Crystal has officially relaunched under the new guardianship of A&K Travel Group, as Crystal Serenity set sail Sunday following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment. The original Crystal cruise line filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and sold off its two ships.
IHG Hotels & Resorts, in collaboration with Apple, is giving guests the ability to seamlessly share content from their iPhone or iPad to their guest room TV. AirPlay will begin to roll out in select IHG hotels globally before the end of 2023.
The WestJet Group has announced changes its winter schedule with an expansion of sun destinations from Abbotsford, BC, serving the Fraser Valley and a similar transition from Swoop to the mainline carrier in Hamilton, Ont., as WestJet integrates its low-cost subsidiary.
ACTA has announced that its annual Fall summits will feature expanded tradeshows this year with major destination sponsor Visit Portugal offering an authentic Portuguese experience along with regional partners from Azores, Lisbon, Porto, Alentejo, TAP Air Portugal and SATA Azores Airlines.
Lake Tahoe tourism officials were surprised, and a bit miffed, when a respected international travel guide put the iconic alpine lake straddling the California-Nevada line on its list of places to stay away from this year because of the harmful ecological effects of overtourism.
Ninety four percent of Canadian travellers say the future of their career depends on successful business travel in the coming year. The new research from SAP Concur also reveals that the most pressing challenges facing Canadian business travellers today include economic inflation, job security, and safety concerns.
Federal government employees expressed relief that Prairies Economic Development Canada was not involved in last spring’s disastrous rebrand that saw Saskatchewan’s capital city criticized for sexualized slogans, including “show us your Regina.”
Airbnb has changed the way people book accommodation, offering unique and affordable stays in destinations all over the world. Unfortunately, this rise in popularity has also led to an increase in scams targeting the platform’s unsuspecting guests, and a recent analysis of Airbnb complaints on Twitter reveals that nearly a quarter of all grievances are related to fraud.
Through a collaboration with a local Peruvian community, Intrepid has developed a new section of the 26-km-long Quarry Trail, previously unseen by travellers. Found in the Andes Mountains, the trail, which begins in the town of Ollantaytambo and winds through the high peaks and villages of the Sacred Valley, ends at the famed fortress of the Incan empire, Machu Picchu.
Passengers travelling through London Gatwick’s North Terminal will soon be able to enjoy a host of new features, as its biggest-ever transformation gets underway. Among those who will experience the £10-million refresh will be WestJet passengers flying from Canada to the British capital.
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.