Air Canada says it has repaid about $589 million in debt that it used to buy aircraft. The company says it repaid a $462-million loan from Canada’s Export Development Corp. that it used to pay for the purchase of 14 Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
Two new travel guides have been released by British tourism travel organizations with the aim of helping the trade plan and book travel to the UK by receiving information from and directly connecting with local suppliers. The guides – from England’s Historic Cities and the Great West Way – are excellent resources to destinations across Britain and can be accessed online.
Canadian arrivals into Britain are poised to set an all-time record this year. And with an expected 944,000 visitors from this country forecast to find their way to Old Blighty – significantly more than not only 2019 (874k), but also the previous high-water mark in 2017 (911k) – VisitBritain officials are eyeing the magic million mark in 2024.
MGM Resorts said in a statement Monday that it had “recently identified a cybersecurity issue affecting some of the Company’s systems.” The issue was not described, but the statement said efforts to protect data included “shutting down certain systems.” It said the investigation was continuing. By Monday evening, the websites for all MGM Resorts International were offline with only a post offering telephone contacts for the various resorts’ locations.
Last month, an alarming prospect dawned on Ben Birstonas ahead of a $14,000 all-inclusive getaway planned with his family for Bermuda. “As we’re approaching the departure date, we hear about hurricane Franklin,” recalled the 58-year-old information technology consultant in a phone interview.
A post-pandemic surge in car traffic at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport this summer has led to frustration, confusion, and desperation. The city’s public transit authority has scrambled to find detours for the airport shuttle, and the company that manages the site has opened more free parking and added traffic-control staff. So far, it appears nothing has worked to ease the bottlenecks.
Airbnb has stopped accepting some reservations in New York City after new regulations on short-term rentals went into effect – leading to big changes for travellers hoping to avoid the high cost of a Big Apple hotel.
North America’s largest retail travel agency network amps up education, training and network opportunities this Fall with eleven more mixers across Canada. The Travel Leaders Network events which sold out across the country throughout the year offer a platform where top suppliers can personally interact with owners and managers, free of charge to the members.
Travellers to Greece’s popular island destinations will face disruptions on Wednesday because of a 24-hour strike by ferry crews who cite safety and labour concerns after a tardy passenger was pushed into the sea by a ferry crew member and drowned – a scandal that led to the resignation of Greece’s shipping minister on Monday.
Passengers aren’t the only ones feeling cramped these days. Though Canadian flights have long been dominated by Air Canada and WestJet, the emergence of newer carriers including Flair Airlines and Lynx Air has shaken up the sector, injecting fresh competition to a once-complacent market.
An aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they mourned victims of the nation’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and sought to rescue survivors while soldiers and aid workers raced to reach ruined mountain villages. The disaster killed more than 2,100 people – a number that is expected to rise.
Following the success of its inaugural ‘Further Your World; Exclusive Educational Trip’ last month, Ensemble, has announced an initial schedule of FAM trips for 2024, with destinations ranging from the Maldives and South America to the Middle East.
Nunavut’s tourism industry is quickly recovering from the pandemic, according to the territorial government’s Director of Tourism and Culture Industries, David Boyle who contends that the industry is recovering faster locally than it is nationally, with cruise ship visits to the territory actually surpassing pre-pandemic levels last year.
Carnival Cruise Line is preparing to welcome its third BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster as it takes shape atop its next new ship Carnival Jubilee. The roller coaster’s 245-metre track is being installed on Deck 19 at Meyer Werft in Germany where the ship is under construction, a process expected to be complete this month with test runs are scheduled for October.
IHG Hotels & Resorts has launched its new midscale conversion brand, Garner. The brand is aimed at guests wanting great value stays at high-quality properties, and for owners seeking higher returns in the midscale segment.
In last week’s news reel, Disney offered a first glimpse of its new ship, the Treasure; a Qantas scandal led to early retirement for the airline’s boss; Air Canada revealed ambitious plans for its 2004 transatlantic program; a cruise ship returned to Maui; WestJet Encore pilots began preparing for contract negotiations; and Myrtle Beach named a new representative in Canada.
Tourist-flooded Venice has approved guidelines for testing a new fee for day-trippers on peak visitor weekends next year. The city council gave the go-ahead for the guidelines, tweaking earlier plans for a fee that were announced a year ago. Final approval of the plan will come up for consideration on Sept. 12.
President Joe Biden will nominate a former Obama administration official to lead the Federal Aviation Administration after his first choice withdrew in the face of Republican opposition nearly six months ago. The FAA, which regulates airline safety and manages the nation’s airspace, has been run by back-to-back acting administrators since March 2022.
He’s most often associated with Boston, the hometown of his legendary rock band, but Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has a soft spot in his heart for the Hawaiian island of Maui. The singer, who has a home on the island, wants vacationers to return to Maui to help the island’s economy – devastated by wildfires last month – recover.
A British company whose mission is “to help people all over the world make better financial decisions” – and what could be more important than finding cheap beer? – has deduced that the average cost of a pint in Canada is about $3.68 (£1.98) more than the global average.
The popular hotel brand definitely has a lot happening in Fall of 2023/Winter 2024. Throughout this year, several characteristic hotels will be renovated, like Riu Caribe and Riu Palace Pacifico (Mexico), as well as Riu Palace Macao (Dominican Republic). In addition, the new Riu Palace Aquarelle (Jamaica) will be opening in 2024.
Spouting and snorting and flipping its enormous tail, it was almost as though a humpback whale was giving us an escort to his glittering ice cave as it emerged from the waves alongside our boat. Towering walls of ice surrounded us as we entered Disko Bay on a small boat tour from a town clinging to the Greenland coast that’s a whale-watching paradise and whose name Ilulisssat, literally means icebergs in Greenlandic. Titanic chunks of white ice streaked with brilliant blue float everywhere in the water, fed by mountainous glaciers which date back at least to the last ice age 10,000 years ago.
Jimmy Buffett celebrated slackers before the word existed, even though he was hardly one himself. “Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville,” went the chorus to his most famous song, which became an international singalong. But you’ve probably heard that song by now, so we’ve got something else in mind for this week’s video.
Tropical Storm Lee strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as it churned through the open waters of the Atlantic on a path that would take it near the northeast Caribbean.It was expected to develop into an “extremely dangerous” major hurricane by Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm was located about 1,815 km
Canada’s public health agency says it’s investigating a recent incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat. On Tuesday, Air Canada said it apologized to two passengers who were escorted off the plane by security after protesting that their seats were soiled – and still damp – ahead of an Aug. 26 flight from Las Vegas to Montreal.
G Adventures says it has yet to receive formal confirmation of a change to the entry requirements for Canadian travellers intending to travel to Egypt but expects that Canadians will be required to obtain a visa effective Oct. 1 as announced a week ago on Global Affairs Canada’s travel page for Egypt. UPDATED TO INCLUDE CATO RESPONSE
The Mexican government ordered Mexico City’s old international airport (MEX) to cut flights by 17% sparking warnings by airlines of possible mass flight cancellations. The new rules scheduled to take effect by Oct. 29 would require the terminal to reduce the number of flights per hour at the airport from 52 to 43.
VisitBritain’s flagship Destination Britain North America trade event kicks off today in San Francisco with more than 50 top buyers from Canada and the US on hand to meet 70 British suppliers touting the message that Britain is the “must-go-now destination.”
In this week’s round-up, Travel Leaders Network announced the dates of its annual Fall Regional conferences; The Travel Agent Next Door rewarded top performers with a high Arctic expedition with Adventure Canada; Tourism Australia scored top marks with Virtuoso; and Direct Travel made the most of Virtuoso conference.
Like an island getaway within their island getaway, Cuba has smaller islands nestled along its northern and southern shores that bring all the beauty Canadians expect from their favourite tropical destination, and set the stage for unforgettable stays.