December was a busy month for the Travel Industry Council of Ontario. In addition to its ongoing restructuring plans, TICO carried on the day-to-day business of regulating the province’s travel sector with a series of claims, charges, closures and convicted notices.
The countdown to Mardi Gras began Saturday in New Orleans as Carnival season kicked off with dozens of costumed revellers and a brass band crowding onto a streetcar for a nighttime ride down historic St. Charles Avenue. Meanwhile, a walking club in the French Quarter marched in its annual procession honoring Joan of Arc.
A new currency is being introduced in the Dutch Caribbean and two eastern European countries are set to join the Schengen zone; additionally in this week’s round-up, a setback for Transat in labour negotiations, more measures to limit overcrowding in Venice and G Adventures’ has tapped into Taylor-mania for its “biggest agent experience ever.” NEWS
With 2024 being the first year that the entire world has fully reopened all its borders since the pandemic, there’s no shortage of places to travel. With this in mind, bigger and bolder are trending for 2024, says tour company Abercrombie & Kent, with travellers embracing long-haul destinations and travelling for longer to really get under the skin of new cultures through ever-more-immersive experiences – the new luxury.
Extremely cold temperatures compounded by gale-force winds and snow wreaked havoc across the Nordic region Thursday, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways. Heavy rains in Germany, France and the Netherlands again caused floods in regions that have seen persistent flooding in the last two weeks.
There’s a frequently used word in Papiamentu – “dushi”– which, while hard to precisely translate from the local lingo on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, essentially means positive vibes, beautiful, and the good things in life, all mashed up into one.
Fancy seeing the ancient Acropolis uncluttered by thousands of selfie-snappers? A solution is in the works, but it will set you back up to 5,000 euros ($7,300). Starting April 1, 2024, Greece plans to offer exclusive guided tours of its most powerful tourist magnet to handfuls of well-heeled visitors outside normal opening hours.
The Tour d’Argent already boasts a 320,000-bottle wine cellar, a world-famous duck recipe and a storied 441-year history. Now, the legendary Paris restaurant is about to serve up its “plat de résistance”: a front-row view of two of the biggest events of 2024 – the renaissance of Notre Dame Cathedral and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Are we in the south of France – or the Caribbean? It can be deceiving on St. Martin. Navigating the steep hills and winding roads to reach secluded Grand Case Beach Club resembles driving on the Grand Corniche. The resort’s imposing entrance gate features a flagpole flying the French tri-colour, as it should on this overseas outpost of France. But there’s a second flagpole flying the stars and stripes and while the official language is French, everyone speaks perfect English.
‘Tis the season for best-of lists, and whereas my days of accounting such things are mostly past, 2023 produced for me a definite – and most unexpected – song. One I still can’t get out of my head. And don’t want to.
Some call it “bleisure travel,” “laptop lugging,” “workations” or simply “blended travel.” The gist is the same: Remote and hybrid employees extend work trips to include leisure activities or work during their leisure trips. Whatever it’s called, it could upend the traditional divide between leisure and business travel.
It’s back to the bargaining table this week for Air Transat and its flight attendants after the latter voted to voted to reject a tentative deal with company. There are currently no strike or lock-out notices issued by either party and both say they are keen to reach a new agreement quickly.
As part of its worldwide “You Belong with G Experience” campaign, agents from Canada will be invited to join G Adventures to see ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ live in Toronto this coming November. The tour company says the incentive is the biggest agent experience it has ever delivered, with top sellers from different countries around the world also heading to concerts in New Orleans and London.
Mark your calendars, the next edition of the Destination France road show will roll out in four Canadian cities in February: Montreal on Feb. 19; Toronto Feb. 20; Calgary Feb. 21 and Vancouver, Feb. 22. Details to come.
MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise brand, is shedding light on five important travel trends that are driving guest holiday decisions for 2024 and beyond. The cruise line says it has observed heightened demand for products that offer extended stays in destinations, holidays rich in cultural experiences, upgraded adventures with touches of luxury, sustained enthusiasm for Europe’s vibrant cities, and guests looking for the biggest experience-value return.
Winnipeg is well-known for particularly brisk winters; but many residents lean into the weather by celebrating the season in creative and inspired ways – from the Guinness World Record holding largest snow maze to a fine dining festival on a frozen river, and an interactive art and architecture showcase on an ice-skating trail.
A man was found dead inside an airplane engine Monday night at Salt Lake City International Airport after police say he breached an emergency exit door, walked onto the tarmac, and climbed inside the jet’s engine.
A large Japan Airlines passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing five people aboard the coast guard plane, officials said. All 379 people on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 got out safely before the Airbus A350 was fully engulfed in flames, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed.
A new report says Air Canada had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023. Aviation data firm Cirium says the country’s biggest carrier landed 63 percent of its flights on time last year, placing it last among the continent’s 10 biggest airlines. The best performance was delivered by Delta Airlines at 85 percent on-time.
The Italian city of Venice announced new limits on the size of tourist groups, the latest move to reduce the pressure of mass tourism on the famed canal city. Starting in June, groups will be limited to 25 people, or roughly half the capacity of a tourist bus.
Excitement flew high on the Atlantic breeze as we stood on the top deck of Polaris, counting seconds for the meteorologist to untether the massive weather balloon. As the helium-filled bubble soared 30 kilometers into space and out of view, everyone cheered, thrilled to witness the scientific mission, synchronized with weather stations around the globe, to simultaneously launch balloons to gather crucial atmospheric data for predicting weather.
With a first-of-its kind beach and safari resort in South Africa, and the brand’s first Exclusive Collection resort in South America on the drawing board, Club Med is continuing its upmarket shift to exclusively offering premium products in 2024 and beyond.
IATA has rolled out the next generation of travel documentation and verification system to support contactless travel and enhances the passenger experience. Timatic AutoCheck offers a streamlined and interactive experience enabling travellers, airlines, and travel professionals to easily access accurate and clearly worded immigration information. The entire document checking process has been automated with tailored instructions for each passenger.
Jamaica is expecting its best winter season ever in 2023-24 with tourism minister Edmund Bartlett declaring that for the first time in the island’s history, there will be over one million stopover travellers for the season.
With a new year of travel opportunities ahead, CheapOair.ca is sharing its annual look ahead at some of the top “challenges and surprises” that Canadian travellers can expect for 2024, from airline and hotel prices to assorted tourist taxes.
Canadians have been busy this past year, and it’s taken them across the land and sea in search of adventure, sun, and romance. To uncover the top travel trends of the year – and its most unique bookings – Flight Centre Canada dug deep into 2023 booking data. Here’s what they found.
British Columbia’s abnormally warm winter has left local ski resorts grappling with a lack of snow during the holiday tourism season, as resorts struggle to keep runs open. Fewer than half of Whistler Blackcomb’s trails are open, while Vancouver’s Mount Seymour is closed entirely while it waits for better conditions.
Bulgaria and Romania have received permission to join Europe’s passport- and visa-free Schengen Area, starting in March. The move initially will apply only to travellers arriving by air and sea, while Austria has committed to continuing negotiations over the need for border checks when crossing from the two countries by land.
From a reimagined culinary journey with Chef’s Table and Carnival Culinary Centre curated by Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse to new online enhancements aimed at making debarkation more convenient, Carnival Cruise Line is deploying a series of new features designed to elevate the guest experience in 2024.
Security officers found 17 bullets concealed inside a disposable baby diaper during a flight over the holidays at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Transportation Security Administration officers pulled the otherwise clean diaper from a passenger’s carry-on bag after it triggered an alarm in an X-ray machine at an airport security checkpoint, the TSA said.