Destinations
Transat Off To Budapest
Air Transat launched Budapest service from Toronto (via Montreal) June 17, restoring direct connections to the Hungarian city for the first time since 2008. Dignitaries greeted passengers at Pearson International, who were also treated to a light buffet and wine. The flight was welcomed by Hungary's consul general to Canada Stefania Szabo, who reported a 5% increase in visitations by Canadians to her homeland last year to a total of 34,000. “Canadians are discovering the not-so-secret that Budapest is hot and trendy,” she said. She noted that Hungary is “charming” beyond...
HVCB Appointment
The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) reports that Erica Neves has joined the bureau as manager of travel trade marketing. She reports to Robyn Basso, senior director, travel industry partnerships. Neves manages the implementation of HVCB’s travel trade marketing efforts, overseeing integration of Island Chapters in all major initiatives and events. She also develops and co-ordinates travel trade events and training, including tradeshows, sales blitzes and webinars. Neves brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in regional tourism marketing, public...
Esrock Writes on the Esoteric in Canada
With spring verging on summer, the time is now for maximizing the usefulness of The Great Canadian Bucket List, by travel writer and TV host Robin Esrock. The author expedites pre-trip research with a guide to some of Canada’s standout attractions and activities, as well as some intriguing, less well known ones. The book is laid out in a west-to-east progression, and features top western Canada draws like the West Coast Trail, the Rocky Mountaineer rail tour and an RV drive on the Ice Fields Parkway. But then there are others to pique interest, like snorkeling with salmon in...
Barcelona FC Coming to Casa de Campo
The Dominican Republic's Casa de Campo resort is inviting people to learn some fancy footwork from people who have mastered the skill. The upscale retreat – found on the country's south coast by the community of La Romana – has a soccer camp available from June 29 to Aug. 7 run by Barcelona's famed soccer team, Barcelona FC, with the resort noting that its guests can learn intricacies of the game from a team that's found success at soccer's highest level. September in turn will see the property open a Jim Courrier Tennis Academy, with Courrier – a former mainstay on the...
Moving Day
United Airlines has announced that it is ceasing operations at Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on Oct. 25, 2015 and will bolster its operations out of Newark Liberty International Airport which will be its New York hub. The move follows United entering into two separate transactions in which Delta Air Lines plans to acquire United's JFK slots; while United plans to acquire slots from Delta in Newark. Each of those transactions is subject to regulatory approval. In announcing the move, United also unveiled plans to bring its “p.s.” Premium Service to Newark Liberty in...
KLM Kicks Off New Schedule to Edmonton
A new non-stop schedule of flights by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Edmonton International Airport has taken flight. The new year-round service is offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and a fourth Friday flight will start on June 22 for the summer. The new route operates with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, including 30 in World business class, 35 in the Economy Comfort Zone, and 178 economy seats. A codeshare agreement with WestJet links travellers to an additional 28 Canadian cities, including Fort McMurray, Winnipeg, Regina and...
Europe Top Of Mind
The latest results of the Long-Haul Travel Sentiment survey – which is a joint initiative of the European Travel Commission (ETC), the European Tourism Association (ETOA) and Eurail Group G.I.E., in partnership with TCI Research – indicates a strong growth potential from long-haul markets for the European tourism sector in the coming summer holiday season (May to August 2015). Despite continued reports of volatile economic conditions and political tensions, survey data collected in the five key markets of Brazil, China, Japan, Russian Federation and the United States of America...
Tourism Ireland Appointment
Tourism Ireland has welcomed a new member to its team. Jonathan Sargeant has joined the Toronto office and will serve as the new trade promotions and e-marketing executive. Sargeant will be responsible for managing Tourism Ireland’s trade promotions, e-marketing/CRM activity and business tourism. He returns to Tourism Ireland having previously worked in the Toronto office for two years from 2011-2013. He has spent the past 14 months working as a marketing specialist with Trafalgar Tours. Sargeant can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 416-925-6368, ext....