Destinations
Miami Brings The Heat!
It may have been sub-zero temperatures in Toronto last night, but Miami brought the heat as a delegation of tourism officials hosted an evening of all things Miami at the downtown Stratus Restaurant. Led by Suzie Sponder (pictured), senior director of communications, US/Canada, the group included destination and hotel partners, as well as Norwegian Cruise Line. Sponder spoke with PressToday and the stressed the importance of the Canadian market, which continues to send people in record numbers. “It's our number one international market. That's why we're here,” said Sponder,...
HAL Debuts ‘Asia’ Specialist Training Course
Adding to its collection of global sales tools, Holland America Line (HAL) debuted a new Holland America Line Academy Specialist Course that supports travel agents in selling the premium brand’s Asia cruises. Called “Asia: Ancient, Modern and Miraculous,” the online course helps agents increase their cruise sales by giving insider tips and tools around those itineraries. The course takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete and includes information about the advantages of a Holland America cruise in the region. Travel advisors learn how to identify and sell to the best...
Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau Appointment
The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) has appointed Kainoa Daines to the newly created position of director of culture and product development. Daines previously served as the director of sales for the Oahu Visitors Bureau, a HVCB Island Chapter, for nearly eight years and a cultural advisor to HVCB for nearly seven years. Daines will ensure that HVCB’s destination marketing efforts not only align with appropriate cultural standards, but also preserve and advance the Hawaiian culture in all aspects of the Hawaii visitor industry. He will be responsible for the design,...
Air Canada Ups Capacity to ‘Magical’ Oregon
Air Canada's Simona Cercel, tourism and sales development manager, took advantage of a Tuesday night Travel Oregon event in Toronto to announce that it is nearly doubling capacity on flights from Toronto to Portland this spring. The carrier is enhancing its daily Toronto service, from May 24 to Oct. 25, by moving from 97-seat Embraer 90 aircraft to Rouge service, aboard an Airbus A319, seating 136 (including 12 Premium Rouge). Air Canada also offers flights to Oregon from Calgary and Vancouver. Oregon's current tourism campaign is dubbed “Only Slightly Exaggerated” and...
Switzerland Reaches New Heights
Switzerland has reached new peaks in popularity in Canada. According to tourism data from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, Canadian arrivals and overnights increased once more in 2018 compared to the previous year, concluding in another record year. The latest numbers show an increase of 9,6% in Canadian arrivals in Switzerland in 2018, for a total of 126,198. The number of overnight stays was 270,959, an increase of 9,4% compared to 2017. Commenting on the results, Pascal Prinz, director Canada for Switzerland Tourism, said: “Canadians feel rejuvenated and truly alive...
Discovering Undiscovered Britain
It was a hearty and stalwart group of travel agents who made their way – through a major winter storm -- to the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto yesterday (Feb. 27) afternoon to discover, courtesy of the Globus family of brands and VisitBritain, Undiscovered Britain. As agents attending enjoyed afternoon tea, Stéphanie Bishop, managing director of the Globus family of brands in Canada, explained the company's new Undiscovered Britain program. She noted that although Great Britain is not a new destination, what surprises her is how many agents have either never visited...
Exclusive: Canadian Agents Pick The World’s Top Beaches
As snow piles up across the country and temperatures continue to drop, many Canadians long for a hot beach escape. From remote stretches of sand in far-flung locales to the ever-popular Caribbean getaways, there are a bounty of spectacular places for travellers to soak up the sun, whether they seek white, pink or even black sand. So, where exactly should your clients go to hit the beach this winter? Well as part of Baxter Media’s annual Agents’ Choice voting process, Travel Courier Digital got the travel trade to weigh-in with their picks for the best beaches around the...
SEA Flight News By SQ Comes With Big Prize
A night of information gathering by attendees at a recent Singapore Airlines (SQ) event turned into something much bigger for meetings consultant Alex Frias of International Conference Services of Vancouver. Frias was on the receiving end of a randomly drawn prize package that includes return flights to Singapore on Singapore Airlines with a space-available upgrade designation. He will be onboard one of the new flights that will be departing from Seattle (SEA) as of Sept. 3, when the new non-stop service to Singapore begins. The package also includes a three-night stay at the...