It’s been a productive past five years since the world’s largest hotel franchising company went public. With approximately 9,100 hotels spanning more than 95 countries, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has experienced exponential growth, not least adding new brands, countries, and properties.
Canada got a new transport minister last week, while those planning a trip to Europe to next year learned they’d have to apply (and pay for) a new permit; in other round-up news of the week, ACTA and CATO continued their squabble with TICO, top airline arrival numbers lagged, Air Canada was on the move in Dubai, and WestJet released its expanded winter 2023 flight schedule.
A judge is scheduled to consider today whether Hawaii can continue enforcing a new law banning firearms on its world-famous beaches, a measure that state leaders say makes them safer. The state’s latest gun control measure landed in court because of a lawsuit by three Maui residents who want to carry guns on beaches and other places deemed sensitive by the law, which took effect this month and involves a misdemeanor offense.
The US is requiring more planes to have accessible restrooms, but the change will take years to implement. Some new planes eventually will be required to have lavatories big enough to be accessible to wheelchair users, a change that disability advocates have sought for many years.
Jamaica is brewing up plans to harness the potential of its renowned Blue Mountain coffee to stimulate economic growth and benefit local communities through the creation of a unique experiential tourism product.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently revealed its 2023 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, an annual ranking that spotlights significant sites of American history that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.
With Korean culture, from TV shows to pop music, Korean culture is at all-time in in interest around the world. With this mind, Contiki has announced its first ever trip to South Korea. The nine-day “South Korea Soul” itinerary begins and ends in Seoul and includes a high-speed rail journey to Busan, plus a stopover at Jeonju – the UNESCO World Heritage town known for its traditional ambience and local hospitality.
At a protected Cove in San Diego, signs posted around the cove tell visitors – for their own safety – not to touch or get too close to the animals. Do they obey the signs? Of course not, and recent video shows a sea lion attacking tourists who got a little too close despite being warned to keep their distance.
It’s official, Santorini ranks as the most popular tourist destination in Europe, which is destined to make it even more impossibly crowded. “Famous for its golden sunsets, warm temperatures and jaw-dropping scenery, it comes as no surprise that Santorini ranks so highly as a must-visit hotspot,” said British holiday rental company CV Villas (which of course had a vested interest in the study) that ranked Ibiza second and Tenerife third.
Two wonderful voices have been silenced. Tony Bennett was just weeks short of his 97th birthday, and Irish singer and musician, Sinéad O’Connor who was just 56 died on Wednesday. Both thrilled audiences creating magic with their music and both were globally celebrated.
New Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez is taking a portfolio rife with turbulent issues as the aviation sector emerges from a period of crisis. With a professional background in communications and cleantech following a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Universite de Sherbrooke, he was first elected in 2004, and has served in cabinet since 2019, when he became government house leader. He leaves his spot atop the Heritage Department to take over from Omar Alghabra, who assumed the cabinet post in January 2021 while the pandemic pummelled the travel industry.
Canadians planning trips to certain European countries next year will need to obtain a permit first. Starting in 2024, Canadian travellers seeking a short-term visit to 30 countries including France, Switzerland, Spain and Greece must apply to the European Travel Information and Authorisation System.
Noah Meyer-Delouya only bought trip cancellation insurance once – and it paid off. Five days before a family trip in January, the Toronto-based accountant’s mom and brother tested positive for COVID and while Meyer-Delouya got lucky and didn’t contract COVID, the family decided to cancel all their tickets and cash in their trip cancellation policy.
Scandinavian Airlines says travellers can now book seats on the carrier’s first commercial flights in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark aboard electric-powered aircraft – due to start to five years from now. The Stockholm-based SAS airline group said there will be 30 seats available on each of the three flights and that the day and place of departure will be communicated to travellers by email once decided. Online reservations opened June 2.
Last Sunday a British Airways flight ran into a catering issue when it was discovered that the catering carts were ‘not properly chilled’ making the planned in-flight meal unusable on BA252 from Turks and Caicos to London. When the plane made a scheduled stop in Nassau, the crew went into the terminal to buy KFC chicken buckets and distributed pieces to passengers in economy and business class.
After years of dreamy and not always credible talk of skies filled with flying, nonpolluting electric taxis, the aviation industry is preparing to deliver a future that it says is now just around the corner – and a future that is nothing less than a “transport revolution.”
Accor’s presence in Japan is set to double while hotel openings gain momentum throughout the region. The hotel company recently announced a new strategic partnership with JHRA in Japan to renovate and rebrand the Daiwa Resorts portfolio into Grand Mercure and Mercure hotels that will offer uniquely local experiences.
Canada’s two biggest airlines saw a far higher proportion of their flights delayed than many of their American peers, according to figures from an aviation data firm. Overall, only half of Air Canada’s flights were on time between June 19 and July 16, statistics provided by Cirium reveal. In comparison, 64 percent of WestJet’s flights touched down on time.
A Delta Air Lines flight taxied around the Las Vegas airport for nearly 90 minutes in triple-digit temperatures, causing at least one person to need medical treatment. The Boeing 757 aircraft left its gate at the LAS on Monday afternoon but never left the ground. The plane taxied to the end of a runway and then turned around and returned to the terminal.
Music may be ubiquitous in The Big Easy, but the city has nevertheless designated October as the New Orleans’ first-ever Music Month. The event will be a 31-day celebration of music, culture, and technology, and include a new music industry conference, NOLA MusiCon, Oct. 24-27.
Take a scroll through your Facebook timeline for five minutes. Now try to remember what stood out for you. Whatever you recall is your hook. It could be topics, friends, sounds, videos, or something else altogether.
The developers of the new expansion at Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic say a new expansion project will not only increase capacity at the facility, but will bring PUJ up to international standards, while at the same time offering users such creative amenities as a swimming pool and food truck dining.
The cruise ship with about 1,000 passengers anchored off Nome, too big to squeeze into the tundra city’s tiny port. Its well-heeled tourists had to shimmy into small boats for another ride to shore. It was 2016, and at the time, the cruise ship Serenity was the largest vessel ever to sail through the Northwest Passage.
Yet again we have a ‘what were you thinking’ moment, as two Australian women have been fined for taking selfies and videos of themselves posing with dingoes on an Australian island. One woman reportedly posed with three sleeping dingo pups, behavior that a park official called “irresponsible” and “unbelievable.”
ACTA and CATO have taken the unprecedented step to withdraw its appointees from the TICO Board until they are given the opportunity to meet with the Ontario Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, the Honorable Kaleed Rasheed. The two associations are also asking for a copy of TICO’s recommendations to the Ontario government on future fees and Compensation Fund funding.
The WestJet Group has announced its winter schedule, operating 230 direct routes from Canada to the southern US, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America this winter, while also extending key domestic and international routes from summer to year-round service.
Music festivals are synonymous with Britain, both singular and annual, and cover a wide spectrum from electronic music to classical and classic rock and roll. Some notable events, like Glastonbury, are in the books for 2023, but there are still plenty of tunes to come at a number of music fests across the country this summer.
Jamaica will host the 42nd edition of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace, May 20-22, 2024. The annual show was last held on the island in 2019 and follows a successful event last May in Barbados. CTM is the association’s most important event, which brings together buyers and sellers of the region’s tourism products and services.
Formula One has been granted permission to run the Las Vegas Grand Prix on the famed Vegas ‘strip’ until the year 2023, with the first in the series scheduled for this November. However, hotels and clubs in the area are furious at F1’s alleged threat to block their view of the race if they don’t cough up huge amounts of money to view the race.
Hail battered a Delta Air Lines passenger jet bound for New York shortly after taking off from Milan on Monday, forcing it to divert safely to Rome’s main airport, Italian media and the airline said. The aircraft sustained damage to its nose and on the fuselage near the wings, according to Italian media.