Destinations
TICO Board Approves Fund Claims
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario’s (TICO’s) Board of Directors approved three claims against the Ontario Travel Compensation Fund on June 28, 2022 totalling $6,310 to assist 8 consumers who did not receive the travel services for which they had paid. Claims approved by the Board include: Fly Jamaica Airways -- 1 claim to assist 2 consumers, totalling $2,588 Jet Airways -- 1 claim to assist 4 consumers, totalling $2,322 Sunmed Holidays Inc. -- 1 claim to assist 2 consumers, totalling $1,400 In addition, the following claim was denied: Fly Jamaica Airways...
ACTA Announces 2022-2023 Board Of Directors
ACTA has announced its new board of directors for 2022-2023. Wendy Paradis, ACTA president, said: “The new board is currently rolling up its sleeves to develop ACTA’s two-year strategic plan to enable the trade association to best serve Canada’s travel agencies, travel agency employees and independent travel agents.” And Paradis added: “We also want to collaborate with industry partners to positively shape the future of Canada’s travel industry in this time of renewal.” All ACTA members can apply to stand for election to the board. ACTA’s new two-year strategic...
Nevis Tourism Authority Pick Liburd As New CEO
Devon Liburd has been confirmed to the position of Chief Executive Officer at the Nevis Tourism Authority (NTA). The appointment in his new role took effect on July 1, 2022. The announcement was made by Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis, at his monthly press conference in the Cabinet Room of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) on June 30, 2022. Reacting to the new appointment, Mr. Liburd who had been serving as the NTA’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, from February 2022, said: “I’m delighted that the Board of Directors has confirmed my appointment as CEO of the NTA....
Ecuador Picks GMS In U.S. & Canada
The Ecuador Tourism Board has selected Global Marketing & Sales (GMS) as its strategic communications and marketing agency in the U.S. and Canada, to promote the country of “The Four Worlds" in these two markets. “We’re excited to have a strong PR and sales arm in the US & Canada, we’ll leverage GMS’s expertise and dynamism to reinforce our presence and gain competitive edge. These are two strategic markets for Ecuador, showing a very positive recovery for this 2022, and we want to exceed 2019 numbers and beyond,” Tourism Minister Niels Olsen said. This is the...
Air Transat Celebrates Success At Agents’ Choice Awards Gala
Air Transat was celebrating at the recent Agents’ Choice Awards Gala in Toronto recently as travel agents ranked it as their favourite leisure airline, while also ranking Transat’s Susan Kooiman as one of their favourite sales reps. The evening also saw Transat’s three founders, Philippe Sureau, Lina DeCesare and Jean-Marc Eustache, share the William H. Baxter Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes people who have improved professional standards in the industry; demonstrated successful innovation and entrepreneurial initiative; and enhanced the industry’s standing...
Dealing With The Surge
In an effort to deal with the surge in travel, Air Canada has announced that it's reducing its schedule by on average, 77 roundtrips (or 154 flights) per day in total for July and August. Those changes began yesterday (June 29). Prior to this, Air Canada operated on average about 1,000 flights a day. Three routes will be temporarily suspended between Montreal and: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Kelowna and one from Toronto to Fort McMurray. As well, the airline said that most of the flights affected are to and from its Toronto and Montreal hubs. Those will be mostly frequency reductions,...
Government Maintaining Current Border Measures
The federal government is extending current border measures for travellers entering Canada; with the requirements for travellers arriving to Canada expected to remain in effect until at least Sept. 30, 2022. As well, the government said that the pause of mandatory random testing will continue at all airports until mid-July, for travellers who qualify as fully vaccinated. The pause was put in place on June 11, 2022 to allow airports to focus on streamlining their operations, while the government moves forward with its planned move of COVID-19 testing for air travellers outside of...
TICO Marks 25th As It Celebrates Its Achievements
Hard to believe, but the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) celebrated its 25th anniversary of providing consumer protection to Ontario travellers during its virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week (June 28). During the AGM, officials shared the organization’s key achievements from the previous fiscal year, with a key theme of the event focussing on the resiliency of the travel industry. Richard Smart, TICO’s President and CEO, observed that: “While the entire travel ecosystem is shifting and re-inventing itself, an expectation for a fair and balanced consumer...