises – many could still feel left out of the windfall.
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario has posted a closure advisory, including claims protocols, for Canada Jetlines, which ceased operations on Aug. 15, and was declared bankrupt on Sept. 11, 2024. On the same date, Canada Jetlines Vacations terminated its TICO registrations.
On a day that was “all about RIU,” close to 125 senior managers and executives from across the Sunwing Travel Group convened Tuesday with RIU Hotels & Resorts execs to learn the latest from one of the Canadian travel company’s most important partners.
Goway has reinvigorated its product line to Northern Europe with the introduction of 14 new itineraries across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The tour company says its new tours showcase the depth of experiences available in the Nordic nations, from beautiful city centres to magnificent natural settings, including the fjords and the Arctic Circle.
The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a Delta Air Lines flight with cabin pressure issues left some passengers with bleeding eardrums, headaches and bloody noses. The flight was travelling Sunday from Salt Lake City to Portland, Oregon, when pilots of the five-year-old Boeing 737-900ER aircraft noticed a pressurization problem and made an emergency landing back in Utah’s capital, according to the flight log.
Disney Vacation Club will begin offering a new opportunity to call Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows “home” with the addition of the new Island Tower, opening in Orlando on Dec. 17. Sales will open to current Disney Vacation Club members on Oct. 1 and the public on Oct. 29.
Move over Baby Boomers, you’re not the belle of the travel ball any longer. That status will be usurped by Millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996), who are forecast to be the most active travel demographic in 2025. However, it’s the former who still hold the purse strings, according to data presented by ACTA at the association’s travel summit last week in Toronto.
The worst flooding in years moved Tuesday across a broad swath of Central Europe, taking lives and destroying homes. Heavy flooding has affected a large part of the region in recent days, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Austria. Other places braced for the worst yet to come, including two Central European gems: Budapest, the Hungarian capital on the Danube River, and Wroclaw, a city in southwestern Poland on the Oder River, which boasts a Gothic cathedral and other historic landmarks.
The Ritz-Carlton has opened its newest hotel, the Ritz-Carlton Rabat, Dar Es Salam, a palatial oasis located a few minutes from the historic centre of Morocco’s capital, and set within 440 hectares of forest and lush gardens adjacent to Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
When polar bears started coming to Churchill, tourists did too. And then suddenly, polar bears began to appear everywhere – from artwork to cushion covers and even on beer cans – as residents of this remote Manitoba town on Hudson Bay embraced their title as polar bear capital of the world.
With its reindeer sleigh rides, camel racing and stunning landscapes with room to roam – not to mention status as the legendary land of Genghis Khan – Mongolia has launched a new tourism campaign it hopes will woo visitors who are truly looking to get away from it all.
Anna Nash has joined Explora Journeys as President of the luxury lifestyle ocean travel brand of the MSC Group reporting directly to Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Group’s Cruise Division.
Canada’s travel retail landscape is changing dramatically – so much so that ACTA is preparing a significant report due in October detailing a foundational shift in the industry that includes higher wages for employed agents, but new ones being hired as sole proprietors (aka independent agents).
Politics, public opinion, and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major wage gains for pilots, experts say. The tentative agreement includes an “unheard of” 42 percent wage hike over four years, according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.