29 OCT 2018: 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
Santiago de Cuba has been added to its Transat’s Sun portfolio, with flights to the Cuban city out of Toronto every Wednesday starting Dec. 19. Transat will offer travellers a selection of hotels as well as its first South Your Way tour and a Duo package that combines beach and city.
A new, non-stop daily flight between Montreal and Raleigh will highlight expanded Air Canada service to North Carolina starting next spring. The airline will also deploy larger aircraft (with business class) on flights between Toronto and Raleigh and Charlotte to increase capacity on the routes.
Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW is winging it to Vancouver, with a new route to the city planned to start in June 2019. One-way fares from YVR are now available from $129. WOW also flies to Montreal and Toronto. Read more: HERE.
Prince George Airport is getting an upgrade. The federal government will spend $2.3 million on the BC airport to repair a degraded runway and two aprons to maximize the use of the existing airport capacity.
A state-of-the-art flight-training centre in Denver has been unveiled by United Airlines. The single-site training centre is the largest in the world and home to the company’s more than 30 full flight simulators representing all of United’s fleet types. The flight facility will be visited by United’s more than 12,000 pilots at least once a year for new and recurrent training and is will also be used by pilots from more than two dozen other airlines.
TOURS
Insight and Luxury Gold celebrated the launch of new brochures last week with friends in the trade at an intimate luncheon in Toronto that included special guests Brett Tollman, CEO of The Travel Corporation, and Insight and Luxury Gold CEO Ulla Hefer Bohler. While the event dovetailed with the launch of brochures for both brands (Britain & Europe, and Worldwide, respectively), it was also a chance to for guests to learn about Insight’s 70 “authentic experiences,” 44 luxury guided journeys from Luxury Gold, including new Chairman’s Collection special tours, and the company’s extensive social and environmental commitment.
With the Canadian dollar soaring against its Australian counterpart, there’s no better time to send clients ‘Down Under’, says Goway. At press time, the loonie bought A$1.07, its highest point in two and a half years, which helps “level the playing field” in a destination that isn’t “among the cheapest,” particularly in the cities and outback, according to Goway.
DEALS & DISCOUNTS
Clients who book a Transat guided tour to Europe or the Middle East between May 1 and Oct. 31, 2019, will receive $300 per couple in savings, along with Transat’s Price Drop Guarantee and a future travel voucher of up to $100. Meanwhile, clients who book a package will benefit from the price drop guarantee and a $50 future travel voucher.
HOTELS
Boutique luxury brand Kimpton has opened its first hotel in the UK Located in Russell Square, the Kimpton Fitzroy London combines late-Victorian heritage with a quirky, modern vibe and features 334 rooms and suites, various restaurants and bars, modern meeting rooms and a 24-hour fitness centre.
A new upscale Best Western hotel is taking shape in Ha Long City in northeastern Vietnam. Beyond the sheer scope of the 31-storey, 1,008-room project, the Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long is notable for its location overlooking stunning Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2020.
RESORTS
Club Med has revealed a look at its first Exclusive Collection resort in the Americas, scheduled to open at the end of 2019 in the Dominican Republic. Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda, will be the resort company’s largest project in the Caribbean in 40 years, and the regional flagship of the dedicated Exclusive Collection resorts, which are characterized by their premium accommodations, amenities and service, set in beautiful locations around the world. Highlighting the resort will be four boutique villages, each with their own unique environment, activities and accommodations, pristine beach on Samana Bay and a “eco chic haven atmosphere” as befits its setting in 93 acres of lush, untouched landscape.
CRUISE
The Carnival Victory has entered dry dock to mark the final phase of the cruise line’s $2 billion fleet enhancement, which began in 2011. When it emerges as the Carnival Radiance, the vessel will feature enhanced dining, entertainment and amenities that are consistent with all 26 Carnival ships. The Radiance will re-enter service in 2020 with homeport and itinerary details to be announced in November.
Four new ships will join the Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection over the next three years. Ships will be located on the Nile in Egypt, the Douro in Portugal and the Mekong in Vietnam in 2020, followed by a new ship on the Volga in Russia in 2021; they will replace existing vessels.
THEME PARKS
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has new Annual Pass Products at all 12 of its theme parks, including SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place, designed to offer guests great value and new benefits with the convenience of monthly payments. Additional highlights of the new pass products include: Tiered benefits and increased flexibility; more pricing options; and new benefits at every pass level, such as up-close animal experiences, memory-making extras such as Photo Key, and expanded culinary options. At the Florida parks, “Bring a Friend for Free” on some pass options lets guests share in the fun. Visit SeaWorld.com; BuschGardens.com and SesamePlace.com.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando will debut completely reimagined in 2019, featuring a new 15-story tower overlooking Lago Dorado, the resort’s centrepiece lake. Offering an additional 545 new guest rooms and suites, the tower also includes a two-level entrance lobby, concierge lounge, new meeting, and rooftop dining with panoramic views. The existing 1,800 guest rooms have all been fully updated with new fixtures, furnishings and colour palette.
FAMS & INCENTIVES
The “largest ever” agent incentive offered by G Adventures will culminate in an invitation to 100 agents from around the world, including Canada, to a special week-long summit at an undisclosed location in June 2019. The “Change Makers Challenge” is based on the premise that travel changes people’s lives, and thus challenges agents to help the tour operator do just that, while selling travel in the process. The incentive runs through March 31, 2019, and agents receive one entry for each client booked on a G adventure. Other prizes and challenges will also be offered as part of the incentive.
Agents will get some extra cash to splash when booking Sandals Resorts for clients for virtually the next year. For each new booking of three nights or longer to any Sandals or Beaches resort, the “Sandals Cash Splash” travel incentive promotion will award $500 in bonus commission for any room category ($750 for Club category and $1,000 for Butler category). Prizes will be awarded monthly and bookings – through Sept. 30, 2019, for travel by Dec. 18, 2019 – must be made directly with Unique Vacations. (Promotion not valid in Quebec).
Through Nov. 5, Air Canada Vacations is offering 4X ACV&ME points on any package or a group booked to any Palace Resorts for travel until April 30, 2019.
EVENTS
Select members of the trade specializing in Britain were treated to an evening with London-based tourism and theatre marketers ‘made’ and Visit Britain recently in Toronto, including attending a performance of Come From Away at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. made managing director Jonathan Mountford, who visits Toronto each fall, helped make the evening even more noteworthy by arranging for guests to meet some of those behind the smash show, which is also currently performing in Dublin, on Broadway, on tour in North America and is headed for London’s West End and Melbourne, Australia, in 2019.
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority and Antigua Hotels and Tourist Association report that the 6th Annual Showcase Antigua and Barbuda will take place on June 19 and 20, 2019. The dedicated travel trade business-to-business event is aimed at increasing business from the destination’s main source markets in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, and the Caribbean.
BY THE NUMBERS
Canada‘s tourism industry is having its best year ever. In the first half of 2018, Canada welcomed a record 8.6 million international tourists, an increase of 1.6% over the same period in 2017, and tourism activities directly accounted for more than $18 billion of Canada’s GDP, an increase of more than 6% over the first half of 2017. The sector supports 1.8 million jobs across the country. A key ingredient in the growth was 300,000 visitors from China in the first half of the year an increase of more than 9% over the same period last year. China is now Canada’s third largest source of international visitors.
According to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, there are currently more than 33,000 jobs as a result of Indigenous tourism businesses in Canada. The goal is to reach 40,000 jobs by 2021.
DESTINATIONS
Warsaw continues to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence with a multitude of monthly events encompassing culture, music and sports. A full calendar of festivals, star concerts and outdoor exhibitions is designed to boost tourism in the Polish capital, which boasts both a modern, dynamic culture and rich history. The new tourism campaign highlights the UNESCO-recognized Old Town, with particular attention paid to composer Fryderyk Chopin and double Nobel prize winner Marie Curie, as well as Warsaw’s prospects as a gateway to both central and eastern Europe.
Cricket fans will begin descending on Antigua and Barbuda starting Nov. 9 for 15 days of music, celebrations, and spirited competition in the sun leading up to the 2018 International Cricket Council Women’s World T20, one of the world’s foremost all-female cricket tournaments. The actual 10-team tournament will be held on Antigua Nov. 22-24.
Hong Kong’s first high-speed railway is now rolling. The 50-km Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong HighSpeed Rail (Hong Kong Section) launched in late September connecting the Chinese city via Kowloon station to other destinations across Mainland China, most notably nine neighbouring cities in Guangdong Province, including Guangzhou in less than an hour.
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