Destinations
Dominican Republic’s tourism offerings expand with addition of new resorts
The Dominican Republic is seeing a major expansion of its tourism offering with the arrival of a number of new hotels that include W Punta Cana, The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort and The Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Punta Cana. For Canadian travellers heading to the DominicanRepublic, the new resorts provide them with additional accommodation options. The Dominican Republic is a popular destination for Canadians, with 1.14 million visiting the destination in 2025 and the outlook for 2026 is equally promising, driven by several factors that continue to attract Canadian travellers: direct...
Grenada streamlining visitor arrivals with online ED card platform
Grenada is enhancing the visitor arrival experience with the launch of its Online Embarkation/ Disembarkation (ED) Card Platform, advancing the country’s border processing system and enhancing the arrival experience for visitors. As of March 2, 2026, travellers to Grenada can complete their ED Card online prior to arrival by visiting edcard.gov.gd, streamlining entry procedures at ports of entry. The digital system eliminates the need for paper forms and is best completed the day before travel or before departing the traveller’s port of embarkation. Senator the Honourable Adrian...
JNTO YVR mission takes advisors on a destination deep dive
Now that Japan has established itself as number five in a survey of the top 10 overseas countries visited by Canadian residents, Japanese tourism reps are publicizing some of the nation’s lesser-known tourist destinations. Hence the recent “Japan: Delve Deeper” dinner event that recently took place in Vancouver, giving local travel advisors the opportunity to network with reps from the Japan National Tourism Organization, plus selected suppliers at a mini trade show. The Fairmont Waterfront hotel hosted the event. So, for example, a video-supported presentation by Shin...
Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority strengthens presence in Quebec, Ottawa markets
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) Canada office is strengthening its presence in the Quebec and Ottawa markets with the appointment of Sylvie Madore, President and CEO of La Tribu Gourmande, and Danièle Bouchard, Marketing Consultant, effective immediately. The new representation reflects ABTA’s strategic investment in the French-speaking Canadian market, with a focused mandate to grow visits to the destination, deepen travel advisor engagement, and expand consumer awareness across Quebec and Ottawa. Tameka Wharton, Director of Tourism, Canada, said that: “Quebec...
Spending outpacing arrivals as Europe’s travel demand remains steady
Some interesting news coming out of Europe as the European Travel Commission reports that inbound travel spending rose faster than arrivals across most destinations. In its latest quarterly report, the ETC found that overall travel expenditure in Europe is estimated to have increased by 9.7% in 2025, observing that this divergence suggests that tourism performance is increasingly supported by higher per-trip spending and value-oriented demand, rather than volume expansion alone. That said, the ETC also reported that Europe’s tourism sector maintained its steady performance into...
Air Canada expands Mexico presence with more summer capacity
Air Canada is strategically expanding its summer schedule to Mexico with 18% more seat capacity compared to last summer. As Canada and Mexico deepen ties, the airline is further strengthening its schedule to Mexico to support growing travel to and from Mexico. Highlights of Air Canada’s Mexican network growth include the addition of new, year-round flights from Montréal to Guadalajara, as well as increased frequencies to Cancún, Monterrey, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta, four in-demand destinations with Canadians and international travellers alike. Those flights are now...
Curaçao turns in strong January 2026 results
The Curaçao Tourist Board reports that January 2026 reflected a continued level of stayover arrivals to the island, supported by demand across key source markets. January 2026 saw an increase of 8% in stayover arrivals compared to January 2025, welcoming an additional 6,098 visitors. A total of 79,387 stayover visitors were welcomed in the first month of the year. This consistent performance reflects traveller demand and marks a vibrant peak-season month, with stayover arrivals reaching nearly eighty thousand in a single month. Performance by region was positive from South...
Visa-Free travel to China starts for Canadian passport holders on Feb 17
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that starting tomorrow (Feb. 17), that Canadian passport holders will no longer need a visa. The announcement was made on the Ministry’s website and advises that “to further facilitate cross-border travel, China has decided to, starting from Feb. 17, 2026, extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom.” It continues: Ordinary passport holders from the two countries can be exempted from [needing a] visa to enter China and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, visits to...