Prospects Improving

A random Travel Courier survey of people working in the travel industry suggests the industry isn’t awash in worrywarts.

Those contacted by Travel Courier were upbeat about 2017, expecting its prospects to be better than 2016, a year in which reports of economic slowdowns and terrorism frequently dominated the news and likely made many uneasy about travel, reports senior staff writer, Ian Stalker in this week’s digital edition of Travel Courier.

“It’s going to be a much better year for us in Calgary. We’re seeing a turnaround in the economy,” says Ken Stewart of Crowfoot Travel Solutions.  “We’ve seen an improvement in the last couple of months.”

Stewart says Calgary has been experiencing a good blast of winter weather, spurring bookings for southern vacations.

That contrasts to last winter, when you could “cut your lawn, buy a six-pack and suntan on your deck in January, February and March,” he adds.

Across the border in Saskatchewan Brenda Toth of Wynyard Travel in Wynyard is predicting this will be an “awesome” year for travel. “People are just wanting to travel, They want to see the world.”

She says her clientele hasn’t been unduly alarmed over terrorist attacks in many parts of the world and the current standing of our dollar isn’t discouraging them from foreign travel, except for the United States, where the impact of the currency exchange may be more evident.

For the full story, check out this week’s digital edition of Travel Courier by clicking here.