Destinations
Spotlight on Arizona
Blessing McAnlis-Vasquez' employer correctly bet that there's no shortage of people wanting to bet. McAnlis-Vasquez is marketing manager for Arizona's Talking Stick, which bills itself as a cultural and entertainment destination found on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian reservation, which in turn is in a location that provides quick access to urban life. And among the Talking Stick's tourist attributes is Talking Stick Resort, a 496-room, 15-floor retreat that features casino gambling all day and night, every day and night, she said during a Wednesday Arizona gathering in...
Topdeck Moves Into Asia
Topdeck Travel, which specializes in trips for 18- to 30-somethings, is expanding its global reach with the launch of 11 new trips in Asia. The program adds a new continent to the tour operator's current mix of destinations, spanning Europe, Australia & New Zealand, North America, Egypt & the Middle East and Africa. Trips feature smaller group sizes and local guides for an authentic Asian experience. Topdeck’s global brand director, Sarah Clark, said the decision to move into Asia was part of a bigger growth plan to meet the demands of the youth travel market. “The...
Air Canada Unveils Major US Expansion
Air Canada has unveiled new non-stop services between four key Canadian hubs and 12 US cities beginning in the summer of 2016. The new transborder routes will introduce new destinations that will include Toronto-Washington-Dulles; Toronto-Salt Lake City and Vancouver-San Jose, and will also create new city-pair routings, like Vancouver-Chicago, Montreal-Houston, Montreal-Denver, Montreal-Philadelphia and Calgary-San Francisco. The carrier's president, passenger airlines, Benjamin Smith observed, “Air Canada is the foreign carrier operating the most flights to the US, carrying the...
Halifax Stanfield Goes to the Dogs
Therapy dogs are familiar sight in hospitals, retirement homes and care facilities, but now we can add Halifax Stanfield International Airport to the list. Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA), together with St. John Ambulance, recently launched the airport therapy dog program. Seven dogs (along with their handlers) will now make regularly scheduled visits to the airport. Passengers and visitors will have the opportunity to meet the therapy dogs on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning at 1 p.m. “We know airports can be stressful places for some people,” says Joyce Carter,...
Thailand Unveils New ‘Joyful’ Logo
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has unveiled a “joyful” new logo, designed to “evoke the friendship, fun and happiness that tourists inevitably feel when they visit this lovely kingdom in Southeast Asia.” According to officials, the Thai people are known for their welcoming hearts, friendly attitudes and happy smiles, which is exactly what the “Amazing Thailand” logo evokes. Using the subtle elements of the “As” in “Thailand,” TAT now has a motif that resembles smiling eyes, combined with the smile symbol to form a person’s smiling face. The colours...
‘Bison, Beer & Bluegrass’
It was an evening of “Bison, Beer & Bluegrass” in Toronto last night as a delegation of Colorado tourism officials hosted a “Taste of Colorado” event in the city's Distillery District. Partnered with Air Canada, which is celebrating 20 years of service into Denver, the event featured all things Colorado, including cuisine, craft beer and bluegrass musician Greg Blake (pictured below). A four-season destination, Colorado is known for its geographic diversity and offers everything from national parks and outdoor adventure to cosmopolitan cities and quaint, welcoming towns....
Hidden Journeys With Trafalgar
Trafalgar has released its new 2016 “Hidden Journeys” brochure offering guided vacations to “hard-to-reach and less-visited destinations” in groups of no more than 26 guests. Featuring 16 itineraries to Europe, North, South and Central America and Asia, travellers are invited to enjoy more unusual and authentic experiences off the beaten track. The program offers guests numerous value-added inclusions including daily breakfast, an average of 50% of evening meals, VIP access and front-of-the-line access at major sites, free WiFi on their motor coaches and free airport transfers...
Agents Discover Fattal Hotels
About 50 travel agents and tour operators were on hand for an early morning breakfast hosted by the Israel Government Tourist Office (IGTO), El Al and Fattal Hotels yesterday. The event provided those attending with an update on the latest news from both IGTO and El Al, plus a primer on Fattal Hotels and its numerous properties in Israel. After presenting an upbeat video, Israel: Seeing is believing, that showcased the destination's cities, culture, natural wonders, history and lots more, Melman told her audience that so fare in 2015, Israel had welcomed 57,000 Canadian visitors. She...