A parliamentary committee voted Monday to launch a study into the causes behind Canada’s chaotic holiday travel season and to hear not only from industry giants, but also from some of the passengers who saw their plans upended.
Mazatlan, Mexico’s mayor says his city is safe again for Canadians and other travellers after violence late last week in Sinaloa state between military/police and drug cartel members resisting the arrest of alleged drug trafficker Ovidio (“The Mouse”) Guzman. At the same time, Sunwing stated its policy for affected passengers, including refund or change options, the latter due today (Jan. 10).
Rain-weary Californians grappled with flooding and mudslides Monday as the latest in a series of powerful storms walloped the state, prompting widespread evacuations, toppling trees, and frustrating motorists who hit roadblocks caused by fallen debris.
American Queen Voyages has introduced a savings offer ahead of its 2023 season, which is highlighted by new city-stay packages, and a new ‘Lakelorian’ program on its Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator Great Lakes itineraries.
A concerted effort to promote climate-friendly travel and a responsible use of all resources are essential if Destination Germany is to build on its already strong position within the international market, believes the country’s tourist board. And to that end, the German National Tourist Board says it will run three theme-based campaigns in 2023 that will continue to keep the focus of its global marketing firmly on sustainable tourism.
Toronto Pearson International Airport has become the first airport in North America and second in the world to receive the Airports Council International (ACI) accreditation under the Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation (AEA) program, a first-of-its-kind program dedicated to airport accessibility.
With its flights running on a roughly normal schedule again, Southwest Airlines is now turning its attention to repairing its damaged reputation after it cancelled 16,700 flights around Christmas and left holiday travellers stranded.
As two airports in Mexico’s Sinaloa state reopened on the weekend, enabling Canadians to begin to make their way home after being in shuttered in hotel rooms for days, Mexican officials described the violence that erupted in the region after the arrest of an alleged drug king pin as nothing short of a “war zone.”
With more than 2 billion Chinese expected to travel for the Lunar New Year this month, China is seeking to minimize the possibility of a major new COVID-19 outbreak following the end of most pandemic containment measures.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal and Meliá Hotels International, have announced the launch of ZEL, a new brand of resort and urban leisure hotels that will first operate in Spain, and expand in key destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas.
Along with sustainability, accessible travel has surged to the forefront of current travel considerations and practices. It’s morally right, of course, but also practical, with more than a billion people around the world facing some sort of disability (visible or invisible).
Universal Orlando Resort has filed paperwork and pledged 5.3 hectares for a commuter rail station that could link the seventh busiest airport in the US with the heart of the tourism district in one of the top travel destinations in the world.
Indian police have arrested an “unruly” airline passenger following a complaint by a woman aboard an Air India flight from New York that he urinated on her in business class.
2023 kicked off with violence affecting tourists in Mexico, continuing news and views about travelling to and from China, the fallout from weather woes for airlines and passengers, a MSC Cruises milestone, and news of a big Comp Fund payout from TICO. Read on for the rest of last week’s wrap…
Sunwing has an issued an apology for its travel woes over the holiday period. Problems began with bad weather across the country affecting all Canadian carriers, creating a litany of problems that included cancelled flights, stranded passengers, and lost and delayed luggage – a situation that has prompted opposition parties to call for a government investigation into air travel in Canada.
Much of the Alps just don’t look right for this time of year. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm winter weather in Europe’s central mountains are allowing grass to blanket hillsides across the region, causing headaches for ski slope operators and aficionados of Alpine white.
Levison Wood – perhaps the most famous television adventurer since Michael Palin – says more people want to feel their travels will give them a “spiritual, emotional connection.” The British filmmaker and author adds, “They want to feel good about what their journey has achieved; it is about giving back.”
It was feast or famine at the Broadway box office as 2022 wound down, with eye-popping revenue for popular shows — including a staggering new Broadway record for “The Lion King” – not lifting all strugglers.
We’re not gaslighting here, with holiday hijinks from a ‘Seusspicious’ carpool passenger in Arizona to an unlikely manifestation of Mickey Mouse in New England, proving that the weird and wackiness never takes time off.
It seemed that 2022 was year of catch-up, getting ships that were due to arrive during the lockdown finally christened and launched on their careers. So this year is the first time in three years where we can confidently board ships that are brand new and hopefully are not postponed because of restrictions or shortages.
Brian May is now a “Sir.” The Queen guitarist, who also has a doctorate in astrophysics and is an animal welfare advocate, received a knighthood as part of the UK’s annual New Year’s Honours list for services to music and charity – the first such list to be signed off by King Charles III.
About 1,500 checked bags remain unclaimed at Vancouver International Airport after winter storms wrecked havoc on holiday travel last month, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled in and out of the airport as heavy snow, then freezing rain, covered Metro Vancouver, leaving many people to sleep on the airport floor for days.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says the holiday travel woes that left thousands of passengers stranded at airports or struggling to find flights home show why there should be more competition in Canada’s airspace.
IATA has added its voice to the list of opponents to travel testing for travellers from China with the association’s director general calling the measures “knee jerk,” ineffective, and based on politics, not science.
Israel’s new government says it will invest in developing the West Bank – including its tourism sector – calling the disputed territory “our local Tuscany.” The initiative comes as the middle eastern nation prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary of statehood on May 14, and Canadian visitor numbers continue to recover from the pandemic travel pause.
Dubai ended its 30% tax on alcohol sales in the sheikhdom this week and made its required liquor licenses free to obtain, ending a long-standing source of revenue for its ruling family to apparently further boost tourism to the emirate.
From the world’s first-ever “surf coaster” and immersive escape rooms inspired by blockbuster films, to a new luxury resort and a high-speed rail connection to Miami, the ever-expanding ‘Theme Park Capital of the World’ is set to bring a host of new experiences for visitors in the coming year
Luxury cruise brand Cunard will sail over 110 international voyages next winter, including the maiden voyages of new ship Queen Anne. Across the new itineraries, the four-ship fleet comprising of Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Anne, will call at 126 unique ports in 51 countries, with voyages ranging from two-night city breaks to a 108-night world voyage.
Four cruise lines have been sentenced by a US judge to pay a total of nearly US $450 million for having used a Havana port nationalized by the Cuban government in 1960. Friday’s ruling by a Florida federal judge requires the Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian lines to pay $109 million each, plus court costs, to Havana Docks, an American company that held the concession to use that facility.
Travel in 2023 will see a diversity of choices – some of them entirely unexpected – by consumers, a trend dubbed “no normal” by Expedia. Indeed, top travel trends prove there is no “one-size-fits-all” for travel in 2023.