As France readies for a tourism surge for this summer’s Olympic Games, UN Tourism has revealed that the country is already the world’s most visited destination, easily maintaining its status for the second year in a row with 100 million international tourist arrivals in 2023. But who’s next?
The union that represents 9,000 CBSA workers say they won’t strike until at least Wednesday, as mediation continues. The Public Service Alliance of Canada had initially said border workers were set to strike as early as 4 p.m. Friday if the two sides hadn’t reached a deal. But shortly after the deadline, a spokesperson for the union said negotiations would continue.
A new state-of-the-art new website and continuing commitment to travel advisors – and their clients – is at the heart of Goway’s first rebranding in the company’s 54-year history. The effort also includes a new logo designed to capture the “forward-thinking spirit of a company that has pioneered tailor-made trips for globetrotters for over 50 years.”
With Santa Monica having been a key partner at the recent IPW travel trade show – the destination dubbed LA’s “beach city” was the site of after-show festivities for delegates, including Canadian attendees, over the course of two nights – the timing was right last week for Team Santa Monica to follow up with their annual Canadian mission to engage and update the trade in this country on the latest happenings in the SoCal destination.
MSC Cruises has unveiled an expanded slate of itineraries for guests departing from the line’s four US homeports: Miami, Port Canaveral, New York, and Galveston, Texas. The company’s Winter 2025/26 season will feature seven ships, including MSC Grandiosa’s debut in the US from Port Canaveral; the cruise line’s inaugural season sailing from Galveston; and MSC World America’s first winter season sailing from Miami, following her debut as the line’s newest flagship in April 2025.
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) is commemorating the 15th anniversary of its non-profit arm, the Sandals Foundation with a new, year-long campaign titled, Empower 15. The project aims top harness the strength of the Caribbean sun to bring sustainable solar energy to Caribbean schools, ensuring a much-needed power supply that allows for digital learning to continue uninterrupted.
IATA said last week that flight fares are expected to rise. Also in the Round Up, Transat reported rising revenue, but overall losses; WestJet went back to basics, while Air Canada set it sights on inflight snacks; Disney got back on track for future growth in Florida, and Sunwing introduced an incentive in conjunction with partner Melia; plus, our usual categories, including cruise, incentives, tours, and hotels/resorts.
Months after Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees agreed to end a protracted legal fight, the two sides are set to approve an agreement that could result in the company investing up to US$17 billion into its Florida resort and opens the door to a fifth major theme park at Walt Disney World.
Where will the Edmonton Oilers go to celebrate if they win the Stanley Cup? Certainly not the White House, as many American teams do after winning a championship – or Disney. With this in mind, Canada’s own Rocky Mountaineer is offering the Oilers players an “ultimate Canadian victory tour” on the iconic train if they bring the Cup back to Canada this year.
Visitors injected billions of dollars into Toronto’s economy last year, a new study finds, but tourists have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels amid signs of slowing growth. Some 26.5 million visitors arrived in 2023 and spent $8.4 billion – the bulk of it on hotels, restaurants and transportation – according to a report from Tourism Economics.
Burt Rutan was alarmed to see the plane he had designed was so loaded with fuel that the wing tips started dragging along the ground as it taxied down the runway. He grabbed the radio to warn the pilot, his older brother Dick Rutan. But Dick never heard the message. Nine days and three minutes later, Dick, along with copilot Jeana Yeager, completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refuelling.
A Hawaii oasis is at the top of Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches while one of America’s most picturesque beaches has been struck from the 2024 list following a coastal disaster that has left it off-limits to beachgoers.
Sliding into the tub and looking around at the extensive detailing of the bathroom in an elegant suite on Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer reveals a host of exclusive and steal-able design tips for creating a dream space in your own home.
In his gargantuan task of attempting to consume and playlist the classic rock cannon in its entirely – from AC/DC to ZZ Top – my 20-something son has created a discerning category for some of his discoveries: albums where, in his estimation, every single song is great. A small list, his special first entry was Boston (by Boston). I agreed and offered another: The Cars (by The Cars).
Border personnel are set to begin a job action on Friday at 4 p.m. (EST) if no deal is reached by then, says the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents more than 9,000 union members who work for the Canada Border Services Agency and who have been without a contract for more than two years.
Air Transat and Porter Airlines have launched the first phase of the carriers’ joint venture in which bookings of direct and connecting flights can be made through each other’s distribution channels provided a wider network of destinations for passengers.
WestJet Airlines has replaced its basic ticket tier with a new fare category that does away with a free carry-on bag and other perks travellers once took for granted. The new “UltraBasic category,” the lowest priced of seven fare classes, is a no-frills fare and went into effect this week.
Brand USA, the face of US Travel abroad, came calling in Canada this week, continuing its commitment to the US’s top international market and the trade that fuels it. Events were planned for Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary, with the centrepiece being a day-long event designed to connect tour operators and the media from this country with a delegation comprised fully of 30 destination reps from across the US.
Trevello cleaned up at the Sandals Awards; Travel Masters celebrated advisors who made an “impact”; Redtag unveiled a new, improved call-in experience, and Red Label agents travelled with WestJet Vacations; and there’s a new face at F1S – all in this week’s Retail Round-Up.
Flair Airlines chief executive Stephen Jones will be stepping down this summer after nearly four years at the helm of the discount carrier. The CEO’s tenure spanned a turbulent period for the seven-year-old company as the airline expanded its fleet but also hit financial headwinds amid stiff competition.
A new agreement between Alaska’s capital city and major cruise lines seeks to cap the daily number of cruise ship passengers arriving in Juneau starting in 2026. The agreement, finalized late last week, seeks a daily limit of 16,000 cruise passengers Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays. However, officials in Juneau say that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be that many people every day.
A United Airlines flight from Vancouver to Houston was met by emergency responders from the Houston Fire Department on arrival as more than two dozen passengers suffered flu-like symptoms including nausea and vomiting. The plane was later withdrawn for deep cleaning as a “precautionary measure.”.
For a few moments the sky over Normandy, France, seemed to bleed. A helicopter, camouflaged to match the blue horizon, hovered over the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, dropping poppies. First in bursts of red clouds, then spread out on the breeze, like blood droplets dispersed in water. Each blood-red flower represented a Canadian killed in World War II. In all, 48,000 poppies fluttered onto the beach, building and crowd below.
As the pandemic fades into history, replaced in the public spotlight by elections and crises like climate change and war, health officials are racing to get the world to agree to new ways to prepare for and fight an inevitable future pandemic. The World Health Organization said member countries have approved new steps to improve global preparedness for, and response to, pandemics like COVID-19 and mpox and set a new deadline for agreeing on a broader treaty.
ACTA is urging that its travel industry members take part in a federal Competition Bureau market study on the state of competition within the domestic air passenger services sector. The study aims to identify opportunities for enhancing competition to benefit consumers, employees, and businesses, and the deadline for survey responses must be made by June 10.
Air Canada is ramping up its flights to India this year including new non-stop service from Toronto to Mumbai, the country’s financial capital. In addition, the airline says it will boost its service from Montreal to Delhi to daily flights as well as offering daily seasonal flights from Calgary to Delhi, via London. The services start Oct. 27.
Regional air service in New Brunswick will get a boost in September when Saint John Airport adds new weekday flights to Halifax, reviving a route that was cancelled because of the pandemic. Quebec-based PASCAN Aviation will offer two daily return flights between Saint John and Halifax from Monday to Friday, as well as one return flight between Bathurst and Saint John every weekday.
Europe’s third-biggest tour operator said Monday that it is filing for insolvency protection from creditors and trips that haven’t yet started will be cancelled or scaled back. FTI Group, with a dozen brands under its umbrella, said parent company FTI Touristik GmbH, was filing an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings at a Munich court.
Despite record profits for the global airline industry, the cost of flights is likely to go up, IATA warned Monday at its annual meeting in Dubai. The association says that while carriers recover from the groundings worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic, there are many current costs likely to push ticket prices ever higher, among them worldwide inflation.
Seeking close the wage gap with counterparts south of the border, the union representing 5,000 Air Canada pilots says it intends to request help from a federal conciliator to assist in stalled contract negotiations with the airline, claiming the two sides are not close to a deal despite a year of contract talks.