“Bonjour, Quebec!” WestJet Group CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech declared at a staff celebration of the launch of Vacances WestJet Quebec/WestJet Vacations Quebec (WVQ) yesterday at Sunwing’s airport-area office in Toronto. A concurrent event was taking place in Laval as Sunwing staff there also celebrated the launch of a “new tour operator” in the province.
U.S. airlines are suing to block the Biden administration from requiring greater transparency over fees that the carriers charge their passengers, saying that a new rule would confuse consumers by giving them too much information during the ticket-buying process. The US Transportation Department says it will vigorously defend the rule against what it called “hidden junk fees.”
Travel advisors can now register for Sandals Masterclass 2024 – an extensive series of webinars taking place for regions across the country that kick off May 22 in Ontario and continue into September. The sessions are created by Unique Vacations Canada exclusively for Canadian travel advisors to help them drive growth and increase sales to Sandals and Beaches resorts in the Caribbean.
Coinciding with Travel Advisor Month in May, Globus family of brands – Globus, Cosmos, and Avalon Waterways – has introduced new business-to-business brand marketing platform and a new and improved Travel Advisor Portal (TAP) for partners under the theme “We’ve Got U.”
Transat Distribution Canada hosted its first training academy since before the pandemic, this time taking to the high seas for a cruise-focussed session aboard a Virgin Voyages vessel in the Caribbean; Ensemble convened its owner-managers for a Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona; and Direct Travel and FCM both made key executive appointments.
The union representing staff in New Brunswick’s Tourism Department says money spent by the tourism minister and her deputy on a European trip could have helped stave off staffing cuts at popular attractions in the province. CUPE Local 1190 president Jonathan Guimond said the $42,000 Tourism Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace and staff spent last September on a trip to France and the United Kingdom amounts to 2,000 additional hours his members could have worked.
What were they thinking? Airport security officers in Miami found a slithering surprise recently – a bag of snakes hidden in a passenger’s pants. According to an X post by the US Transportation Security Administration, officers at Miami International Airport found the reptiles concealed by an unnamed traveller at a checkpoint.
In a move that resonates on many levels, the Sunwing Vacations Group has launched WestJet Vacations/Vacances WestJet Quebec (WVQ) in La Belle Province as a “new tour operator with new destinations” for Quebec consumers, starting next winter. It also represents the latest step Sunwing’s integration into the WestJet fold, though as a standalone division that will also operate WestJet’s overall tour operations.
Nassau & Paradise Island are havens for travellers seeking sun, sand, and sustainability, and visitors can easily find numerous ways to enjoy the destination in an eco-friendly way. From serene nature excursions to immersive cultural experiences, here are five Earth-friendly ways to explore while making sure that the natural wonders of The Bahamas are preserved for generations to come.
We wouldn’t have known it while waiting over an hour for our bags to arrive at LAX on a recent visit – even with the 15-minute head start afforded by having to trek from gate to carousel – but at least they did arrive (and in one piece), which is an occurrence that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says is steadily becoming more common.
With white sand beaches that seem to stretch on forever, sparkling blue waters, abundant marine life, cultural activities and adventures, Nassau-Paradise Island is guaranteed to live up to its name for couples visiting The Bahamas. With this in mind, the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board has curated some top experiences to help couples make their romantic retreat even more special.
Air Transat has released its flight schedule 2024-25 winter season featuring, at peak, 300 non-stop flights per week from seven Canadian cities. In addition to Toronto, Ottawa, and London, it will also offer flights from Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, and Moncton, to more than two dozen destinations covering the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, and Europe.
Nassau & Paradise Island are ideal destinations for anyone who loves to kick back and relax, but what about those who crave a little excitement mixed in with their lazy days spent on the sand? A sure way to make a splash is to ride on one of the Bahamian destinations many thrilling waterslides.
It wasn’t a normal Tuesday for staff at an Iqaluit airport gift shop when 260 passengers were unexpectedly stuck in the airport terminal for nearly 11 hours last week. The passengers made their unplanned arrival at the airport when their Air France flight from Paris, bound for Seattle, Wash., made an emergency landing in Iqaluit after a “heat smell” was detected inside the plane.
While the US Travel Association revelled in its 55th annual IPW trade show in Los Angeles last week that welcomed 5,700 attendees from 70 countries (among them close to 150 Canadians and a 20% increase over 2023), the tourism organization nevertheless bristled at current tourism metrics for international travel to the US it says are caused in part by self-inflicted wounds – ones that can and should be overcome.
Canada’s Competition Bureau says it will begin a market study looking into the state of competition in the Canadian airline industry and how governments can make improvements. In a market study, the bureau examines barriers to competition, such as regulations or policies, within a specific sector.
The union representing WestJet Encore pilots says its members rejected the tentative deal reached last month, with just over half voting the agreement down. The union says despite improvements to compensation and scheduling, the pilots wanted to see more action from WestJet to address ongoing issues with pilot recruitment, retention, and morale.
Disney has received another key approval to expand its Southern California theme parks in its first push to make major changes to its iconic Disneyland in decades. Anaheim City Council voted unanimously for the plan to transform Disney’s 488-hectare campus by moving parking to a multi-storey structure and redeveloping a massive lot with new entertainment and rides.
Canada’s airlines have agreed to make changes to improve the travel experience for disabled passengers, says the government, following last week’s national summit on air accessibility – a gathering that followed several high-profile incidents that placed the spotlight on problems in the industry.
Air Vanuatu filed for bankruptcy protection late last week after the South Pacific state-owned carrier cancelled all international flights, stranding thousands of travellers. But despite the filing, the carrier is looking to resume operations as soon as possible.
Pearson airport reported that it was packed with passengers in the first quarter of 2024, while Orlando was crawling with Canadians. In other round-up news from last week, the annual US Travel mega trade show IPW took place in LA with plenty of Canadians on hand, Cunard’s Queen Anne set sail on its long-awaited maiden voyage, ACV introduced India, and Goway is going to Utah.
Close to 150 Canadians may have been a drop in the bucket amongst the 5,700 attendees at IPW – US Travel’s signature international trade show – in Los Angeles this week, but the delegation had an outsized presence and proudly waved the flag as befits the US’s top international market.
Canada “made history” in Orlando in 2023, sending more than 1.2 million visitors to the theme park capital, according to Visit Orlando, which revealed the “big announcement” at the IPW US travel trade show in Los Angeles this week. The record-breaking numbers also ensured that Canada remained the destination’s No. 1 market ahead of the UK (877,000) and Brazil (696,000).
Overpacking is by far the biggest traveller mistake, according to some of the world’s most experienced travellers responding to the 2024 Winter Global Rescue Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey. More than a third of respondents (35%) said overpacking was their biggest boo-boo, along with flying with connections and overly ambitious itineraries.
With up to 176 daily flights to 27 destinations from the city’s two airports, Porter Airlines is promising its most substantial summer schedule to date from Toronto. And by August, the carrier says it will be the third-largest carrier flying from Toronto Pearson International Airport, with up to 74 daily flights to 16 destinations across Canada and the United States.
An artisan roastery based in the Helsinki has introduced a coffee blend that has been developed by artificial intelligence in a trial in which it’s hoped that technology can ease the workload in a sector that traditionally prides itself on manual work. It is only apt that Kaffa Roastery’s “AI-conic” blend was launched in Finland, a Nordic nation of 5.6 million that consumes the most coffee in the world at 12 kg per capita annually, according to the International Coffee Organization.
Quick: where’s Banjul? How about Cotonou or Lome? Suddenly, places along the west and east coasts of Africa that are likely to have even veteran travellers doing where in the world? Google searches are being asked to quickly arrange docks and shore excursions for multiple cruise ships.
Sorry, Diana Ross. You too, Keanu Reeves (who sidelines as a bass player in the band Dogstar when not cracking skulls as John Wick). The star performer at this year’s edition of the US travel trade show IPW, held in Los Angeles this week, was Ziggy Marley.
Thousands of ride-or-die Taylor Swift fans who missed out on her US concert tour last year or didn’t want to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to see her again found an out-of-the-way solution: Fly to Europe. The pop star is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour in Paris on Thursday, and planeloads of Swifties plan to follow her across the pond in the coming weeks.
Hosting the world’s largest mammal migration, hippo population, man-made lake, and second largest wildebeest migration – not to mention one of the world’s most famous waterfalls – Zambia is gaining an increasing profile among North American travellers seeking travel authenticity.