When the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Nashville Predators in an overtime shootout on Monday night, March 6, spirits were high inside Rogers Arena. Inside a private suite high above the ice, spirits were high before the game even began, when Travel Oregon hosted media and regional travel partners to a celebratory reception in a large private suite.
From cosmopolitan Birmingham to literary Stratford-upon-Avon, and epic castles like Kenilworth and Warwick to the industrial heritage of the Black Country Museum and the Ironbridge Gorge, England’s West Midlands region epitomizes the best of Britain.
First in Service Travel (F1S) wrapped it’s F1S SUMM1T in New York this week marking a number of firsts: first major conference since pandemic, first-ever two-day event, and first to invite suppliers.
Dima Fahed has been promoted to business development representative at Transat. She joins the Ontario, Atlantic and Western sales team, effective March 20. Fahed has held various roles at Transat over the past 15 years, including call centre, FIT/customize Greece, as well as group sales (weddings, leisure and incentive, and customized Europe).
The Transportation Safety Board is calling for better screening of heart-related conditions of Canadian pilots. The recommendation comes after at least eight fatal or serious plane crashes between the early 2000s and 2021 – all believed to be linked to heart attacks or cardiovascular diseases among pilots.
Disgruntled air travellers will soon have an extra ear to hear their complaints thanks to additional funding from the federal government for the Canadian Transport Agency. Ottawa says the $75.9 million funding over three years, starting in 2023-24, will help strengthen passenger rights by giving the Agency additional resources to reduce the backlog of existing complaints, including hiring 200 more staff.
Nearly 300,000 customers in the U.S. Northeast were without power Tuesday as a winter storm yet again caused chaos. A ground stop temporarily halted planes at New York’s LaGuardia Airport caused ongoing delays and as of Tuesday afternoon there were 845 flight cancellations within, into, or out of the US, with the majority of them in the Northeast.
After a three-year halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, China is at last reopening its borders to tourists and has resumed issuing all visas effective today. China is one of the last major countries to reopen its borders to tourists and has been one of the most restrictive regimes in the world during the global health crisis, which is believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.
Citing the continued surge in luxury travel, Kensington Tours reports that it has “shattered” pre-pandemic sales levels, posting record results for the first two months of the year. The tour operator says sales in January were 50 percent higher than the same period in January 2020, but even more notably, double what they were in January 2019.
Silversea Cruises has introduced new direct private charter flights for 28 of its Arctic and Greenland sailings in 2023 and ‘24. Guests sailing on select Silver Endeavour, Silver Wind, and Silver Cloud voyages can take advantage of the air service from the several global cities including Montreal to such remote Arctic destinations as Longyearbyen, Kangerlussuaq, and Pond Inlet.
Celebrating excellence in Indigenous tourism, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) announced its annual award winners at a gala conference in Winnipeg last week. The International Indigenous Tourism Conference (IITC), held March 8-10, is the largest Indigenous conference in the world.
Florida’s southwest coast has experienced a flare-up of the toxic “red tide” algae causing warnings against swimming, dead fish to wash up on beaches, and the cancellation of a beachside festival. And there are concerns that it that the bloom, which started in October, could stick around for awhile.
United Airlines has named Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch as its first ‘Chief Trash Officer’ as part of a new consumer education campaign designed to promote the expected benefit of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) more broadly.
Saturday marked three years since the World Health Organization first called the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and the United Nation’s health organization said it’s not yet ready to say the emergency has ended.
As Flair Airlines accused one of Canada’s top two airlines of trying to “kneecap” its operations, an aviation expert says the seizure of four Flair Airlines planes over the weekend points to the fierce competition and high demand playing out in the Canadian air travel industry whereby the “slightest sneeze” in a payment plan could trigger lease termination.
With the busy spring travel season upon us and summer looming, the decision to cap flights and the number of travellers by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) last week fails both passengers and airport workers, says the union representing the latter.
From appointments to conferences, and a new ambassadors program, it’s been busy days at Navigtr. Here’s the latest from the travel company’s agency brands Ensemble and Travel Edge Network.
MSC Cruises Canada has announced the appointment of travel industry veteran Tammy Thompson as Business Development Manager for Ontario and Atlantic Canada, based in Toronto.
Disney Cruise Line will unveil a new island destination in summer 2024 celebrating the unique culture of The Bahamas. Located on Eleuthera, Lighthouse Point is being designed in close collaboration with local artists and advisors to provide an experience that “combines breathtaking natural beauty with the magic of Bahamian hospitality, storytelling and artistry.”
A “confusing” changing climate has prompted Washington DC’s famous cherry blossoms to appear earlier than expected this year due to an unusually warm winter. The district’s 3,700 cherry blossom trees are expected to reach peak bloom March 22-25 – several days earlier than previously expected.
The federal government has approved WestJet Airlines’ takeover of Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations, but the deal is subject to a host of conditions designed to enhance service for consumers and ensure and bolster Sunwing operations outside of Calgary for least five years.
On Saturday Flair Airlines had four Boeing 737 MAX 8s seized by its leasing company at three Canadian airports, Toronto, Edmonton, and Waterloo. Leasing companies seizing aircraft is highly unusual. A statement from the air carrier called the move by “a New York-based hedge fund” to take the aircraft “extreme and unusual.” It said Flair would use additional fleet capacity” to lessen the effect on passengers, adding it did not foresee any major disruptions to its route map.
Ukrainian leaders say one of the best ways for Canadians to support the embattled country’s economy is to pack their bags and come see it for themselves. “If you’re brave, welcome to Lviv,” says mayor Andriy Sadovyi.
Exclusive experiences, special programming, surprise sailings, and themed cruises will define Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ Limited Edition Collection of cruises – a series of special departures operating only once or twice this summer.
The Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) has announced the appointment of TICO veteran and distinguished executive Jean Hébert as its Executive Director effective immediately.
Britain’s award-winning Black Country Living Museum, recognizable as backdrop for the popular “Peaky Blinders” Netflix show, is forging ahead with its biggest development since 1978 as the historic attraction adds the story of the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, to its comprehensive social history of the “black country” industrial heartland near Birmingham.
The return of world’s biggest travel show (ITB) highlights last week’s round-up, along with protests in France and Israel, improving results from Transat, more summers seats at WestJet, cruise line booking records, and big resort news in Toronto’s north end.
Though still reporting a $56.6-million loss in its latest quarter, Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says the company is on an upswing and is headed for a return to profitability. The 2023 Q1 result compares to a loss of $114.3 million a year earlier as its revenue more than tripled.
As demand surges and airfares soar to new heights, many Canadians are in search of travel deals this year. And low prices are out there – particularly for domestic flights.
Demonstrators in Israel, who have been out protesting for more than two months against a contentious government proposal to overhaul the judiciary, launched a “day of resistance to dictatorship” on Thursday. Protesters waving Israeli flags descended on the country’s main international airport, snarling traffic and blocking the artery leading to the departures area with their cars.