Destinations
Sunwing Making Travel Easy
Sunwing is making it easy for agents and customers to navigate the new world of travel with more flexibility, insurance options and relevant content than ever before. The company is offering the ability for customers to change their plans anytime with no fees along with free COVID-19 medical coverage on most all-inclusive vacation packages. And to help Canadians get back to paradise, the tour operator is also offering savings of up to 45% on popular vacation packages during their Yes You Can sale. As well, Sunwing has launched a dedicated Travel Requirements landing page...
98% Of TTAND Agents Vote To Join TL Network
The Travel Agent Next Door will be joining the TL Network (TLN) as of Nov. 1, 2021 Flemming Friisdahl, founder & CEO, TTAND, said of the move: “We spent numerous months researching the consortium to see if TLN would be the right fit for the Canadian host agency. The main program incentives which ultimately felt right for TTAND to make the move were the exclusive Cruise Program, the extensive Hotel Program and the valuable marketing materials.” In an exclusive presentation for its over 900 partner agents, TTAND’s executive team detailed the program’s features and...
Air Canada Taking Off To Santo Domingo
Air Canada is launching new seasonal service between Toronto and Santo Domingo beginning Dec. 16. The new Santo Domingo flights will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays onboard Air Canada Rouge aircraft featuring Premium Rouge and Economy services, product enhancements including upgraded streaming entertainment and options to purchase high-speed wi-fi. Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada, said: “As travel restrictions ease, we are committed to rebuilding our international network to connect the world...
In The Shadow Of The Pandemic
As Meghan Benton explains it: “There’s a perception that a lot of travel is just tourism, but people rely on global mobility to maintain relationships with family members, to do vital business; in some cases, people stretch their lives between two or more countries and cross borders every day or every week.” Benton -- who is the Director of Research for the International Program at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) in Washington, D.C. and the author of “Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic” -- sat down with Canadian Travel Press recently to talk...
MSC Cruises Canada Appoints Jacinto In The West
MSC Cruises Canada has appointed Ramon Jacinto as Business Development Manager for Western & Central Canada, based in Vancouver. Jacinto brings over 20 years of experience in the Canadian travel industry, beginning his career in the hospitality and the airline industry, and most recently representing another cruise brand. Ian Patterson, country manager, Canada for MSC Cruises, said: “Having vast experience working alongside our travel partners, Ramon takes pride in being able to relate to them and anticipate their needs. Ramon will use his expertise in cruise to help identify...
GlobalData Tracks Top 5 Tourism Types For 2021
With tourism being a major contributor to the GDP of a number of countries, it’s not surprising that governments are taking various measures to revive the industry’s business from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. An analysis of GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics (SMA) Platform -- which identifies and tracks the emerging trends, pain areas, new fields of innovation among discussions of Twitter influencers and Redditors -- reveals ‘Virtual Tourism’ as the most popular type of tourism, followed by ‘Space Tourism’ in 2021. Smitarani Tripathy, influencer analyst at...
Dive Into Wellness At Hotel Xcaret Arte
Chef Miguel Bautista is dipping white oyster mushrooms into a sauce and placing them onto a small charcoal grill. Today’s goal is to cook up a very common Mexican dish — tacos al pastor — but without a key ingredient: pork. “Once you identify the proteins in the vegetable world you can find substitutes,” notes Bautista, explaining that the grilling process mimics the charred flavour of meat skewered on a spit. Although there is a need for a vegan restaurant at the new 900-suite Hotel Xcaret Arte located in the Riviera Maya based on demand alone, the chef behind BIO...
A Picture Of Optimism
New research indicates that the tide of Canadian consumer sentiment towards air travel is changing. Expedia Group -- in collaboration with ARC – offers some new insights into emerging Canadian traveller trends -- as well as opportunities for travellers to capitalize on. Following a tumultuous year and a half, IATA has shared its view of a light at the end of the tunnel, fueled largely by the North American domestic market. Here in Canada, Expedia Group’s data shows that there has been a 210% year-over-year growth in air searches between 2020 and 2021, with Toronto and...