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.
NEWS
ACTA president Wendy Paradis is retiring. She plans to step down later this year once a replacement is found, but she will stay on in a consulting position throughout 2025 to ensure a smooth transition. Paradis has helmed ACTA for the past nine years and boasts a 40-year career in travel, including starting her career as a travel agent. ACTA has hired an executive search firm to search for a replacement. The position will also be also posted on the ACTA website.
The federal government says it will process Canadians’ passport applications within 30 days or they’re free. Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech says that change is coming this year, along with an online renewal option that will launch in the summer.
Canada has reached a first-time Blue Sky air transport agreement with Ghana, a West African country the government says is a “growing market.” The new agreement includes the right for Canada and Ghana to designate multiple airlines to operate scheduled air services between the two countries.
AIR
Starting May 28, Southwest Airlines, which built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free, will begin charging customers a fee to check bags, abandoning a decades-long practice that executives had described last fall as key to differentiating the budget carrier from arrivals.
The official opening of Lima, Peru’s new Jorge Chavez International Airport has moved to March 30. The new airport facilities will be able to handle 30 million passengers per year, strengthening Lima’s position as a key transportation hub for South America. Some parts of the new airport are already being used, including a second runway and a new control tower. The new terminal is part of a larger “airport city” development with modernization projects planned through until 2051.
BY THE NUMBERS
Cathay Group achieved a new post-pandemic record, carrying over 110,000 passengers in a single day during Lunar New Year. Cathay Pacific saw a 37% increase in January 2025 passengers compared to 2024, while HK Express reached a record high of over 667,000 passengers.
TICO
TICO’s Board of Directors approved 12 claims against the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund totalling $24,000 to assist 26 consumers who did not receive the travel services for which they had paid. The approved claims are related to the closure of Trip Support Inc. in November 2024. Consumers who are impacted by this closure can submit Compensation Fund claims to TICO until May 5, 2025.
DEALS
Through March 31, Margaritaville at Sea is offering a 50% discount on all sailings aboard its new vessel, the Paradise for all sailings in 2026 – plus, kids aged 3-12 sail for free.
Canadians that book an Explora Journeys sailing in the Med or Caribbean by April 1 will receive an additional $300 Journey Experience Credit per suite.
Through April 30, Seabourn’s “A Sail Beyond Event” offer provides complimentary suite upgrades and shipboard credit on select 2025 and 2026 ultra-luxury ocean and expedition cruises. Benefits of the offer include complimentary two-category veranda suite upgrades; up to US$2,000per suite shipboard credit in Penthouse or Premium Suites; and up to US$1,000 per suite shipboard credit in Ocean-View or Veranda Suites.
RAIL TOURS
This spring, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, Europe will unveil L’Observatoire – an exclusive sleeper carriage conceived and designed over three years by world-acclaimed artist JR. In addition to an ensuite bathroom, a luxurious wardrobe, and a reclining daybed, the lavishly appointed accommodation, the train’s largest, will also feature a library with more than 1,000 books, as well as a secret tearoom with a fireplace. The carriage will be available upon request including the classic one-night Paris to Venice journey and the annual five-night Paris-Istanbul itinerary. Starting rate available upon request.
Luxury rail company Rocky Mountaineer has announced its newest packages for the 2025 travel season. The two new ‘Rockies to the Red Rocks’ packages – the Glenwood Springs Getaway and Glenwood Springs Classic – provide guests with more time to explore the charming mountain town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, known for its wellness offerings and hot springs. Guests will stay overnight at the newly renovated Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, with access to the world’s largest hot springs pool and the brand-new Yampah Mineral Baths. Glenwood Springs also offers a variety of additional activities. The packages are available for select departures from June to August.
HOTELS & RESORTS
Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique (photo) a luxury oceanfront resort with breathtaking views of Playa Penca is now accepting reservations for stays beginning May 1. The resort is slated to join Hilton’s portfolio of more than 280 hotels across the region this spring.
Sandals Resorts’ Beaches all-inclusive family brand is embarking on a US$1-billion expansion over the next five years. New resorts will be introduced in Runaway Bay, Jamaica; Barbados; and Exuma, Bahamas; and a new village will be built in Turks and Caicos.
London five-star One Aldwych in Covent Garden has re-opened, welcoming back guests with enhanced design and installation elements across its popular Lobby Bar, Indigo restaurant and its Signature Suites.
CRUISE
MSC Cruises has announced that actress and personality Drew Barrymore will be the Godmother of its new US flagship, MSC World America.
Seabourn is launching “Authors at Sea,” a new program available on select sailings featuring best-selling authors, historians and biographers, along with live events and hands-on workshops for aspiring authors. Available on select sailings between March and December, featured guests include Debbie Macomber; Ann Cleeves; Robert King Wittman, Lord Jeffrey Archer and more. “Authors at Sea” is part of the line’s popular Seabourn Conversations enrichment and guest entertainment program, and guest authors will also engage with guests, sharing meals, adventures ashore and casual chats throughout the voyage.
ATTRACTIONS & THEME PARKS
Universal Orlando Resort (photo) has launched all remaining general admission ticket products for visits in 2025 to its highly anticipated fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe. Guests and clients can purchase a 2-Day Ticket that includes one day of admission to Universal Studios Florida and/or Universal Islands of Adventure and one day at Epic Universe or a 1-Day Ticket to Epic Universe for visits starting on June 1.
FAMS & INCENTIVES
Through April 25, Paul Gauguin Cruises ‘Kids Sail & Fly Free’ offer applies to select sailings in French Polynesia (based on two full-paying adults; flights from Seattle or Los Angeles to Papeete). And as an added incentive for travel advisors, the line is offering a US$500 gift card for each newly deposited booking.
EVENTS
ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade show, is set to launch an Americas edition in 2026 from Nov. 10 to 12 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Organizers say ITB Americas will be the only B2B travel trade show that covers North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean with 80% of exhibitors coming from the Americas and 20% from the rest of the world.
PEOPLE/APPOINTMENTS
Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz) has named Claudia Baino as its new Business Development Director. Boasting 35 years of experience in the travel industry, she will oversee the strategic expansion of Allianz’s business development initiatives, fostering new partnerships and enhancing existing relationships within the travel and financial services channels.
Huntington Travel Group has launched a cruise product line and named industry veteran Christabel Sundram as cruise product manager to lead the division. With an extensive background in wholesale travel and cruise sales, Sundram brings a wealth of expertise in small ship cruising, include river, barge, and ocean niches. She previously spent over 14 years at Exclusive Tours by Merit Travel.
DESTINATIONS
In New York, culture buffs will note the reopening of The Frick Collection on Fifth Avenue in April, following a four-year renovation and expansion. The reopening will include public access to the second floor of the original Frick residence for the first time. And in June, eight of the city’s best-known museums on Fifth Avenue open their doors to the public for free during the annual Museum Mile Festival, which will take place on June 10.
From July 25 to Aug. 5, Antigua and Barbuda will come alive with Carnival, one of the best in the Caribbean. Promising “a remarkable celebration of music, mas, culture, and revelry that will appeal to carnival-lovers from all over the world,” the event attracts thousands of visitors annually, with Antigua’s tourism minister Charles Fernandez stating, “Visitors come not only for the mas but for the warmth of our people and authentic experiences (and) our 365 award-winning beaches… Carnival provides an amazingly immersive summer vacation.”
LAST WEEK IN TRAVEL HISTORY
In 2014, a Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 people, including two Canadians, vanished on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite a massive multinational search and wide-ranging theories about what might have happened, Flight MH370 has not yet been found.
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