Destinations
Discover Canada With Sunwing
For the 16th consecutive year, Sunwing is making it easier for Canadians to reconnect with loved ones this summer with the launch of its domestic summer program. Flights will commence in May and run weekly until the beginning of September, with weekly routes to some of Canada’s most popular destinations. And to help customers make the most of their travel budget, the tour operator is offering savings of up to $200 per couple on domestic flights. Andrew Dawson, president of tour operations for Sunwing, said: “With lots of Canadians staying closer to home this spring and...
Finding A Way Forward
Using the overused buzzword of the past year as an example, the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges and turmoil to the travel industry. Travel advisors are struggling, tour operators aren't operating, airlines are cutting routes and would-be travellers are staying home amidst lockdowns and new hotel quarantine measures. So, it makes sense to avoid getting into the industry, right? In anticipation of a brighter future, Travel Courier caught up with several businesses who have expanded or launched new travel-focused companies during these trying times, as well as an...
A New Way To See Europe From G Adventures
G Adventures is challenging stereotypes around some of Europe’s most popular holiday spots with the launch of 15 new Active tours designed to support local communities through community tourism, and to show travellers an alternative side of typically ‘mass market’ vacation destinations, as and when it comes time for them to ‘retravel’. To provide an added incentive to book now for travel later, during the month of March all trips in the adventure operator’s ‘Active’ travel style will have 15% off for trips departing up to June 30, 2022, including this new...
It’s All About The Great Outdoors
Rural tourism may be at the forefront of a travel industry recovery, a Monday Tourism Industry Association of Canada webinar was told. Tourism Nova Scotia CEO Michele Saran told viewers that "wide open spaces are really what really makes people feel safer" during the coronavirus pandemic. Saran believes there will be more interest in experiencing the "Great Outdoors" as people "have been cooped up for so long," and suggested that such activities as hiking, biking and surfing will figure more prominently in holidays. Saran noted that rural Nova Scotia areas haven't seen as great a...
Building the Road to Recovery at ExploreGB
ExploreGB, VisitBritain’s annual flagship travel trade event, is under way this week, taking place virtually for the first time. “This platform provides an opportunity to safely meet across borders and time zones,” Sally Balcombe, CEO of VisitBritain, said during the opening session. “Whilst the platform may have changed, the objective has not. It’s about bringing buyers together from around the world with UK suppliers. As always, it’s a chance to showcase Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the world class destination that it is.” Noting that the pandemic has had an...
Kensington Unveils New Travel Experiences
Kensington Tours and AncestryProGenealogists are partnering to offer new Personal Heritage Journeys that have been designed to provide people with the most personal, in-depth and privately guided exploration of their family’s roots. Each once-in-a-lifetime travel experience is built through the close collaboration of a Kensington Tours’ Destination Expert and a dedicated professional genealogist and family history expert from AncestryProGenealogists. Working with the Ancestry genealogist and their detailed research of each unique family tree, the Destination Expert...
‘We’re Good To Go’ With The ‘Safe Travels’ Stamp
VisitBritain says that UK tourism businesses registered in the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard scheme can now be automatically issued with the international ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The We’re Good To Go scheme, launched last year by VisitEngland in partnership with the tourism boards of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, has been recognized by the WTTC as meeting its international global standardized health and hygiene protocols and for its role in supporting the recovery of the UK tourism sector. The WTTC stamp...
Mediterranean Rebound Likely, But Not Assured: Oxford Economics
In a newly released research briefing, Oxford Economics reports that while a rebound in Mediterranean tourism is likely, it is not assured. In the briefing, it notes that “tourism activity represents a considerable part of the economy in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. The sector accounts for between 6% and 8% of these countries’ GDP directly and for further 8% to 13% indirectly, representing a major component of services exports.” It continues: “Countries have been forced to take restrictive measures to halt the rapid spread of the coronavirus since the outbreak of the...