Ontario leisure travel growth prospects look bright despite new challenges, a new survey suggests, with tourism in the province set to continue growing as travellers reassess their holiday plans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
International rail ticketing platform Rail Online has officially launched in North America with the promise of “fairer fares for American and Canadian passengers,” as well as carrier fare price matching, instant refunds on e-tickets, no foreign currency transaction fees, and customers able to book in Canadian dollars.
U.S. officials says they will require new airline planes to have a second barrier to make it harder for passengers to break into the cockpit when the main door is open. The Federal Aviation Administration rule will apply to commercial planes made after mid-2025.
Citing “significant confusion” among travel advisors, ACTA is hosting two webinars – one with Air Canada and one with Amadeus – to help explain the impact of Air Canada’s New Distribution Technology (NDC).
Toronto-based destination marketing firm VoX International has been appointed to represent the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau in Canada.
A painting by French artist Claude Monet was defaced at Sweden’s National Museum in Stockholm Wednesday after two women threw paint at it and then glued themselves to the frame. The painting, “The Artist’s Garden at Giverny,” was on display as part of an exhibition at the museum.
Overall, flying will be far more expensive this summer, according to corporate travel manager American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), which analyzed tens of thousands of client transactions on flights to and from Canadian destinations. However, amid the soaring prices, flights to Western Canada are bucking the trend.
Sabre and Air Canada have announced the completion of a new multi-year distribution agreement that provides Sabre-connected agencies with long-term access to Air Canada’s full content via NDC channels.
Canadians’ love affair with Los Cabos is continuing as arrivals to the Mexican tourism hotspot have increased close to 13% in the first half of the year – and that’s having already reached pre-pandemic figures over the winter.
Lawmakers south of the border are considering rolling back an Obama-era rule that requires airlines to show the total price of a ticket upfront in advertising, while also tweaking training requirements for airline pilots and making other changes in a massive bill covering the Federal Aviation Administration.
Celebrity Cruises has unveiled for the first details about what travellers can experience on board the brand’s newest resort at sea, Celebrity Ascent, when it sets sail this December out of Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Physically towering over the city of Chicago, and inspirationally across the globe, the long-awaited St. Regis Chicago has opened its doors to guests. The 101-storey tower is notably the tallest building in the world designed by a female architect, American Jeanne Gang.
Star Alliance, the world’s largest global airline alliance, and which includes Air Canada, has announced that Theo Panagiotoulias has been chosen to become its next CEO, succeeding Charlotta Wieland, who has been interim CEO since January.
In a move the company’s CEO calls a “game changer,” the Expedia Group is set to launch a rewards program that will tie together its disparate brands including Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, which competes with Airbnb.
A new pilot project from Destination Canada is creating new tourism routes across the country with the aim of focussing visitor interest in distinct aspects of the Canadian experience and giving both international and domestic tourists “more reasons to travel” here.
United Nations cultural and scientific agency UNESCO, which notably administers the World Heritage program – a significant driver of tourism interest – announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin, and pay more than US$600 million in back dues.
Marriott International is developing its first-ever Marriott-branded all-inclusive property at the site of the former Marriott Cancun Resort, which closed its doors last March to undergo an extensive renovation for its conversion.
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario is advising that its annual meeting of members will take place virtually on Sept. 26 at 5 p.m.
The WestJet Group today announced Michael (Mike) Scott to the role of WestJet Group Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. The 30-year aviation industry veteran will start with the airline’s executive team on June 13.
Jerusalem’s iconic citadel has opened its revamped museum after a three-year, US$50-million makeover that included a restoration of its signature minaret. The Tower of David, the ancient fortress on the western edge of the Old City, contains remnants of successive fortifications built one atop the other dating back over two millennia.
WestJet will wind down its Swoop subsidiary by late October as it integrates the budget carrier’s operations into its main banner, the airline said Friday. The move comes after pilots with the two airlines ratified a new collective agreement that brings them onto a level pay scale.
Air Canada says it made a mistake in rejecting some compensation claims from the thousands of travellers affected by delayed flights due to computer malfunctions. In messages to some customers, the airline initially said the information technology fumble was out of its hands, relieving it of obligations to pay them compensation.
Security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport will escalate their strike action over wages into the busy summer months, the UK’s largest trade union has warned. Fortunately, Canadians flying on Air Canada and WestJet appear poised to avoid the disruptions.
With Air Canada flying three times weekly to Saint Lucia this summer, there’s no time like the present for Canadians to take advantage of the amenities of the island’s sibling resorts, Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa and Serenity, travel agents were told at a Toronto event Friday.
With 20 years of helping promote and facilitate “a better kind of travel,” Planeterra is launching a new campaign to raise funds in support of another “20 years of impact.”
Hawaii tourism officials are urging tourists to be respectful when flocking to a national park on the Big Island to get a glimpse of the latest eruption of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
Last week, in a case of battling acronyms, ACTA and CATO were miffed at TICO; Canada also eased visa restrictions on 13 countries, Air Canada doubled its dose for a Caribbean island, Marriott boosted agent incentives, and Mexico welcomed a new adults-only all-inclusive.
On air quality maps, purple signifies the worst of it. In reality, it’s a thick, hazardous haze that’s disrupting daily life, including travel, for millions of people across Canada and the US, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange.
Fearing additional financial burdens on travel agencies and other registrants in Ontario, ACTA and Canadian Association of Tour Operators say they are largely being “kept in the dark” over the Travel Industry Council of Ontario’s ongoing review of its funding framework and fee structure, which TICO earlier this year called the largest since its inception.
Transat AT Inc. saw revenues double – and losses shrink by more than two-thirds – in its latest quarter amid a major sales boost propelled by solid leisure travel demand on top of higher prices.