Destinations
Icelandair Going Year-Round from YVR
Due to increased demand from Vancouver, Icelandair is increasing its current seasonal service to Iceland to a full year-round schedule starting this winter. Icelandair offers three cabins of service with one checked bag, personal in-flight entertainment systems and gate-to-gate Wi-Fi available for all passengers. The expanded Icelandair service will further strengthen YVR and Icelandair’s successful partnership, which started with the launch of its YVR-Keflavik International Airport (KEF) service in 2014. The flight will continue to use the Boeing 757 aircraft and will depart YVR...
RVC 2017 Kicks Off In Calgary
The first day of Rendez-vous Canada 2017 is now in the books, and host city Calgary has rolled out the welcome mat with soft spring weather and their famous cowboy vibe. Wide-brimmed hats, cowboy boots and Calgary Flames jerseys are all in the house – which is the BMO Centre in this case, serving as the RVC 2017 venue until May 12, reports Press Today's Ted Davis from the show. The conference portion of RVC got underway with a review of Canada tourism source markets, the afternoon Inside Track session presented by Destination Canada. Over about three hours, reps from the primary...
Expect the Unexpected
Provence and Côte d'Azur were in the spotlight yesterday as a delegation of tourism officials held industry events in Toronto showcasing France's second most visited region (next to Paris). The road show, featuring nearly 40 tourism partners from France, started in Montreal, moved to Toronto and now moves on to Boston and New York. From Canada, officials are celebrating new direct Air Canada service from Montreal to Marseilles, starting June 9. Located in southern France, Provence and Côte d'Azur sport 300 days of sunshine a year and are known for their “joie de vivre”...
Tourism to Germany is Booming
In spite of the many challenges affecting tourism to Europe, Germany posted record results for the 7th straight year with 80.8 million registered international overnights in 2016 — a growth of 1.1 million from the previous year, reports Press Today's Ann Ruppenstein from this year's Germany Travel Mart. Citing economic reasons like Brexit, and security concerns surrounding terrorist attacks as some of the factors impacting inbound tourism, Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), told the international trade gathered from 53 countries at...
Making The World A Little Better
The 43rd annual Germany Travel Mart officially kicked-off last night (May 7) with an opening ceremony highlighting Nuremberg, Bavaria and destination Germany at the Nuremberg Opera House, reports Press Today's assistant editor, Ann Ruppenstein who's attending this year's GTM. More than 500 travel professionals and buyers from 53 countries, including a Canadian contingency, are on hand for the B2B event, which runs until May 9, marking the biggest number of participating countries to date. “Let me make some remarks to the current situation, the tourist situation. Dear guests, a lot...
Where’s the Interest?
It has been a year since the US government eased its restrictions on travel to Cuba and according to a new survey by Allianz Global Assistance, Americans today are less interested in taking a trip to the country than they were in 2016. The 2017 survey revealed that 40% of Americans would be interested in taking a trip to Cuba (2% fewer than in 2016) while the easing of travel restrictions made just 26% of Americans more interested in visiting the country (9% fewer than 2016). However, 76% reported being unlikely to plan a trip to Cuba (6% more than 2016). While safety concerns (38%...
Irish PM Talks Tourism In Toronto
If there was any doubt as to the importance of tourism to Ireland, it was erased last week when Enda Kenny, the country's Prime Minister, stepped up to the podium in Toronto to tell a hand-picked group of this country's top tourism executives just what the industry means to the Emerald Isle. Ireland is certainly doing exceptionally well these days as tourism visitor numbers hit record levels out of Canada in 2016, growing by 16% to over 220,000 – close to a 40% rise since 2014. Tourism Ireland officials note that those gains – driven by the significant increase in air lift and...
WestJet Ramps Up Abbotsford Lift
WestJet is applauding Abbotsford and the Abbotsford International Airport for their plans to eliminate the airport improvement fee (AIF) on June 1, 2017. It's perfect timing as WestJet has launched non-stop service between Abbotsford and Winnipeg and increased frequency on the route between Abbotsford and Edmonton from 13 to 20 weekly flights. Brian Znotins, vice-president network planning, alliances and corporate development for WestJet, observed: “The leadership demonstrated by Abbotsford International Airport sets a standard we hope others will follow. Low fees allow us to...