Travel Leaders Network completed its annual fall Canadian Regional events last week with more than 550 enthusiastic advisors having attended across three cities – Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto (West). Dubbed “Peak” (Programs, Education, Advisors and Knowledge), the at-capacity events were a mix of training and business advancement and enhancement sessions, networking with suppliers and peers, and a bustling trade show.

G Adventures and its non-profit partner Planeterra have announced the launch of Project 300, an initiative to help uplift 300 communities through travel by the year 2030. The project builds on previous, successful campaigns: ‘50 in 5’ (2015), through which 50 new social enterprises were built into G Adventures tours in just five years; and ‘Project 100,’ which had a mandate to increase the total number of community tourism enterprises integrated into G Adventures experiences to 100.

India’s high commission in Canada has resumed processing some types of visa applications for Canadians applying from across the country as well as abroad. The decision came a month after New Delhi suspended the services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide.

Carnival faced legal troubles in Australia for a cruise operated during the pandemic; Transat announced a flight first (spoiler alert: to Africa); while in other round-up news from last week, Porter launched flights to Las Vegas, Arajet arrived in Canada, and Visit Florida spread some sunshine during its annual mission north of the border.

Speed and convenience are the key priorities of today’s travellers, according to IATA, whose 2023 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) reveals the latest passenger trends and preferences when it comes to both the booking and travelling experience, including increasingly embracing biometrics and off-airport processes to deliver it.

USA Today recently analyzed 23.2 million Google reviews of 500 of the most popular attractions in the world to uncover the biggest tourist traps, the most overpriced, and the most overrated attractions worldwide. Alas, a number of Canadian sites (we’re looking at you Capilano Suspension Bridge!) figured prominently. Read on to find out which ones, as well as the rest of the world’s most notorious sites.

After considering TICO’s review for a new funding framework and fees, ACTA says it believes the resulting proposals from the Ontario regulating body to be “band aids” that do little to change a “broken system” for registrants in the province.

Africa is booming, the Middle East not so much, travel advisors learned at Goway Travel’s annual showcase for the destinations in Toronto this week. It was the 12th time the Toronto-based tour company hosted the multi-day event for agents and suppliers, but first since before the pandemic.

A German tourist who went missing in a national park teeming with wild animals in northern Zimbabwe has been found alive and in “good health” along with his rental car three days later, a spokesperson for the national parks agency said.

People still get Sweden and Switzerland mixed up, according to Visit Sweden. Every year, the tourist board says, 120,000 people google the question: “Are Sweden and Switzerland the same?” Even the most informed and powerful people on earth can’t always tell the two countries apart – a world leader, the New York Stock Exchange, and a famous pop star have all experienced this. Determined to end the confusion once and for all, Sweden is now proposing actions.

VIA Rail chief executive Mario Peloquin wants the federal government to move toward giving VIA Rail trains formal right of way on the tracks over freight trains. The measure would reduce trip disruptions prompted by Canada’s two main freight railways – whose tracks VIA runs on – and vastly improve performance on periodically tardy passenger trains.

All of West Maui except for burned-out sections of historic Lahaina will reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 following the deadliest US wildfire in more than century, says the mayor of Maui County.

With Air Malta set to cease operations early next year, the country’s government has announced the establishment of a new national airline to serve the Maltese Islands. Announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela, the new company will be called KM Malta Airlines plc and will start operations on March 31, 2024.

In this week’s round-up, a Travel Agent Next Door advisor is honoured by G Adventures, AMA introduces a home-based program, Virtuoso talks Turks and Caicos, and TTC Tours Brands delivers a special BIPOC FAM trip invitation.

ACTA has an issued a reminder to the industry that travel companies doing business in Quebec must comply with new privacy laws that will take effect in the province next year. The association adds that it is preparing information for the trade that will address the situation this Fall.

Energized by new flights to the country by Transat starting this winter – the first direct flights from Canada since the pandemic – PromPeru hosted a gathering in Toronto last week to update the trade on the latest news from the South American country. Among the guests were reps from tour operators offering Peru tours and product: Goway, G Adventures, Intrepid, Collette, and TTC Tour Brands.