Destinations
Omicron Uncertainty Weighs On Holiday Plans
The emergence of the Omicron variant – coupled with the rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the U.S. – has some travellers rethinking their holiday travel planning according to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travellers. Longwoods reports that while more than a third of travellers are still planning to hit the road in December, about a quarter are delaying trips until after the first of the year. The tracking study also found that among those who are still travelling over the holidays, two-thirds intend to visit friends and...
Canada Prepares For The Comeback
The tourism big picture for Destination Canada still has many dark clouds, but work by the organization is starting to render a brighter outlook for the coming years, reports Press Today’s Ted Davis. With the many challenges of the past 21 months comes the opportunity to rebuild the Canadian tourism industry with new marketing concepts and directions, said Marsha Walden, president and CEO of Destination Canada. Strategies at Destination Canada have been shaped by the need to help generate this tourism renaissance, she said during the DMO’s annual public meeting. But before...
Aruba Making Entry Easier
Aruba is teaming up with OK2Roam and VFS Global to launch a new service that eliminates the need to make travellers wait for their PCR test results to be manually verified and the need to upload test certificates. In partnership with OK2Roam, travellers can authorize an approved laboratory to send their negative test result directly to Aruba’s Embarkation-Disembarkation card entry platform and be confident that it will be instantly accepted. As part of the entry process to Aruba, the ED card registration is mandatory for all travellers, including minors and infants. Proof of a...
Australia, New Zealand On Costsaver’s 2022 Itinerary
Costsaver is expanding to two additional destinations with brand new itineraries in Australia and New Zealand for 2022. As international borders begin to reopen, these new itineraries offer the expertise of a guided experience with all the essentials and opportunities for clients to tailor the trip to create their perfect bucket list adventure. The new itineraries are available for booking now for travel in 2022 and 2023. Wolf Paunic, President of Trafalgar, Brendan Vacations and Costsaver Canada, explained: “We saw amazing growth before the pandemic and with high demand for...
Closing Borders Is Not The Answer
Seven global travel industry associations – including ASTA, the Association of South African Travel Agencies (ASATA), ACTA, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) and the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA) – argue that closing borders and implementing new travel restrictions is “putting already vulnerable businesses at further risk.” The groups represent hundreds of thousands of people who work at travel agencies and related businesses around the world and they are calling on...
Canadians Ready For Holiday Travel
Canadians are gearing up to travel over the holidays, according to Finder.com’s newly released Travel Index. According to the Index, one in five Canadian adults (22%) plan to travel over the months of December, January and February, up from just 13% last month. It also reports that Canadians are now just as likely to be planning domestic travel as they are international travel; with 12% of Canadians planning to travel domestically and 12% planning to travel internationally. Of note is the fact that international travel plans are also at the highest they’ve been since Finder...
Cuba: Sunny, Safe And Ready For Travellers
Cuban prime minister Manuel Marrero Cruz says his country is both a sunny and safe destination for coronavirus-wary travellers who continue to hear media reports of countries struggling with the pandemic, reports Press Today's Ian Stalker who's in Cuba attending the event. Marrero Cruz said during a Wednesday presentation at a tourism fair held by Cuban tourism company Gaviota that his country of over 11 million people saw only 77 reported coronavirus cases on Dec. 8, while its capital of Havana -- home to over 3 million people -- saw a scant 14 cases. Cuban cases peaked at 9,907 on...
Reaching The Peak At TL Network Canadian Regionals
TL Network Canada is celebrating the success of its recently concluded, in-person events in Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton. The three regionals hosted more than 355 agents and 82 supplier partners attended with the PEAK themed events enabling agents to leverage the tools and training available to help grow their business and help TL Network members across Canada continue their quest to PEAK -- “Programmes, Education, Advisors and Knowledge,” -- while facilitating networking opportunities, supplier partner roundtable discussions and a rewarding trade show. TL Network’s vice...