Though it is universally agreed that business is booming, the Canadian travel industry certainly still has its share of woes at the moment – though for one shining day in Milton, Ont., the rain clouds parted and the sun beamed down for close to 200 enthusiastic participants in ACTA’s 34th annual summer golf tournament.

As tourists in central Athens huddled under mist machines, disgruntled visitors bemoaned the temporary closing of the Acropolis in Athens on the weekend as Greek authorities proactively shut the world monument’s gates between midday and early evening amid a heat wave that continues to grip southern Europe.

As if last week’s rail strike wasn’t enough, hundreds of flights across Italy were cancelled on the weekend, forcing travellers at the peak of tourist season – and in the middle of a heat wave – to make alternate plans, after air transport unions went ahead with a planned work stoppage.

In last week’s news, ACTA rallied support for federal government financial relief, the Canada-US border was declared to be in “disarray,” the world’s biggest cruise ship completed sea trials, Lynx announced a new destination, and The Bahamas celebrated a major milestone.

Members of Unifor Local 114 working at the ‘Victoria Clipper’ are warning that the pace of bargaining for their next contract suggests that the Victoria-Seattle fast ferry service could be disrupted before the end of the summer.

For young Canadians hoping to take a trip on a budget, there’s a new challenge on the horizon beyond finding a way to fit all of one’s necessities into a backpack: the lingering effects of high inflation. According to StudentUniverse, a student and youth-focused travel agency, the top concern for young people who wish to travel is the financial cost. However, with the right approach and mindset, spending a few months in Europe may not be as far out of reach as it seems.

Is there really a new way to look at The Beatles, one of the most filmed and photographed bands in history? Yes, says Britain’s National Portrait Gallery, which is providing a fresh perspective with an exhibition of band’s-eye-view images that Paul McCartney captured as the group shot to global fame.

Record global ocean heating has invaded Florida with a vengeance. Water temperatures in the mid-90s (mid-30s Celsius) are threatening delicate coral reefs, depriving swimmers of cooling dips, and exacerbating the Sunshine State’s already oppressive summer weather. Forecasters are warning of temperatures that with humidity will feel like 110 degrees (43 C) by week’s end.

Tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on New Zealand’s most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people, a prosecutor stated as prosecutors opened their case in New Zealand this week on health and safety charges against six tourism industry operators that took them, and others, there – most from a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Montreal travellers, and tourism operators, are lamenting the suspension of the only daily train between their city and New York City. Amtrak announced late last month it would halt service on the Canadian National Railway Co. line due to speed restrictions prompted by summer heat, which can cause kinks in the steel tracks.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it intercepted 3,251 firearms – 92 percent of them loaded – at airport security checkpoints during the first half of 2023. The total represents an average 18 firearms per day at TSA checkpoints.

Royal Caribbean International reports that its newest cruise ship – and the world’s biggest – Icon of the Seas, is ship-shape after setting sail for the first time in its initial round of sea trials in the open ocean.

VISIT DENVER has named Pulse Travel Marketing as the city’s Canadian representative with the mandate to ensure that the Mile High City is prominently positioned with the travel trade, consumer, and key distribution media channels in Canada.

Members of US Congress are growing concerned about what they say is a shortage of agents on the southern side of the Canada-US border that is causing “disarray” at entry points to the country.

Thousands of Israeli protesters – some threatening “civil war” – took to the streets on Tuesday, blocking major highways and thronging the country’s main international airport, in countrywide demonstrations against the government’s contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

Travel Edge Network top advisors set sail in Europe while Trevello and Maritime welcomed new team members in this week’s round-up from the world of retail travel; and check out Swan Hellenic’s FAM incentive to Antarctica.

With erupting volcanos increasingly serving as beacons to locals and tourists alike, Icelandic authorities are warning people to stay away from a erupting hotspot in southwestern Iceland, which began erupting Monday, 11 months after its last eruption officially ended.