Destinations
Sunwing Rewards Agents
For the month of November, Sunwing has partnered with select hotels and resorts in Mazatlan, Mexico to showcase what the “Pearl of the Pacific” has to offer. Until Nov. 30, agents can earn 4% bonus commission and receive STAR Agent Reward Points that convert into cash on all new bookings to Mazatlan. Plus, each time an agent makes a booking to any participating resort in the area, they’ll gain a ballot for a chance to win an all-inclusive vacation for two to the destination. Sunwing is partnering with a number of top-rated resorts to offer reduced rates on select vacation...
Discover Portugal’s Secrets
If you ask Ana Mendes Godinho why Portugal is such a hot destination, she'll smile and politely tell you the following: “I would say that [Portugal] is a warm destination – not hot. It’s warm because of the climate. It’s warm because of the people. It’s warm because of the offer – the value for money that [Portugal offers]. It’s warm because we are a country that has re-invented itself and is showing the world that it is possible to have an alternative model.” Mendes Godinho, who is Portugal's minister of tourism, explains that today, her country is considered a case...
Cuba’s Jardines del Rey ‘Better Than Ever’
September's Hurricane Irma huffed and puffed, but couldn't knock the tourist trade in Cuba's Jardines del Rey down for the count. The Cuba Tourist Board and Sunwing – which has a large presence in those island's off Cuba's north coast – held a Sunday-Monday fam trip that saw about 140 agents visit hotels in Jardines del Rey which were closed following Irma. Most Jardines del Rey hotels have reopened and all will be open by Nov. 15. The Cuba Tourist Board says fast progress was made in repairing damage that it described was mostly cosmetic, but it's concerned travellers will be...
Equus Hotel Welcomes Cruise Passengers
Hawaii's Equus Hotel is offering a 12% discount off the best available rate for cruise passengers who are embarking or disembarking in Honolulu. The hotel is located just 15 minutes from the cruise ship docking location and provides a great value for passengers requiring a pre- or post-cruise night. Guests will enjoy a welcome signature cocktail, the Paniolo Punch, upon arrival in the hotel’s lobby bar, The Paniolo, while rooms offer a refrigerator/freezer, a Keurig coffee-maker with fresh coffee, and complimentary high-speed Internet and WiFi. “Grab and Go” food items are...
Discover the Origins of Halloween – in Ireland!
Halloween is Ireland’s most ancient festival, a potent potion of pagan and Christian meanings, lore and legend. The earliest form was “Samhain,” an end-of-summer festival often known as the Celtic New Year that marked the end of the summer and the harvest and the beginning of the long winter nights. Bonfires were lit, often to provide light for those bringing in livestock from the fields or mountains to be slaughtered for winter. On this day, the Celts believe that the door to the underworld was opened, letting in spirits. They would hold a feast, setting a place for any deceased...
Vermont Set For Big Ski Season
Those in Vermont's tourism trade say going downhill in their state can be uplifting. Vermont tourism officials held a Thursday Toronto gathering touting Vermont as a great ski retreat that offers a wide selection of ski resorts, some close enough to the Quebec border that they can be visited on day trips from Montreal. Mike Chait of Smuggler's Notch – which bills itself as “America's Family Resort” – noted that it is 45 minutes from Quebec and “you can see the skyline of Montreal on a clear day” from the hill. Night owls can ride a chairlift to the summit after dark,...
Spotlight on Peru
Peru is getting ready to ready to bring a new tourism message about a country on the verge of becoming more accessible to a growing number of Canadians. Elisabeth Hakim of Peruvian tourism board PromPeru told a Thursday Toronto audience that the upcoming campaign will be launched Nov. 6. Peruvian tourism officials are highlighting the likes of adventure tourism opportunities in Peru, cultural sides to a country that has many still-standing reminders of the Inca civilization, the natural side of a nation that is mostly Amazon Basin and Peruvian cuisine. “In Peru, you just don't eat...
Ski For Free With Porter, Ski Vermont
Porter Airlines and Ski Vermont have introduced special offers, including free lift tickets, for the winter season. The first 50 Porter Airlines flight reservations made or Porter Escapes vacation packages booked to Vermont receive two free ski lift tickets per booking. Tickets are available for one of the participating resorts: Jay Peak Resort, Smugglers Notch Resort, Stowe Mountain Resort, Sugarbush Resort, and Mad River Glen. Snow lovers attending this weekend’s Toronto Ski and Snowboard Show can also win a Porter Escapes vacation package. Visit the Ski Vermont booth from...