Destinations
Roach Leaving BTMI
Petra Roach is leaving her role as Global Head of Markets and Interim CEO at Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), and will join the Grenada Tourist Board later this year. Thanking Roach for her contributions, BTMI Chairman Roseanne Myers said: “She has been a tremendous asset to Barbados for two decades and her contribution to the growth and development of tourism sector has been outstanding.” Roach joined the Barbados tourism board in 2002 working with the United Kingdom team as Vice-President. Following a brief stint as interim CEO in 2014 during the Barbados Tourism...
Air Canada Rolls Out Its Refund Plans
Air Canada has moved quickly to roll it is refund plans, advising that eligible customers who purchased a non-refundable ticket for travel on or after Feb. 1, 2020 but did not fly can now obtain a refund from the carrier by submitting a request online or with their travel agent. The revised COVID-19 refund policy covers tickets and Air Canada Vacations packages purchased before April 13, 2021 for flights cancelled either by the airline or by the customer for any reason. Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada, explained: “Air...
Flair Adds Ottawa-Kelowna Lift
Flair Airlines is adding a new, non-stop route between Ottawa International Airport (YOW) and Kelowna International Airport (YLW) beginning Aug. 4, 2021, with flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The carrier is expanding its network to include 19 destinations by summer; and it is will be adding 13 new aircraft to its fleet in 2021 in preparation for the safe restart of travel. Stephen Jones, president & CEO of Flair, said: “Growing our service by connecting two iconic destinations on each side of the country is an important step in our bringing low fares and affordable travel...
ACV Ready To Process Refunds Today
Air Canada Vacations is advising that beginning today (April 13) it will begin accepting and processing refund requests from eligible customers whose vacations were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour company indicates that its revised policy covers trips cancelled by Air Canada Vacations or by the customer. Customers have the option to request a refund for any reason if their booking was made before April 13, 2021 for travel on or after Feb.1, 2020. ACV also said that it is “pleased to announce that we will not be recalling commissions from agents once...
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Needs Help
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has issued an urgent appeal to the public for relief for those directly impacted by the April 9 eruption of the La Soufrière volcano. Eruptions continue and are now generating pyroclastic density currents. Explosions and accompanying ash fall are likely to continue to occur over the next few days at least. More than 16,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes in the Red Zone to the safer Green Zone to shelters, personal homes and hotels. The need for assistance is tremendous as the country battles with excessive amounts of ash fall, water...
We Have Been Heard
The agency community is celebrating today following the announcement that the financial relief package agreed to by the federal government and Air Canada protects travel agency commissions. “Our messages have been heard,” was the reaction of ACTA president, Wendy Paradis as details of the agreement were announced. Said Paradis: “We are very pleased that the government has heard our messages loud and clear about commission recalls -- and that it has recognized the integral and important role that travel agents play in the industry.” The federal government’s massive...
Lucie Guillemette Named ACV President
Lucie Guillemette is the new president of Air Canada Vacations. The new role is in addition to her current responsibilities as Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Guillemette replaces Craig Landry as ACV’s president effective immediately. Landry has been president of the group since December 2015 and will remain Executive Vice President, Operations at Air Canada. During his tenure as president, he has successfully led the team in growing its business and reinforcing its position as a key player in the leisure market. The change in...
Barbados Putting New COVID-19 Protocols In Place
Barbados is making changes to its COVID-19 quarantine and testing processes beginning May 8. The country’s Ministry of Health and Wellness has approved the COVID-19 AstraZeneca, Moderna, PfizerBioNTech or Johnson & Johnson vaccinations for entry into Barbados and as of May 8th, travellers who are considered to be fully vaccinated are required to: Provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result 3 days prior to travel Provide a vaccination certificate on arrival to Barbados Have a standard or rapid COVID-19 PCR test done at the airport or their approved...