The culture of the “Würstelstand” – Vienna’s humble sausage stand – has become one of the latest additions to the national list of intangible cultural heritage, overseen by the Austrian UNESCO Commission. It joins the Austrian capital’s distinctive wine taverns, or “Heurigen,” which have been listed since 2019, and the city’s famous coffee house culture, which was honored in 2011.
Leading global travel app, Skyscanner has revealed revealed the top destinations with the largest year-over-year increase that Canadian snowbirds are flocking to this winter, as well as valuable insights looking at how adults are prioritizing their travel plans. The top destination might be a surprise.
The “crazy busy” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially has officially come to a close, bringing to an end a season that saw 11 hurricanes compared to the average seven, and death and destruction hundreds of kilometres from where storms came ashore on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
With Chicago primed to host US Travel’s premiere IPW trade event in 2024, the Windy City will garner the gaze of the global travel industry for almost a week next June. But Choose Chicago’s chief marketing officer Lisa Nucci says her job is to ensure Chicago remains top of mind year-round – especially for Canadians.
Tourism Ireland is hailing a re-established air link between Newfoundland and Ireland – two regions with strong historical and cultural ties. The non-stop route between St. John’s and Dublin being flown by WestJet will start in summer 2025.
During the month of December travel advisors can take advantage of special hotel rates and exclusive offers from the city’s hospitality community, through New Orleans & Company’s Holiday Travel Advisors independent familiarization trip.
Cyber Monday has been extended to Cyber Week at Sunwing Vacations, with savings extended through Dec. 8. Travellers will discover a new door crasher deals every day, plus up to 40% off other packages. At the same time, travel advisors will earn 3X STAR Points when they book the featured daily deal.
Allianz Global Assistance (Allianz) has named Kyle Sparkman as Managing Director (MD) and Head of Allianz in Canada, effective Dec. 1. With more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including the past five years at Allianz, Sparkman succeeds Chris Van Kooten who departed the company in October 2024.
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s an exciting time to reflect on the trends and insights that shaped the travel agent industry throughout the year and look toward the future. Expedia Group’s Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) saw dynamic shifts in agent needs and traveller behaviours.
WestJet has announced that WestJet Agent Direct is now available for new users to register and start booking. To celebrate the travel agent booking platform’s enhanced connectivity (it has been available since earlier this year for users of the airline’s previous tool, WestJet Agent), the airline is recognizing new and existing users with a contest and 10 giveaways.
Spain’s tourist office in Canada is welcoming new Air Transat flights from Montreal to Valencia starting next summer, sentiment that was shared at an event last week in Toronto hosted by the country’s new Consul for Tourism affairs, Isabel Martin.
Christine James is celebrating 25 years at Travel Leaders Network; TTAND added to its trophy case; TRAVELSAVERS CANADA members cruised in South America; and Virtuoso revealed soaring sales data.
Thousands of giant panda sculptures will greet residents and tourists starting Saturday in Hong Kong, where enthusiasm for the bears has grown since two cubs were born in a local theme park. The 2,500 exhibits were showcased in a launch ceremony of PANDA GO! FEST HK, the city’s largest panda-themed exhibition, at Hong Kong’s airport on Monday.
According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travellers, 7% will travel more internationally because of the results of the 2024 presidential election. In contrast, only 3% will travel less internationally during the next 12 months.
With hurricanes, heat and drought afflicting many regions of the world, Canadian travellers are increasingly taking the weather into account when planning their holidays, according to Virtuoso’s 2025 Luxe Report, which reveals that 44% of Canadian travel advisors surveyed say their clients are adjusting their plans to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Starting in Vancouver Tuesday (Dec. 3), Air Canada will be the first Canadian airline to offer customers the ability to use facial recognition to board domestic flights. The voluntary Digital Identification program is designed to create faster, seamless boarding by eliminating the need for passengers to produce passports or other physical ID. It will soon be rolled out at additional airports across the country.
Five years after a catastrophic fire reduced Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to a smoldering shell, journalists got a first glimpse of the Gothic masterpiece’s fully restored interiors during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. The transformation is nothing short of breathtaking: light dances across brilliant stone, gilded accents gleam anew, and the iconic monument’s majesty is reborn. From Dec. 8, visitors will once again marvel at the cathedral’s blend of history and craftsmanship.
Trevello is going public, expanding in the US, adding agents, and making waves in the cruise sector, but they’re all just steps towards total towards “world domination,” laughs the host agency’s CEO Zeina Gedeon, who entertained and informed industry partners at a Toronto gathering late week.
ACTA president Wendy Paradis has been named chair of the executive committee of World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), a global organization that focuses and advocates on issues impacting the global travel agency community.
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.
The biggest shopping day of the year is here and there are travel deals are a-plenty, some extending into Cyber Monday, ‘Travel Tuesday’ (Dec. 3) and even further. Here is an updated at-a-glance look at some of this year’s best travel deals for travel advisors and clients.
A new route between Montreal and Valencia, Spain, highlights Air Transat’s just-released 2025 summer schedule, which in sum will include 275 weekly non-stop flights to over 40 destinations from Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City.
With winter starting and many Canadians planning escapes from the snow and cold, Service Canada is encouraging travellers to make sure their passports are up to date, or to apply well ahead of their trip if they don’t already have one.
Between finding openings, sending out your resume and interviewing, looking for a job is tough. Now a growing trend of scammers impersonating recruiters is making it even harder.
Windstar Cruises is adding a new itinerary in 2026 to its popular Canada & New England season of sailings, which are fall travel favourites thanks to the line’s ability to visit many smaller, scenic ports where big ships don’t go. The line’s 312-guest motor yacht Star Pride sails in the region during the prime fall colour months of September and October.
Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (aka Hozier), the thoughtful Irish singer-songwriter, sure gets his money’s worth out of his music – not syrupy ballads or inane love songs for him. His breakthrough smash “Take Me to Church” in 2013 was an audacious indictment of the Catholic church’s homophobic doctrine; and the song we covered previously, “Nina Cries Power,” was an homage to the legacy of protest songs and singers who were there at the beginning of the movement.
Airfares are forecast to see modest increases across most regions globally in 2025 as airline capacity continues to rise, according to American Express Global Business Travel’s (Amex GBT) latest Air Monitor 2025. The report anticipates that, after a period of sharp fluctuations, airfare prices are starting to stabilize globally, marking a shift from the more volatile pricing patterns of previous years. However, the underlying cost of air travel is likely to remain high.
Calling the move an “appalling decision,” IATA has condemned a decision by the Spanish government to remove cabin baggage fees for passengers in Spain and fine airlines EUR 179 million. The air transport association charges that the move “undermines freedom of pricing which is fundamental to consumer choice and competition, a principle that has been long upheld by the European Court of Justice.”
One hundred and fifty travel advisors from across the Canada took part in ACTA’s first International Destination Conference in Portugal’s Azores islands last week. Travel Industry Today was there, pen – and camera – in hand. Yesterday, we reported on the conference (scroll down in the newsletter if you missed the story); today we offer some flavours and faces from the corresponding FAM.
The biggest November snowstorm to hit South Korea’s capital in more than a half century blanketed the capital on Wednesday, grounding hundreds of flights, disrupting commuter traffic and leaving at least two dead. South Korea’s weather agency said 20 to 26 cm of snow fell in northern areas of Seoul and nearby areas.