Destinations
Iberostar Raises The Bar In Cuba
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts is upping its game in Cuba. Not only has the company, which has a portfolio of more than 120 four-and-five star hotels in 18 countries across three continents, significantly increased the number of properties and hotel rooms in the Caribbean destination, but it's continuing to raise quality standards across the board to be in line with its global operations, writes assistant editor, Ann Ruppenstein in this week's issue of Canadian Travel Press. “Our position in Cuba, our approach to the future is to be leaders in quality, leaders in number of hotels...
Major Renos For Casino At St. Eugene
Large-scale renovations have been announced for the Casino of the Rockies at the St. Eugene Resort in Cranbrook, BC. Work on the redesign is starting this month and is expected to take under three months to complete, wrapping up in late June 2019. The casino will be open through each renovation phase and minimal impacts to the guest experience are expected. Plans include revamping the gaming floor with design elements inspired by nature, and brightening the space significantly with ambient lighting to reflect day and nighttime skies. A new full-service restaurant concept will be...
Mexico Celebrates Successful Tianguis
Mexican tourism minister Miguel Torruco is eager to close the gap between the number of visitors his country receives and the amount of money they spend. Torruco said during the closing of the country’s Tianguis tourism show this week, that Mexico is now the seventh most-visited country in the world but ranks 16th in tourism revenues, leaving 15 nations ahead of it. The measure of tourism success shouldn’t be the number of visitors a nation hosts but the money it earns through tourism, he told his Acapulco audience. Mexico also lags somewhat when it comes to the amount the...
Fort Worth: Cowboy Cool And Lots More
Home to rodeo and the Stockyards National Historic District, as well as the world's largest honky-tonk, travellers can certainly get their cowboy on when visiting Fort Worth, writes assistant editor, Greg Coates in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. In the late 19th century, Fort Worth became an important trading post for cowboys at the end of the Chisholm Trail. Today, it is modern and one of the fastest growing cities in the US. The Texas city has come of age with many international art institutions like the Kimbell Art Museum helping put it on the map. “We're not...
Germany Gears Up For 100 Years of Bauhaus
While the roots of the Bauhaus movement stem from Weimar, Germany, its influence has shaped many cities around the world — even in Canada. In Toronto yesterday (April 11) to highlight the Centenary of the Bauhaus along with the German National Tourist Office, Judith König of the Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt said evidence of the school of design can be found in a gas station in Montreal and Toronto’s TD Centre, which were commissioned by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a pioneer of modernist architecture and one of the former directors of the Bauhaus school. “The...
“I’m Ready To Go”
If you ask Angella Bennett whether she's had time to settle in as she takes on her new post as the Jamaica Tourist Board's regional director – Canada, she'll smile and tell you that she was appointed on April 1, arrived in Canada on April 7 and was hard at work on April 8, observing: “I'm settled. [Canada] is such a familiar market … and I'm ready to go.” In fact, during the course of this past week, Bennett has been joined here by the JTB's director of tourism, Donovan White and the deputy director of tourism – the Americas, Donnie Dawson, as well as the JTB's district sales...
A Lifetime Of Achievement
During the recent BC Tourism Industry Conference, a special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Arlene Keis, CEO of go2HR, by the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC). This special Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual for their long-serving tenure in BC’s tourism industry and their remarkable contributions to the industry’s success. "Each one of us in the industry relies on go2HR, almost on a daily basis," said Walt Judas, CEO of TIABC. "Arlene’s list of accomplishments is lengthy." Under her 17 years of leadership, Keis established go2HR as the...
Gaviota Sees New Opportunities For Cuba
The Gaviota Tourism Group and representatives from a number of fine hotels across Cuba are touring Canada this week. In Toronto on April 9 and Montreal on April 10, the representatives are here to highlight the extensive upgrades and developments taking place across in Cuba in 2019. “Canada is one of Cuba's main markets with more than 1 million visitors per year, “ said Frank Oltuski, Vice President, Gaviota Tourism Group. “This year is exciting as Havana, Cuba's vibrant capital, celebrates its 500th anniversary and we share new opportunities for growth, diversity, and our...