Destinations
Stronger Tourism Growth Expected For Canada in 2019
The number of overnight visits from both within Canada and international markets is projected to increase by 2% this year, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Travel Markets Outlook reports. While Canadian households are expected to face growing economic and financial challenges heading into 2019, domestic travel volumes are still projected to increase. According to a travel intentions survey, a growing share of Canadian households plan to take a winter vacation, and among those, a slightly higher share plan to stay in Canada for their longest-duration trip. Meanwhile,...
Proposed Rockies Bicycle Path Cancelled
A biking and walking path that Parks Canada had proposed to build parallel to the Icefields Parkway in Alberta has been cancelled. The path was to have followed the Icefields Parkway through the Rockies between Banff and Jasper for 107 km. The path would have been called the Icefields Trail. Nearly $66 million had been allocated for the path and that will now be re-purposed elsewhere in the national parks system. “Parks Canada is committed to the ecological integrity of its parks and historical sites,” the agency said in a news release. “Preliminary feedback from the...
WestJet Introduces 2019 Summer Schedule
WestJet has released its 2019 summer schedule adding more than 40 flights to and from key business and tourism destinations from Toronto, Halifax, St. John's, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. In addition, the airline added Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas to its network and announced a new route between Edmonton and St. John's. “This summer, WestJet again enhanced our schedules to offer travellers more convenience and connectivity to well-loved vacation destinations and major business markets across Canada, the US and beyond,” said Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet chief...
NĀRAT Hosting Deluxe Tunisia Fam
NĀRAT has a 13-day educational Ultimate Tunisia Deluxe FAM taking place May 1-13. From captivating old town Tunis, the blue and white houses of the Mediterranean city of Sidi Bou Said, ancient castles, riding camels in the desert, historic Carthage, the cave dwellings of Matmata, the setting where scenes from the movie Star Wars were filmed, and a luxury tented camping in a Sahara Oasis, travel agents get a chance to experience a country filled with mystery and adventure. A visit to Tunisia incorporates one amazing site after another, including some of the best UNESCO Roman...
Contiki to Host ‘Budapest and Croatia Sailing’ Fam
Contiki is kicking off 2019 by announcing that it will be hosting an open age trade fam for agents this year. Showcasing the best Contiki offers with both land and sea experiences in Budapest and Croatia, the youth adventure travel company will be hosting agents who have completed the mandatory short snackable size training modules on its Contiki U E-learning Training courses. Beginning in Budapest on May 12 and ending in Split on May 18, Contiki’s first fam announcement for 2019 will feature a week of “world class cities, stunning islands, amazing eats such as goulash and...
Carnival Adds Sailings From San Francisco
Following tremendous response to Carnival Cruise Line’s first-ever cruises from San Francisco, the line is adding five voyages from the port to Carnival Miracle’s previously announced inaugural schedule in 2020. Including the five new voyages, Miracle will now offer a total of 27 voyages within the wide-ranging program which includes four-day long weekend sailings to Ensenada, Mexico, 10-day cruises to Alaska and 15- and 16-day voyages to Hawaii from March to September 2020. All voyages are open for reservations. Carnival Miracle’s five new voyages from San Francisco include:...
Jamaica Deal Sees 3,000 New Rooms On The Way
Following discussions with two major Spanish Hotel chains, H10 and Princess Resorts, Jamaica's minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has secured US$750 million in investment that will see the construction of 3,000 new rooms in Jamaica by 2021. H10 Hotels, which will construct 1,000 new rooms in Trelawny at a value of approximately US$250 million, is a hotel chain with more than 55 hotels in 18 destinations. Princess Hotels and Resorts, ranked eighth in the Spanish market has 19 hotels. They will construct 2,000 new rooms in Hanover, to the tune of some US$500 million. In...
Deal Or No Deal?
A Brexit study commissioned by IATA paints a depressing picture for aviation if, as now seems increasingly likely, Britain leaves the European Union with no deal on the table, reports Quebec editor, Mike Dunbar in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. The study, which was unveiled to journalists recently in Geneva, warns that “in the case of no deal there will be no time to negotiate a comprehensive air services agreement between the EU and the UK so a `bare-bones’ agreement will need to be implemented to ensure at least a basic level of connectivity.” But Rafael...