Destinations
Whole Lotta Haggis Going On
Visit Scotland and about a dozen partners called in Toronto late last week to update travel agents and wholesalers on what's going on in the bonnie nation. Workshops and networking were on the agenda, with the event also taking place in Montreal. If that wasn't enough, the Toronto group of agents and Scots specialists were treated to a whiskey tasting and haggis lunch, complete with traditional “piping in” ceremony (shown) and Robert Burn's tribute to the national dish of Scotland, which is notoriously cooked in a sheep's stomach. Visit Scotland assistant marketing manager -...
MSC Sails Into Sarande
MSC Cruises has released details of its itineraries in the Mediterranean for the 2017 summer season, and for its itineraries in the Antilles for the 2017-2018 winter season. The cruise company also released today updated itineraries for its ships serving the Caribbean between December 2017 and May 2018. Starting in April 2017, MSC Cruises will add a new destination to its Eastern Mediterranean itineraries, becoming the first global cruise line to call at the port of Sarande in Albania on a weekly basis. MSC Poesia passengers departing from Venice will have the opportunity to...
Taking Care Of Haiti
To provide help to the people of Haiti severely affected by Hurricane Matthew, Air Transat will operate a humanitarian flight from Montreal to Port-au-Prince on Nov. 15, 2016. On that flight, the carrier will be transporting emergency supplies provided by the charity Food For The Poor Canada, including supplies to help prevent the spread of cholera, along with aid workers from various charitable organizations. Jean-François Lemay, president of Air Transat, observed that: “For 20 years, Air Transat and Haiti have had a longstanding partnership in the areas of economic and tourism...
New Opportunities For Tourism
Inbound arrivals to Saudi Arabia will reach over 20 million by 2020, as the religious tourism sector flourishes in line with increasing demand to join the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the most important religious event of the year in the Muslim world, according to consumer insight firm Canadean. The company’s latest report finds that the Hajj represents a major tourism opportunity for both domestic and international stakeholders, particularly hotel groups and tour operators, as over two million pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia in September to visit Islam’s holiest site in...
Transat Adds An Exclusive In Jamaica
Transat has added a 16th Decameron property – the all-inclusive Royal Decameron Cornwall Beach – to its line of hotels. Available exclusively through Transat, this brand new 4-star resort near Montego Bay, in Jamaica, just 4 km from the airport, will be opening its doors on Nov. 15, 2016. In addition to its location directly on Cornwall Beach, the property features over 140 modern rooms and four suites, each with an ocean view, in a five-storey building. For more, go to http://www.transat.com...
Ready To Tee Off At Sandals, BTM Golf Tournament
The 22nd annual Canadian Travel industry Golf Tournament presented by Baxter Travel Media and Sandals Resorts gets underway today at Sandals Golf & Country Club in Jamaica. Travel agents and industry personnel from across Canada, including reps from Air Canada Vacations, TravelBrands, House of Travel and WestJet, are on hand to take part in two days of golfing and evening activities. Follow us at twitter.com/CdnTravelPress for photos from the course and stay tuned for more coverage in Monday’s PressToday. Pictured at a welcome event last night (Oct. 20) at Sandals Ochi...
Time To Flock To Florida
Visit Florida along with more than a dozen of its partners were in Toronto earlier this week to update the Canadian travel trade on all that's going on in the Sunshine State this winter. In fact, Summer Gonzalez of Visit Florida offered Canadian vacationers a warm welcome. “We're opening our arms to share the warmth with Canadians,” Gonzalez said, after reminding her audience that winter was fast approaching and Florida was more than happy to offer a warm respite from the cold, snow, heavy coats and boots and all of the other annoyances of that season. On hand to update trade...
Take Off To The Azores
Rui Amen hopes that watersports enthusiasts who have never vacationed in the middle of the Atlantic will 'fin-ally' do so. Amen, with the Azores Promotion Board, told an Oct. 19 Toronto event that the Azores is “one of the top five places in the world” for whale-watching, and the archipelago is also becoming one of the “hot spots in the Atlantic for diving. It's a perfect place for you to see a dolphin while you're diving” and also “one of the best places to dive with blue sharks,” Amen added, with the latter not considered a dangerous activity. Wreck diving is also...