Destinations
Dive into The Dominican Republic
As the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in the Americas, Santo Domingo is home to a lot of firsts, writes assistant editor Ann Ruppenstein in this week's Travel Courier cover story. “We’re going to the city Christopher Columbus loved the most,” announced tour guide Carlos Batista as the bus approached the capital of The Dominican Republic. “Santo Domingo is a city of firsts. The first road, first hospital, first cathedral, first university in the New World.” After coming face-to-face with some of the key attractions in the Colonial Zone like Alcázar de...
Air Italy Takes Off With New Toronto-Milan Service
Air Italy is flying high. Representatives from the airline were in Toronto yesterday (May 7) to celebrate the launch of new seasonal non-stop flights between Toronto and Milan — marking its first Canadian route. “Bringing our A330 to Toronto was absolutely outstanding, it was almost unreal coming home and bringing our baby back,” said Air Italy’s Chief Operating Officer Rossen Dimitrov, who has roots in Canada. “It’s been something that we have worked on for such a long time and finally being able to bring the aircraft to Toronto Pearson was outstanding for us.” The new...
Discover America Canada Takes Care Of Business
Discover America Canada held its May Chapter meeting in Toronto yesterday afternoon, welcoming about 35 DMOs representing a host of U.S. destinations. Susan Webb, president of Discover America Canada, updated the gathering on some of the upcoming events, including the annual Canadian reception on June 2 at this year's IPW in Anaheim, California; Discover America Canada Day that's set for Sept. 30 at Toronto's Arcadian Court; and the annual U.S. Thanksgiving Lunch that will be held on Nov. 19 at the Chefs' House at George Brown College in Toronto. The afternoon session also saw Brand...
Team Canada Wins Oregon Road Rally Scavenger Hunt
Team Canada is off and running at the 2019 Oregon Road Rally, winning Day 1’s scavenger hunt by taking the best original selfies at historic locations in Oregon City. The fourth edition of the annual Oregon Road Rally started with a two-day pre-fam in Portland and is now travelling through central and eastern parts of the state. Teams from the US, France, the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Korea, China, New Zealand and Australia are taking part. Watch upcoming issues of Travel Courier and Canadian Travel Press for more on the Beaver State. In the photo (above) Pictured...
Vacation Better With Sunwing
Sunwing is on the road these days, taking its Vacation Better Shows to Canadian agents to help them help their clients to Vacation Better. Press Today had a chance to ask the operator's vice-president of sales, Deana Murphy a number of questions about where agents fit in the company's plans; for some highlights of the new product that they were launching; for an update on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 situation; and, naturally, how they're different from the competition. Here's what Murphy had to say: Press Today: Can you talk about how big a role travel agents have played in the success...
Operators ExploreGB On Land And Sea
A group of Canadian tour operators visiting England for a fam tour and trade conference spent the first part of their trip discovering attractions in the counties of Devon and Cornwall, on both land and water. A cross-country sprint from London Heathrow to Devon ended in the sprawling Bovey Castle, providing a Day One rest for 16 tour operators attending the 2019 edition of the ExploreGB Canadian educational trip. Bovey Castle offers stays in 60 rooms within the rambling estate, plus 22 self-catering country lodges on its grounds. It sits on highlands within Dartmoor National Park,...
Voices Of Travel Discovers Orlando’s Other Side
Home to seven of the world's top theme parks, there are few families anywhere who have not heard of Orlando, Florida. It's a dream destination for most children -- and a bonding adventure for parent and child when they do visit. To capture the true magic of Orlando, you need to go beyond the theme parks to find what makes it special. In this issue, Voices of Travel host, Ron Pradinuk will take readers on a journey to a side of Orlando and the Orange County region that is just as interesting and exciting as the parks, yet only taken advantage of by a small percentage of...
It’s A DATE
The Dominican Republic is coming off a record-breaking year for tourism, thanks in large part to Canadians, reports assistant editor, Ann Ruppenstein in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. Speaking at the recent 20th Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE) in Punta Cana, Paola Rainieri de Díaz, president of the Dominican Republic Association for Hotels and Tourism (ASONAHORES), announced a 6.2% increase in overall tourism to the country 2018, with 6.5 million tourists. Not only does the growth represent 380,000 additional arrivals compared to 2017, but the...