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.
The Chinese government has sharply criticized COVID-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from China and threatened countermeasures against countries involved, among them Canada, the US, and several European nations.
Crew members aboard two cruise ships rescued around two dozen migrants in small boats, the latest episode of hundreds making or attempting landings in the Florida Keys over the past several days, authorities said.
New York City’s tourism recovery in 2022 reached 85% of record visitation levels in 2019 (pre-pandemic), according to NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization for the city. It total, an anticipated 56.4 million travellers will have visited the by the end of the year, representing a 71.4% increase over 2021.
With winter scenes like most Canadians experienced over the holidays, it’s of little surprise that nearly 88% of residents of this country travelling to Hawaii last fall expressed satisfaction with their visit to the islands, according to new data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority. The “excellent” rating mirrored overall visitor satisfaction levels that have continued to trend upward trend since the beginning of the year to rival pre-pandemic levels.
Signifying expansion plans for south of the border, Coast Hotels Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of APA Hotel Canada, Inc. and one of North America’s fastest growing brands, has acquired the master franchise agreement of all existing franchised hotels of Coast Hotels USA.
British rail workers are staging a fresh round of strikes – the first of 2023 – that will disrupt services all week. Around half of the UK’s railway lines are closed, and only one-fifth of services are running amid a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. Many places, including most of Scotland and Wales, have no train services.
Starting Jan. 5, the federal government will require air travellers aged two and older coming from China, Hong Kong, and Macao to test negative for COVID-19 before leaving for Canada. However, experts say the move will not help in preventing new variants or the spread of the virus.
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) says nearly 50 million travellers entered Canada in the first 10 months of 2022, approximately four times the 2021 volume. Correspondingly, the agency reports that it also stopped proportionally more drugs and guns from entering the country during a year when travel bounced back from pandemic lows.
Canadians who were caught violating federal COVID-19 quarantine rules racked up at least $15 million in fines in 2022, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, but it’s not clear how much of that will actually be paid.
New York City was the most expensive destination in the world for accommodation on New Year’s Eve, according to a survey compared hotel rates across 50 major cities globally
Carnival Cruise Line has announced that Emeril Lagasse will serve as its Chief Culinary Officer – a role in which the celebrated chef and restauranteur will support Carnival’s chefs with guidance on food trends and techniques, as well as advise on future menu items and dining concepts.