Destinations
See You Soon In St. Kitts — But Not Yet
Unlike its neighbours in the Caribbean, St. Kitts isn’t quite yet ready to welcome back international travellers. Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, said the destination remains closed for air and commercial traffic and no official date has been set for reopening in part because its tourism offer is designed to get travellers to explore beyond the confines of hotels and resorts. “One of the reasons is we had no deaths and we only had 15 cases. A lot of the other Caribbean islands that are reopening before us, they have one or two different types of tourism...
Hong Kong Tourist Board Picks The Winners
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) recently ran a contest for Canadian travel agents, offering advisors who became a Hong Kong Specialist a chance to win one of five $200 gift cards. Advising agents to “Learn more to earn more!,” the HKTB pointed out that the advantages of becoming a HK Specialist included; Equipping yourself to promote Hong Kong and build your business Studying at your own pace and monitoring your progress at a click Keeping abreast of industry news on PartnerNet Course graduates automatically become Club members to enjoy a variety of exclusive...
Luxury Travel Poised To Make A Strong Comeback
A recent ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) survey, of 1000 international travel agents, has revealed that more than 50% of respondents are confident the luxury travel market is poised to rebound within the year. Agents also reported some emerging trends, including luxury automobile rentals, private villa rentals, and private jets. And it’s no wonder as luxury travel offers a controlled and secluded environment that works so well in a socially distanced world. Join Baxter Media TODAY at 1PM EST for a FREE webinar, Selling Luxury Travel, to learn all about luxury travel -...
Refreshing Changes From Anderson Vacations
Anderson Vacations has refreshed, repriced and shortened the duration of a selection of its escorted tours in order to help agents provide their clients with the option of staying close to their home provinces and to keep travel times to a minimum while continuing to provide an enriching travel experience. The September departure of the Anderson Vacations ‘Flavours of Quebec’ tour will now start later in order to make sure that participants see the fall colours in the Laurentians and the Charlevoix region of Quebec. And the September westbound ’Best of the Canadian...
Indigenous Tourism BC Relaunches App
Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) is encouraging residents to safely visit Indigenous tourism businesses using their new Trip Planner mobile app as British Columbia enters Phase 3 of the province’s Restart Plan The app is an intuitive planning resource with educational tools that immerses travellers in the culture, history and raw beauty of BC’s Indigenous territories. Now live, the app features enhanced travel and safety information, including up-to-date operating hours, booking requirements and new community protocols. Under Phase 3 of the BC Restart Plan, residents can resume...
Caribbean Needs New Funding Sources
A new study found that additional sources of funding must be established to help Caribbean tourism withstand future crises. In its recommendations, the new report on the effects of COVID-19 on national destination management and marketing organizations in member countries of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and their early responses to the global pandemic, conducted by the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies (GW IITS) and the CTO. It found that COVID-19 affected the financial health of the tourism organizations, with nearly of all of...
Let’s Get Uncomfortable About Racism
Canadian travel professionals are invited to join a virtual event -- “Let’s Get Uncomfortable: Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Canada’s Travel Industry” – set to take place tomorrow (July 7) from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. ET. With conversations about systemic, anti-Black racism dominating headlines and political discussions, companies are being urged to confront and correct internal biases. The travel industry is among those being taken to task for its lack of diversity, with calls to commit to anti-racist practices from various media outlets and to demonstrate “true...
Brave New World
COVID-19 dealt the travel industry a blow with unimaginable consequences. Although the ripple effect was felt worldwide, as recovery gets underway, Travel Courier talks to a panel of industry leaders to find out what changes can be implemented now to ensure tourism can be a force for good across travellers, wildlife, the environment and local communities. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the travel industry, which is collectively responsible for 10% of the world’s jobs and contributes trillions to global GDP, came to a grinding halt resulting in unprecedented challenges and...