A new Agent Portal launched by Rocky Mountaineer is designed to provide a centralized, streamlined way for agents to manage bookings, access marketing tools, and stay connected with the latest Rocky Mountaineer news. And to celebrate the launch, agents can win a trip for two on the popular train.
All-inclusive holidays have exploded in popularity in recent years, with more travellers booking all-inclusive packages now than ever before. Since 2019, the all-inclusive demand on Expedia and Hotels.com has grown by 70% and the average daily rate (ADR) by +40%
Honouring the 11-year anniversary of one of its “Real-Time Giving” campaign, WestJet is bringing back its holiday season campaign with a special twist. Before families boarded a WestJet flight from Toronto to Calgary, guests visited Santa’s Station where WestJet’s Blue Santa asked kids what they thought their parents and other grown-ups wanted for Christmas.
G Adventures says it has dusted off its crystal ball, crunched booking data, tracked the latest travel trends and scoped out hot upcoming events to serve up its annual ‘Where to Travel’ list, highlighting destinations it says are – or should be – on top of travellers’ wishlists for 2025.
Explora Journeys has revealed details of EXPLORA III, the third of six ships that will be launched by the luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group by 2028, with the first two have been introduced earlier this year. The third vessel will set sail in summer, 2026.
Flair Airline says it has put measures in place “to ensure operational continuity” after the airline’s chief financial officer Sumanth Rao was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal crash involving an underage driver who had been drinking at his Atlanta-area home.
Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera museum, conceived under Napoleon as a “little Louvre,” is finally getting a modern art addition first envisioned more than 50 years ago with the opening of Palazzo Citterio, home to one of the world’s most important collections of 20th century Italian art.
After turning abroad for holiday vacations last year, more Canadians are keeping their travel plans in-country this Christmas season due to squeezed budgets, lower domestic fares and a decisive end to the post-pandemic boom in overseas travel — and now a slumping currency.
New statistics from Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) indicate that business travellers are extending stays, reflecting the enduring appeal of blending work with leisure, otherwise dubbed “bleisure.” The trend is another example of shifting travel patterns post-pandemic.
The Calgary International Airport is gearing up for a record travel season, but the effects of a devastating summer hailstorm that pummeled the city linger. Chris Miles, the chief operating officer of the Calgary Airport Authority, said all of the hail damage has not been repaired, but it won’t affect the expected holiday season rush.
It’s been a busy season for FAM trips. Here’s a short round-up of just a few of the fall excursions, as conducted by Air Canada Vacations, Exotic Journeys, and the Vienna Tourist Board, and their bevy of willing trade partners.
The chief executive of Air Canada has been elected as the new chairperson of the Star Alliance chief executive board. Michael Rousseau succeeds United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby, who has held the title since December 2020.
It was neither Britain’s biggest tree nor its oldest. But the majestic sycamore tree that stood for 150 years along a stretch of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England was one of the most beloved.
Mexico’s Senate has voted to charge cruise ship passengers $42 per head for port calls, drawing sharp criticism from the tourism industry. Mexican business chambers say the immigration charge – from which cruise passengers used to be exempt – may hurt the country’s half-billion-dollar-per-year cruise industry.
Ottawa is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria and to consider leaving the country if it’s safe to do so. An updated travel advisory is warning people to avoid the Middle Eastern country due to what the Canadian government calls “ongoing armed conflict, terrorism, criminality, arbitrary detention, torture and forced disappearance.”
A WestJet passenger who went on a shopping spree to replace items in her luggage that was temporarily lost between Prince George and Ottawa two years ago was awarded just over a third of what she demanded by a British Colombia’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT).
MSC Cruises’ dedicated online reservations platform for travel agents, MSC Book, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The company says the online tool has been a great ‘success’ thanks to agency support with the registration of nearly 120,000 travel agents and over 10 million guests booked since the online tool was introduced in 2014.
Sunwing Vacations has welcomed Melissa Harley as its new Business Development Manager for Central, Eastern, Northern Ontario and Atlantic Canada. She joins the Sunwing Vacations Sales Team effective immediately.
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.
It took four years, but global tourism is finally set for full recovery in 2024, according to the United Nations, which says around 1.1 billion tourists travelled internationally in the first nine months of 2024, representing 98% of pre-pandemic levels. And according to the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism, a full recovery from the biggest crisis in the sector’s history is expected by the end of the year.
Cuba’s power grid was restored Thursday after a nationwide blackout – the third one of this severity in less than two months – left millions without electricity for several hours in Cuba on Wednesday. Authorities said that scheduled power outages will now resume.
Air Canada will begin serving Manila from Vancouver next spring – the first Canadian carrier to offer direct service to the Philippines – at the same time notably continuing its international expansion and marking the launch of a third South-East Asia destination in the last two years. The airline says the Philippines is the largest market it currently does not serve directly in Asia.
Overpacking continues to be the most common mistake the travellers say the continue to make, according to the Fall 2024 Global Rescue Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey. A third of travellers (32%) admitted overpacking was their top travel blunder in 2024, followed by booking flights with connections instead of direct flights (13%) and an overly ambitious itinerary (12%).
Looking for a deal on a cruise getaway in the Caribbean this winter? A record number of other people have the same idea and that’s created an unprecedented demand. While the plethora of Black Friday and upcoming January Wave Month cruise sales offer(ed) some amazing deals, many come with a catch – they’re for cruises a year or more in the future.
What could be better than banging a gong and getting it on with Marc Bolan than also doing it with Elton John, who was a surprise guest with T-Rex in this performance of their 1971 classic on Britain’s Top of the Pops?
Air Canada plans to bar carry-on bags and impose a seat selection fee for its lowest-fare customers in the new year as discount carrier tactics increasingly enter the mainstream. Starting Jan. 3, basic fare passengers on trips within North America and to sun destinations will have to check duffel bags, rolling suitcases and large backpacks for a fee – $35 for the first, $50 for the second.
Delta and United have become the most profitable US airlines by targeting premium customers while also winning back a significant share of travellers on a tight budget. That is squeezing smaller low-fare carriers like Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Sunwing and RIU Hotels & Resorts hosted their annual holiday season partners trade lunch Wednesday with good spirits for the upcoming winter season and even a bit of snow to thrill RIU team members that had flown into chilly Toronto from some of the much warmer destinations to which most Canadians are already longing to escape.
With travel to Brazil booming – the South American country set an all-time arrivals record in September – Goway Travel is shining a spotlight on the colourful destination this winter as part of an enhanced focus on its Latin American product line. That includes custom travel offerings and the introduction of 20 brand-new packages in the now visa-free country for Canadians.
The manager of a small hotel in northern Italy refused a reservation made by an Israeli couple, accusing Israeli people of being “responsible for genocide.” Jewish groups decried the incident as an example of antisemitism and Booking.com removed the property from its platform.