By MICHAEL BAGINSKI /- Travel Nevada and its partners showed Canadians how to “Get a Little Out There” with a cross-country road show to Toronto, Montreal and Calgary last week, engaging with travel advisors and trade partners, as well as exhibiting at the Calgary Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show.
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) is taking advantage of the forced closure of three of its Jamaican properties after Hurricane Melissa to give the resorts a comprehensive “Sandals 2.0 transformation” that is more extensive than originally intended. The US$200-million reimagining of Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean, and is now underway with the resorts due to open Nov. 18, Dec. 18 and Dec. 18 respectively.
A memorandum of understand (MOU) recently signed amongst tourism associations from the three territories will ensure northern travel businesses can collaborate and share industry knowledge, according to the president and CEO of Travel Nunavut.
TSA officers haven’t gotten a paycheck since Feb. 14. The vast majority of employees at TSA are considered essential, and roughly 50,000 continue to work without pay. But hundreds have quit or called in sick and absentee rates were two or three times higher in places. While frustrated travellers are calling for TSA agents to be paid, Tom Homan, the White House “border czar”, confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday…more
Iran’s top military spokesman warned Friday that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide won’t be safe for Tehran’s enemies. The threat renewed concerns that Iran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic in the war.
Singapore Changi Airport has been named the World’s Best Airport 2026 – again – in the prestigious World Airport Awards, held last week in London. Notably, Vancouver was named the best airport in the world of its size (20-30 million passengers) and 10th overall (all sizes) in the Awards’ pre-eminent best-overall category, leading a trio Canadian airport rankings in the top 100.
By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ With record visitations by Canadians in 2025 and this country accounting for 9.3% of all international visitors to Los Cabos, Canada has become the second-largest international source market for the west coast Mexican destination (after the U.S.), say tourism officials. And with airlift continuing to grow, there is no end in sight.
With Cuba currently facing repeated nationwide power outages, including the March 16 island-wide blackout that left roughly 10 million people without electricity, Intrepid Travel says it is cancelling its upcoming trips to Cuba through April 30.
Major U.S. airlines say they are not expecting a significant dent in quarterly profits despite soaring jet fuel costs tied to the war in the Middle East adding hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses. That because strong ticket sales are helping offset those higher costs, executives from Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines told investors this week, with all three carriers reporting record bookings this year.
News nuggets, airlines, hotels/resorts, cruising, tours, events, FAMS/incentives, deals, destinations and more are covered in our weekly round-up of travel industry news you may have missed.
A new poll suggests that most Canadians want the government to ban or regulate the use of algorithms to set prices – a common practice in travel – with half of respondents saying the practice of dynamic pricing is unfair because it can result in people paying different prices for the same product.
Cuba is preparing to receive its first shipment of Russian oil this year, just days after the government announced it was operating on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants as severe power outages continue to hit an island whose power grid is crumbling.
Four Seasons opened its first hotel on March 21, 1961, in Toronto. Sixty-five years later, the luxury hotel and hospitality giant boasts a global portfolio of 135 hotels and resorts and 61 residential properties in major city centres and resort destinations in 47 countries.
Finland has once again been ranked the happiest country in the world in the United Nations’ World Happiness Report 2026, marking the ninth consecutive year the Nordic nation has topped the global ranking. (Canada ranked 25th). This year, the message from Finland is simple: happiness starts with switching off, preferably somewhere by a lake and far away from notifications.
By WALLACE IMMEN/ AmaWaterways showcased the new colours and branding of its river fleet with the gala christening of its newest ship, AmaSofia. The ceremony on the Rhine was attended by 1,200 members of the travel advisor community during the ASTA River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam.
Lost in the fog of war was the loss late last month of Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter whose boyish soprano and bright melodies made him a top act in the early years of rock ‘n’ roll and led to a second run of success in the 1970s with hits that included hits like “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” and “Laughter in the Rain.” He was 86.
Canadians remain passionate about exploring new destinations, but changing global dynamics are reshaping how and where they travel. According to CAA’s Travel Wise National survey, more than half of Canadians (51%) now say geopolitical and economic factors, such as instability abroad, a perception of the U.S. as being less welcoming, and rising travel costs, are influencing where Canadians choose to travel.
WestJet and Air Transat are extending their suspension of flights to Cuba, which was struggling with an island-wide blackout this week amid a ballooning energy crisis.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its Long-Term Demand Projections (LTDP) for air travel, showing that global air passenger demand is expected to more than double by 2050.
Travel disruptions continued south of the border as airlines worked to recover from a powerful storm system that had already snarled flight schedules earlier in the week while the partial government shutdown continued to fuel long lines at security checkpoints.
The next ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet will be named the ‘Disney Believe’ – named to honour “the dreamers and doers who dare to pursue their own happily ever after.”
Perhaps signifying a new trending in touring, one of the best-preserved ancient Roman homes on the Palatine Hill is now open to the public for the first time, albeit via a livestreamed tour of its hard-to-reach underground frescoes and mosaics.
Donald Trump turned away from Iran long enough on Tuesday to pledge imminent action against Cuba’s socialist government as his moves against the island bring the U.S.’s longtime opponent deeper into crisis.
Business travellers believe travel for work will get easier over the next five years with optimists (44%) outnumbering naysayers (17%) by more than two to one. And they expect AI to play a key role in improving the business travel experience and trust AI to streamline expense management, according to new research from American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT).
The CEOs of American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, are imploring U.S. Congress to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security and embrace a bipartisan solution to pay federal aviation workers including airport security officers during the partial government shutdown.
This week: TTAND tunes in to luxury; Virtuoso unveils 21 Canadian cruise “icons’; KVI Travel also “evolves” with enhanced luxury offerings; Uniworld University introduces a new course; and Coconut Bay Resort & Spa in Saint Lucia has a bonus for advisors.
By JEN SAVEDRA/ 2026 is proving to be an exceptional year for the Dominican Republic, with official data showing that an amazing 1.22 million visitors arrived in January alone. This “unprecedented surge” represents an 8.7% increase over the previous year, and a 61% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
With family travel continuing to trend for spring and summer vacations, Sunwing Vacations is spotlighting some of its favourite family-friendly all-inclusive resort options in Cancún available to book now.
As fears of a global energy crisis rose on Monday, Donald Trump said he demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries as the week began.
According to new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, the recent acrimonious U.S.-Canada trade relationship, fueled by the economic hostility of the Trump administration, is not reflected in the general views of Americans. Three-quarters (73%) in the U.S. say they have a favourable view of Canada.