Destinations
Costa Rica Seeks Medical Travellers
The Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rica Medicine is saying wait a minute to Canadians resigned to long waits for some medical and dental procedures. Massimo Manzi, the agency's executive director, told a Toronto gathering Tuesday (Aug. 11) that Costa Rica saw 48,000 medical travellers in 2011, and the number is rising. About 11% of current medical travellers are Canadians seeking the likes of knee and hip replacements, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery and dental work in a smallish country that Roberto Dormond-Cantu said has a medical system that's similar to...
Aeromexico Offers New YVR-Mexico City Service
A new daily non-stop service between Vancouver YVR and Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX) in Mexico City by Aeromexico is set to start flying on Dec. 9. Aeromexico will operate a Boeing 737-700 aircraft with seat capacity for 124 passengers, including 12 in the business class cabin. Flight AM696 will leave MEX daily at 6:00 p.m. and arrive at YVR at 10:05 p.m. the same day. Flight AM697 will leaves YVR at 11:20 p.m. and arrives at MEX at 7:00 a.m. the following...
Don’t Miss The Bus
After focusing solely on Europe since 1998, freestyle travel brand Busabout recently added Asia to its repertoire. The expansion includes itineraries in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma, reports staff writer, Ann Ruppenstein in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. “We've had a brochure out for six to seven months, but it actually started operating in May, and forward bookings for us are fantastic,” explained Damien Bennett, director of sales for North America at Busabout. “We've got some great stuff mainly focusing on South-East Asia.” The bulk of...
VoX Named Canadian Rep for Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia has selected VoX International as its representation office in Canada. VoX will be responsible for developing partnerships and new business opportunities for Tourism Australia and forging relationships with the travel trade, tour operators and airlines to further promote the destination in Canada. Jane Whitehead, Tourism Australia's vice-president and regional general manager for the Americas, said the appointment would ensure Tourism Australia continues to build on its already strong representation in Canada. Canada is an important and growing destination for...
Transat Expands Sun Savvy Collection
Transat has added 12 resorts in seven new destinations to its Sun Savvy Collection. The collection, which is specifically designed to offer quality vacations at affordable prices, now includes 31 hotels in 21 sun destinations. There is a range of 3.5- to 4-star resorts, 19 of which are exclusive to Transat in Canada, available in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, St. Martin/St. Maarten, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia and Haiti. The collection’s new destinations include San Jose in Costa Rica, Holguin in Cuba, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos in Mexico as well as...
Marco Polo Returns, Montreal Set To Celebrate
On Aug. 13, the Marco Polo will return to the Port of Montréal for a 24-hour visit and 50th anniversary celebrations. To mark its arrival, the Montréal Cruise Committee is encouraging Montrealers and visitors to make their way to the Old Port's boardwalk at 8:15 a.m. when the ship is scheduled to arrive with 750 guests and 220 crew members aboard. To welcome the Marco Polo, there will be a water show with jets sprayed from tugboats owned by Ocean Group. In 1965, Germany's Wismar shipyard delivered to Russia a cruise ship named after the celebrated Russian poet Alexandr Pushkin....
Hornblower Welcomes its One-Millionth Visitor
In what has been a super summer season for tourism in Niagara Falls this year, Hornblower Niagara Cruises welcomed its one-millionth customer of the season Friday (Aug. 7), a full nine days earlier that it reached the milestone last year. At 10 a.m. on Friday, Barrie, Ont. resident Rachael Pintos, with her children Gabriel, 7, and Mila, 3, and her nephew Lucas George, 10, as well as Bradford, Ont.’s, David Lacroix and his children Addison, 7, Lexie, 6, and Piper, 3, boarded the Hornblower Niagara Cruises Catamaran for an up-close look at the iconic Falls. The family pushed the...
England Pilgrimage Will Seek The Holy Grail
Did the uncle of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, bring the goblet used in The Last Supper when he visited England? A May 8-18, 2016, Vancouver-based Sacred Earth Journeys sacred sites tour will examine not only the Grail legend, but also places associated with King Arthur, Lady Guinevere and Merlin. The “King Arthur's Avalon” tour will be led by Phil Cousineau host of the “i television series Global Spirit and author of the bestseller, The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred. Highlights of the itinerary include excursions to Glastonbury, where a thorn tree...