Destinations
BoC Could Hold Rate Until At Least 2023
According to half of the economists (47% or 7 out of 15) on Finder’s BoC Interest Rate Forecast panel, the Bank of Canada could hold the interest rate until at least 2023. A third of the panel expect the rate to hold until some point in 2023 while an additional 13% say it will hold beyond then; with Scotiabank deputy chief economist, Brett House believing the rate will remain unchanged until at least the end of 2023. Said House: “We forecast that the Bank of Canada will keep the overnight rate target on hold until the second half of 2023 owing to the magnitude of the output gap,...
Yucatán Taking Giant Steps
Yucatán entered the second phase of its tourism reactivation plan in September, reopening cenotes and archeological sites, including Chichén Itzá; most tourist activities and tours; and haciendas, hotels and restaurants, along with limited operation of its congress and conventions centers — all under strict compliance with new sanitary measures and regulations. All businesses must be certified with the Certificate of Good Sanitary Practices developed by the Ministry of Tourism of the state of Yucatán and undergo an on-site review of their facilities by the Yucatán Health...
HKTB Launches Standardized Hygiene Protocol
In a significant stepping up of the city’s fight to control the virus, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a standardized hygiene protocol in partnership with the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA), one of the leading conformity assessment bodies in the territory. The protocol aims to provide a unified set of guidelines on hygiene and anti-epidemic measures for tourism-related industries that customers and visitors can easily recognize and understand to better prepare Hong Kong for the resumption of inbound travel. Dr YK Pang, chairman of the HKTB, said, “The...
HKTB Applauds Hong Kong-Singapore Bubble
An in-principle agreement between Hong Kong and Singapore to create a bilateral Air Travel Bubble (ATB) is giving travellers there reasons to celebrate. The milestone arrangement is designed to help revive cross-border air travel between the two aviation hubs in a safe and progressive way. Hong Kong and Singapore enjoy strong trade, investment, finance, tourism and people-to-people ties. Both cities are major aviation hubs, and the international air route between the two cities was among the busiest in the Asia-Pacific region before the pandemic. Travel links between Hong Kong and...
Planning To Stay Home For The Holidays
In its most recent international tracking study of American travellers, Longwoods International reports that half of American travellers are currently planning to stay home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Years. A similar percentage reported that COVID-19 will greatly impact their travel decisions in the next six months. On the other hand, four in ten American travellers are planning a holiday road trip, while less than a quarter intend to fly. Travellers’ plans for holiday trips are equally split between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hanukkah and...
Finding A New Mission
With a storm rolling in calling for rough seas with strong nautical winds and up to six metre swells, eco-tourism operators Kevin Smith and Russell Markel knew they were racing against time to remove the lift bags filled with tons of marine debris their crew and colleagues had collected over the last five weeks off the north coast of BC. “There’s no way we can be there in those conditions and we were worried that the bags were going to be washed out to sea,” says Markel, the owner of Outer Shores Expeditions, one of five small ship tour operators that made up the Marine Debris...
Guanajuato Gets Back To Business
The central Mexican state of Guanajuato, home to such colonial jewels as San Miguel de Allende and the state’s capital, Guanajuato City, has begun reactivating its tourist trade with the launch of its new brand that uses the slogan “Guanajuato, live great stories.” "We are inviting our visitors and tourists to be the protagonists of their own history, taking as a setting the tourist wealth of our state, as well as our World Heritage Cities, Magical Towns, archeological zones — every corner of Guanajuato,” said Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo. “Today, from the heart...
Don’t Miss Tomorrow’s Sun Peaks’ Agent Webinar
Join Megan Nelson, Senior Market Development Specialist at Tourism Sun Peaks, on Thursday, October 15th at 10am (PST) for a Sun Peaks Webinar. Learn why Canada’s 2nd largest ski area is the ideal destination for your clients this winter. Whether they are skiers or snowboarders, looking to explore the outdoors through unique winter experiences or wanting to cozy up in a condo by the fire with a private hot tub, there is something for everyone. This educational session will include an overview on the destination in both winter and summer, accommodation, activities, terrain and...