Destinations
Celebrating China-Canada Tourism
Chinese tourism authorities used a kung fu performance in Toronto Wednesday night to kick-start this year being China-Canada Tourism Year. September 2016 saw the governments of both China and Canada agree to heighten two-way tourism between the countries, with a goal of doubling the 2015 number of visitors by year 2025. Both governments believe they're on track to reach the figure, with direct air capacity between Canada and China increasing 24.8% last year and 13 cities in the two countries now linked with direct air service. Mutual tourist visits crossed the 1.5 million mark...
Swoop Increases Frequency Out of Hamilton
Low-fare carrier Swoop is adding a fourth Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet and an increased weekly frequency schedule out of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ont. beginning Aug. 16. The announcement comes less than two months after Swoop announced its initial schedule release on Feb. 1, with service starting from Abbotsford, Hamilton, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax, beginning June 20. The addition of a fourth aircraft will increase weekly frequency almost two-fold for Hamilton-Edmonton and Hamilton-Abbotsford, while service from Hamilton to Halifax and...
Hotel X Toronto Welcomes First Guests
Hotel X Toronto by Library Hotel Collection has welcomed its first guests as the first step in its soft opening phase. The luxury hotel, located in the heart of Exhibition Place, is now able to welcome guests in 404 lakefront rooms and suites, with a plan in place to have amenities and public areas open in phases in the upcoming months. When complete, officials are describing the development as Toronto’s “first lakefront urban oasis, complete with four indoor tennis courts, two outdoor pools, two cinemas, four food and beverage outlets, and TEN X TORONTO, the largest hotel athletic...
Vancouver Sets New Tourism Record
The results are in, and 2017 was another record year for Vancouver’s tourism industry. Tourism Vancouver year-end data shows 2017 overnight visitation to Metro Vancouver was 10,345,867 million people, an increase of 3% over 2016. This represents a new best for the city's tourism industry and the fourth consecutive record-breaking year. Officials say that many factors played a role in 2017’s strong tourism performance. Key among them are Tourism Vancouver’s sales and marketing initiatives in 11 countries worldwide; and strategic marketing partnerships with Destination Canada,...
New Web Series Offers California Travel Tips
A new web series from Visit California, “California 101,” is set to answer agents' and visitors’ most asked questions about travel to the Golden State. Kicking off with 35 visually stunning, yet information-rich videos, the series shows agents and their clients how to see and do some of the best destinations and experiences in California – a great planning tool as Canadians look to plan summer vacations. “California 101 allows travellers to see different trip ideas in video format, and then click through to web content for a deeper dive into the details of trip...
Ireland Is Epic
Air Canada's global sales team – along with officials from Tourism Ireland and Shannon Airport – hosted about 150 tour operators, travel agents and members of the Irish community in Toronto last night to celebrate the carriers new flights to Ireland. Virgilio Russi, senior director sales, Canada for the airline, welcomed the crowd, telling them that the addition of the Toronto-Shannon and Montreal-Dublin services (which begin in June) will certainly give them “lots of seats to sell.” Russi added that the new Ireland routes will be the first to feature Air Canada's new Boeing...
Tourism Arrivals Set to Bloom in France
A new focus on the floral beauties of France has been devised to add a greater bloom to the French tourism picture this year. You don’t have to be an agronomist or gardening enthusiast to know that France has some of the most remarkable gardens in the world, appealing to anyone who appreciates natural beauty. The new program puts an exclamation mark on that. The “In Bloom” program assembles the best of France’s gardens and parks for their time in the spotlight. There are 450 gardens and parks in Paris alone. “Although green spaces don’t necessarily bring new...
ACV Adds New Routes, Frequencies
Air Canada Vacations (ACV) is continuing to put a strong emphasis on growing and enhancing its Sun product. The tour operator is introducing new routes and increasing capacity and frequency to kick off the summer 2018 booking season. ACV will launch a new route from Toronto to Puerto Vallarta, which will be operated by Air Canada Rouge twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays), starting May 2. In addition, ACV has increased frequencies: From Montreal: To Cancun, from seven to nine times per week with two additional flights between June 23 and Sept. 1 (Wednesdays and Saturdays); to...