In case you missed it, and even if you didn’t, here’s a quick look at some of last week’s need-to-know travel news:
AIR
Seasonal service by Porter Airlines from Toronto Billy Bishop airport to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will return March 4 with flights operating twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays until May 17. Packages are available through Porter Escapes.
WestJet announced the start of new non-stop service between Halifax, N.S., and Manchester U.K. beginning June 5. Flights will operate four-times weekly on Boeing 737-700 and timed for convenient connectivity across WestJet’s network into and out of Halifax.
In 2019, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group carried a total of 145 million passengers on board, representing 2.3% growth over the previous year. With around 1.2 million flights, the seat load factor amounted to 82.5% – an increase of 1.0 percentage points. The network airlines recorded an increase in the number of passengers in particular at the hubs in Zurich (+5.7%), Vienna (+5.1%) and Munich (+2.5%). The number of passengers at the Frankfurt hub grew by 0.4 percent in 2019.
DEALS
Sunwing’s “Deals of the Decade Sale!” offers sun-seekers up to $2,020 per couple off their 2020 winter vacation when booked by Jan. 31. Among the options are Royalton resorts in Cancun and Punta Cana and the Paradisus Los Cayos in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba.
Touting the “transformative power” of vacations, Air Transat has launched a “Vacation Intervention Promo” offering savings of up to $1,000 per couple on South packages. The offer makes actionable a new multi-platform campaign in which the travel company that includes a series of irreverent reporter-on-the street videos in both English and French starring comedians Abdul Butt (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Pascal Cameron respectively, as they seek out Canada’s most vacation-deprived consumers.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary year, Rocky Mountaineer has unveiled an added value offer worth up to $800 per couple when booking by Feb. 7. The promotion is applicable to rail packages of eight days or more and includes three free perks, including one additional hotel night, one airport transfer, and one dinner.
TOURS
Tourissimo, a leader in active tours of Italy, has a brand-new Tuscany bicycle tour for non-cyclists. The area between Florence, Pisa, and Lucca in northwestern Tuscany will set the stage for the “Bici Basics” tour designed for ultimate beginners. Each day will include cycling lessons with guides who are certified cycling instructors and 16-40 km of riding. Guests will learn bike fit, bike safety, bike components, how to shift, how to climb, how to descend, rules of the road and more. In addition to the cycling, guests will immerse themselves in the food, wine and culture of Tuscany. The seven-day tour is scheduled for June 21-27 and starts at US$2,995 p.p. E-bikes are available.
Tahiti, Fiji, Cook Islands, Hawaii, Bali, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, Greece, and Croatia are featured in Goway’s new Idyllic Islands brochure for 2020-21. Included are a range of resorts from boutique to ultra-luxury, boutique cruises and vacation packages, and more including the re-introduction of Hawaii to the 50th-anniversary edition.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to touring. Burlington, Ont.-based London & UK specialists DHTour notes that its Blue Roads Touring offerings (operated by Back Roads Touring) are limited to 16-18 passengers in vehicles designed to navigate the back roads and country lanes of the U.K., at the same providing a less intrusive style of touring that offers authentic experience at a leisurely pace. And, “there is always time for another glass of wine or an unscheduled stop,” says DH president Gordon Burwood. Overnights are at traditional inns or boutique hotels with many admissions and most meals included. Tours vary from three nights to 13 nights in England, Scotland, Wales, and additionally in Ireland, France, Tuscany, Sicily, Germany, Spain, Portugal and more. For 2020 there are also seven tours to Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand.
HOTELS
Germain Hotels announced a new $50-million round of investment in ALT Canada Investment Partnership L.P. The round will enable the company to pursue its growth strategy for the Alt Hotels brand across Canada by developing new hotels in the coming years. This is the third round of investment in the hotel chain and brings total investments in Alt Hotels to $210 million since 2011, which has paved the way for the brand’s expansion from two hotels in Québec City and Brossard in 2008 to a Canada-wide chain operating or developing 12 locations from Calgary to St. John’s.
Aqua-Aston Hospitality hotel properties Aston Kaanapali Shores and Aston Maui Hill on Maui invite guests to experience Talk Story, a gathering to learn about Hawaii, inspired by Hawaiian oratory traditions and led by a Hawaiian culture expert. Available by request, the interactive events incorporate traditional Hawaiian greetings, chanting and instruments.
Now Open:
The new Cambria Hotel, located in the Roosevelt Row Arts District in downtown Phoenix, features 127 guest rooms, an outdoor pool, fitness centre, restaurant, and rooftop bar.
RESORTS
Serenity at Coconut Bay, Saint Lucia, is ringing in the New Year with a booking bonus of up to US$500 via Mastercard card or Amazon gift card for Canadian travel agents, plus their clients will save up to 60%. The booking window ends Jan. 31 for seven-night stays all year. Book through a tour operator then register at SerenityRewards.com. (Some conditions apply)
A reimagining of The Westin Maui Resort & Spa’s five-hectare Kaanapali beachfront property includes redesigned Beach Tower accommodations, featuring two queen beds or one king bed, sleeper sofa and panoramic glass balconies. The resort’s aquatic playground now includes new garden walkways and wildlife, while splashing fun awaits the kids at a brand-new family pool with two slides. Meanwhile, parents can have some downtime at the resort’s adults-only pool area, featuring a new plunge pool and whirlpool.
Now open:
The 150-room The Reach Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton has reopened as the south Florida city’s first Curio Collection resort. The property has been redesigned with a bright and airy lobby, new common outdoor space and oceanfront restaurant and bar. On-site activities include jet ski tours and snorkeling, coral reef exploration and kayak eco-tours. Located at 1435 Simonton St., The Reach Key West boasts the island’s only natural sand beach.
CRUISE
Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand goop is partnering with Celebrity Cruises to create the first goop at Sea experience, Aug. 26-Sept. 6, on the soon-to-debut Celebrity Apex. Paltrow will join the 11-night wellness cruise through the Mediterranean on Aug. 30 to host a special onboard experience for the retreat goers, which will feature interactive experiences with the actor and goop staff and “surprises and perks” along the way from both goop and Celebrity. Tickets cost $750 and are available to guests who book suite class accommodations.
PONANT has unveiled five new itineraries aboard Le Commandant Charcot – a hybrid electric polar vessel – for its inaugural Antarctica season in winter 2021-22. Among the highlights: a sail to Peter I Island, where fewer people have visited than have set foot on the moon; close encounters with Antarctic seabirds, Minke whales and orcas; tethered hot air balloon rides above the White Continent; and opportunities to join environmental research expeditions. Itineraries will range from 11- to 24-nights and start at US$13,960 p.p.
Online cruise marketplace CruiseCompete, which counts 750-plus travel agencies among its 1.3 million members, lists its top three “noteworthy trends” for 2020: The continuing introduction of “bigger and better” ships with amenities that rival land-based options; smaller yacht-like expedition ships that can reach remote destinations; and Great Lakes cruising.
ATTRACTIONS/THEME PARKS
Penguin Playhouse is the largest expansion in the 20-year history of Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The African penguin habitat has floor-to-ceiling viewing glass and a 360-degree crawl tunnel for guests to waddle through. This addition also includes a brand-new Oceans of the World gallery with eight tanks, housing fish from all over the world. Guests can book penguin encounters (available as of Feb. 12) and even “pal up” and paint with a penguin, creating one-of-a-kind artworks. More than 14,000 fish can be seen at the aquarium.
The new Disney attraction Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is now open at Disneyland Park in California.
EVENTS
A webinar detailing Goway’s just-released Idyllic Islands brochure will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 6. To register, click HERE.
FAMS/INCENTIVES
One lucky Canadian travel counsellor will be invited (with a guest) to join a Globus’s tour to Newfoundland. The week-long trip will be awarded to the agent booking the most passengers on the tour operator’s seven-day “Colourful Newfoundland” and 12-day “Newfoundland & Labrador” tours by April 30 (at the same time, exceeding their sales from last year).
Updates to Air Canada Vacations’ ACV&Me Loyalty Program will allow travel counsellors to earn more points faster, take advantage of a wider variety of redemption options, and instantly redeem in just a few clicks. Effective Jan, 24, the following points system applies: 500 for Cruise and Flight packages of 7 nights or more; 500 points on Sun packages, 7 nights or more; 300 points per passenger for Group bookings; 200 points on Land Only, 3 to 7 nights; and 200 points on Cruise Only, 3 to 7 nights. Reward options include $50, $100 instant shopping and dining gift cards from 28 Canadian retailers; a $75 Travel voucher instead of $50 when redeeming the same 5,000 points; and more.
PEOPLE/APPOINTMENTS
Collette Canada GM Brett Walker has been named Chair of the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO), following the conclusion of Tim Croyle’s two-year term. Melissa Reiter, Legal Counsel at G Adventures, becomes Vice-Chair of CATO. Richard Edwards remains as Treasurer, and Pierre LePage continues as CATO Executive Director.
Jennifer Bond has been named business development manager for Western Canada, overseeing British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest territories, and Nunavut for New Jersey-based Britain and Ireland specialist CIE Tours. The 20-year travel industry veteran joins CIE from TBO Holidays.
NEWS
Gothenburg and Málaga have been named Smart Capitals of Europe for 2020. In addition, four cities received 2020 European Smart Tourism Awards for their outstanding achievements in one of the categories of the competition: Breda (Accessibility), Gothenburg (Sustainability), Ljubljana (Digitalization) and Karlsruhe (Cultural heritage and Creativity). The European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative aims to promote smart tourism in the European Union, network and strengthen destinations, and facilitate the exchange of best practices. Helsinki was the 2019 capital.
BY THE NUMBERS
Apple Leisure Group has 30 hotel/resort projects in the development pipeline: 21 new builds and nine brand conversions that will add over 10,000 additional rooms to the AMResorts branded inventory. In 2019, ALG acquire one new brand (Alua Hotels & Resorts) and added 18 properties, including 5,256 rooms to the AMResorts collection, including the 600-key Secrets Baby Beach Aruba and bringing the total number of resorts operating under the Secrets brand to 18. Since 2010, the Group has increased its room inventory by almost 300%, closing 2019 with over 24,000 rooms across eight brands.
DESTINATIONS
The Chinese lunar calendar ushers in the Year of the Rat on Jan. 25 with celebrations and events continuing until Feb. 11 throughout Asia and in other destinations and venues around the globe. In Hong Kong, due to the current political climate, the famed Chinese New Year Parade has been cancelled, however a four-day carnival will take place from Jan. 25-28 at the Art Park of West Kowloon. New Year fireworks will take place on Jan. 26. People born in the Year of the Rat are said to be optimistic, energetic, kind and well-liked, though stubborn and lacking in communication skills.
On May 15, Kensington Palace in London will reveal a new exhibition exploring the British Royal Family’s enduring relationship with the camera. Spanning 200 years, the exhibition display some of the earliest photographic images collected from the Royal Collection, intimate royal portraits, and photos taken by members of the royal family themselves. Entry is included with palace admission.
NYC Winter Outing combines NYC & Company’s three signature promotional programs – NYC Broadway Week, NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Must-See Week – creating ultimate value across New York’s five boroughs. During the three-week period (Jan. 21-Feb. 9), select Broadway shows, attractions, museums, tours and performing arts will offer 2-for-1 tickets and nearly 400 restaurants will feature prix-fixe menus for lunch and dinner. Additionally, the city’s hotels offer discounted rates.