Destinations
Package Tours Limit Satisfaction
Now this is a little bit disturbing. A new study reports that package tours can result in low tourist satisfaction even though they are economically advantageous. The study was conducted by assistant professor Markus Schuckert, Professor Haiyan Song and Dean Kaye Chon of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and reported that the dissatisfaction with package tours arises from the information asymmetry between tour operators and customers in emerging markets. Focusing on mainland Chinese outbound tours to Hong Kong, the...
L.A. Celebrates Record Numbers
If the US is experiencing a decrease in visitor numbers, it seems Los Angeles is not taking part. The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (L.A. Tourism) reports that Los Angeles County hosted a record-setting 47.3 million visitors last year – including seven million international visitors – injecting an all-time high US$21.9 billion into the local economy. The new visitor spend milestone is US$1.3 billion more than 2015’s total, an increase of 6.3%. The celebratory announcement coincides with National Travel and Tourism Week, organized by the U.S. Travel Association to...
Bucking The Trend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is preparing to open a downtown Toronto office to serve all of Canada, a move that would see it bucking a trend in recent years of having tourist boards close physical office space and have staff work from home in the age of the Internet. Kayla Shubert, who carries the flag for the tourism authority in this country, told a Tuesday Toronto gathering that the plan is for the office to open in September or October and have multiple employees. Currently, Shubert is the TAT's only Canada-based representative and she, like her predecessor, works from...
WestJet Launches Calgary’s First Non-Stop to Nashville
WestJet has launched new, non-stop service between Calgary and Nashville (Metropolitan Nashville Airport). The carrier is now offering twice-weekly access to Nashville from Calgary. WestJet began service to Nashville from Toronto in 2016 and currently flies daily on WestJet Encore. Flights from Calgary to Nashville will be operated on WestJet's Boeing 737 aircraft featuring the enhanced Plus product and WestJet Connect, WestJet's inflight entertainment system, which is accessed directly through smartphones, tablets or...
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...