Destinations
Budget 2022 Fails To Address Support For Agencies, ITAs
In a statement, ACTA president, Wendy Paradis said the association is disappointed that the 2022 federal Budget failed to address the ongoing need for support for travel agencies and independent travel agents, who are still far from recovery. Paradis points out that all temporary financial support programs are being phased out, despite the impact of the Omicron variant and the delayed revenue model of our sector. Through ACTA’s pre-budget submission, political engagements, partnership with the Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses, and member grassroots work, there was intense...
Ontario Tourism Sector Gets Support From Feds
The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced a total investment of $68.5 million through the Tourism Relief Fund for Indigenous Tourism Ontario and 11 Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs) across southern Ontario on April 6. The investment will help tourism businesses and communities safely welcome back visitors, recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for future growth. In making the announcement, Minister Jaczek said: “The Government of Canada investment announced...
Don’t Miss Today’s Responsible Travel Webinar
Recent surveys consistently show that today’s consumers want to travel responsibly. To help equip travel advisors to respond to the growing interest in environmentally and socially responsible travel, Baxter Media is teaming up with industry experts for a virtual session that will help them understand what they need to do to satisfy their clients demand for a responsible vacation. Featured speakers include Angela Nagy, CEO, GreenStep Solutions; Nico Nicholas, CEO & Co-founder, Trees4Travel Ltd; Stéphanie Bishop, Managing Director, Canada, Globus family of brands; Genevieve...
Zagreb Celebrates The Return Of Air Transat
Zagreb is celebrating as it prepares, once again, to welcome service by Air Transat. Air Transat will resume nonstop flights to Croatia after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The nonstop seasonal flights to Croatia will commence on May 7 between Toronto and Zagreb and continue to Oct. 29. The airline will offer flights once a week from May 7 to June 4 and twice a week from June 8 to Oct. 29. Air Transat's inaugural nonstop flight from Canada to Croatia was first introduced in June 2016 and continued in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and was gaining momentum until it was postponed in...
Goway Launches Qatar Product Line
Goway is expanding its Middle East travel options with the launch of travel products in Qatar. The operator has been a long-time supporter of Qatar Airways and is excited to extend its offerings to include vacation packages throughout Qatar. Goway is ready to help travellers explore this oasis on the gulf with a range of travel products, including city tours of the rapidly-growing capital, Doha, which combines historic charm with man-made islands and towering skyscrapers that befit a rising star of the 21st century. Travellers can go dune bashing through the desert and visit the...
TICO Board Approves 19 Claims
TICO’s Board of Directors approved 19 claims against the Ontario Travel Compensation Fund on March 29, 2022. The claims were for a total of $32,966 to assist 27 consumers who did not receive the travel services for which they had paid. Approved claims included: Fly Jamaica Airways -- 7 claims to assist 9 consumers, totalling $9,570 Jet Airways -- 6 claims to assist 7 consumers, totalling $4,088 Sunmed Holidays Inc. -- 6 claims to assist 11 consumers, totalling $19,308 In addition, the following claim totalling $4,188 was denied: Sunmed Holidays Inc. -- 1 claim...
Saint Lucia Goes Seamless With Entry Rules
In its continuing efforts to provide a ‘Seamless Saint Lucia’ travel experience for visitors, Saint Lucia has updated COVID-19 travel protocols for the destination: As of April 2, 2022, The Government of Saint Lucia officially removed all pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering the country As of April 5, 2022, the requirement for registration and document upload (PCR tests and vaccine card) on the Saint Lucia portal has been suspended until further notice Based on the newly updated protocols, fully vaccinated travellers are not...
Jamaica Upbeat As Arrivals Beat Projections
Jamaica is reporting that it welcomed a total of over 1.5 million visitor arrivals to its shores in 2021. These visitors’ on-island spend totalled over USD $2.095 billion into the country’s economy, positively impacting local businesses and tourism stakeholders. Visitor arrivals and spend for full year 2021 had originally been projected to be approximately 1.5 million and USD $1.9 billion, respectively. Of the total 1,535,165 visitor arrivals recorded, 1,464,399 were air stopover arrivals. The U.S. was both the largest and best-performing market, accounting for 1,278,679 air...