Destinations
Let’s Get Uncomfortable … One Year Later
It’s time to get uncomfortable again as the team at Let's Get Uncomfortable (LGU) is inviting members of the industry to “Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Travel & Tourism: One Year Later.” The event will take place on June 15 at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT and will see LGU's Shalene Dudley, founder of Latitude Concierge Travels and co-founder of UNPACK Consulting, sitting down with three travel professionals to discuss their personal journeys with this movement, how -- or whether -- industry perspectives have changed in the past 12 months, and where we go from...
All Together On The Road To Brighter Days
“One thing is certain, as Regulator we need to continue to reach out to stakeholders, listen and embrace the inevitable changes ahead, TICO’s president and CEO, Richard Smart tells Canadian Travel Press. And to do that, Smart makes it clear that TICO needs to keep those stakeholders “informed and aware so that they can plan for and purchase travel with confidence in this new post-pandemic era of travel.” Smart is clearly aware that for more than a year now, most [Ontario] registrants have been suffering with little to no revenue. Ontario’s registar notes that:...
Numbers Down, But Confidence Growing: UNWTO
There is “a slow uptick in confidence,” according to the latest UNWTO Confidence Index, although the more sobering news is that international tourist arrivals were down 83% in the first quarter of 2021 as widespread travel restrictions remained in place. The UNWTO reports that between January and March 2021 destinations around the world welcomed 180 million fewer international arrivals compared to the first quarter of last year. Asia and the Pacific continued to suffer the lowest levels of activity with a 94% drop in international arrivals over the three-month period. Europe...
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Takes Gamers To Ireland
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is taking its fans on a virtual trip to Ireland, immersing them in the country’s landscapes included in the game’s first major expansion, Wrath of the Druids. Playing as Eivor, a fierce Viking clan-leader, gamers will have to make their way through haunted forests and dazzling sceneries while gaining influence among Gaelic Kings. And to celebrate Ireland’s starring role in the recently launched expansion, Tourism Ireland has teamed up with Ubisoft to highlight the destination’s otherworldly landscapes, rich culture and fascinating myths and...
Tracking The Bright Spots
There’s good news … and … there’s bad … That pretty much sums up the message in the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA) mid-year, revised Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts for 2021-2023. The bad news is that PATA’s revised forecast indicates “a hard year ahead in 2021,” but the good news is the recovery will occur thereafter, albeit in a “very uneven fashion.” In releasing the mid-year forecast, PATA notes that with the extreme volatility in the travel and tourism sector brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant containment policies and...
Do It Now
Lay out an implementation plan based on the recommendations by the COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel report and do it now. That’s pretty much the message that the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable has for the federal government, and pointing out in the process that Canadians are doing their part in getting vaccinated so it’s now time to provide clear, timely, and safe guidance on reopening travel and reuniting families and friends. The Expert Panel recommends eliminating quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers, implementing changes to testing and...
Experience A ‘State Of Happiness’ In Hong Kong
Those who believe that all waking time spent in Hong Kong will be spent hustling and bustling from one site to another in one of the world's high-energy cities have clearly never encountered Karen Lo. The Hong Kong-based Lo appeared on a Tuesday Hong Kong Tourism Board webcast organized by Baxter Media that had her demonstrating a “sound bath,” a traditional Hong Kong experience designed to enable people to relax and ward off the likes of stress and anxiety. Ho invited viewers to close their eyes and focus on their breathing while she periodically struck metal bowls of different...
Transat Takes All Of TraficTours
Transat A.T. Inc. – the 70% shareholder of TraficTours Canada Inc. -- has now acquired the 30% minority interest in the incoming tour operator held by the minority shareholder, following a mutual agreement between the two parties. The purchase price is for an amount lower than the amount booked in Transat's financial statements on account of the option to purchase such minority interest. The minority shareholder had the option to require Transat to purchase the minority interest since 2019. The manager of TraficTours and its subsidiaries remains in place to ensure the operations...