Destinations
Royal Caribbean Sets A Course For Adventure
Royal Caribbean International has unveiled its 2016 Europe and Alaska cruises. The Europe program will feature eight of the region's with its ships sailing from six European homeports and calling at 80 destinations in 27 countries throughout the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Scandinavia and the Baltic. Four of the Europe ships will be new to the region, and Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class ship, Harmony of the Seas, will sail its inaugural season from Barcelona, while Independence of the Seas returns to Southampton. Perfect for family travel in Alaska, Explorer of the Seas will...
Europe Airpost Taking Off From Halifax
Europe Airpost announced it will be offering flights from Halifax to Paris via Dublin beginning July 9 and continuing to Sept. 11, 2015. Jean-Franτois Dominiak, CEO of Europe Airpost, was in Halifax to unveil details of the new flights, talking about the product and announcing a free stop over, in Dublin or in Paris, for the passengers departing from Halifax. Dominiak said: “With this new product we are happy to offer to the passengers from Halifax, the opportunity to visit two major European capital cities, for the price of only one return trip to Europe.” Europe Airpost...
Less Flash, More Function
Less flash and more function, best describes Canadians' travel habits when exploring their own country. That's according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI), although Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver reigned supreme for domestic travellers and international visitors, smaller cities like Kelowna and Kingston were also included in the Top 20 Most Popular Destinations for Canucks. The Index found that international visitors were much more inclined to visit Canada's larger, more iconic attractions like Lake Louise or Mont Tremblant in the Laurentian Mountains. Taylor L. Cole,...
Virginia Showcases Its Cultural Side
Virginia's Cultural Region literally used some vocal word of mouth to get the word out about its historical side during a Wednesday Toronto event. Among those on hand was Benjamin Fiore-Walker, town crier for the City of Alexandria, whose outfit recalled an earlier era in American history in a region that is steeped in history. But those on hand for the event added that the district is also home to a burgeoning wine industry, having around 40 of the some 280 wineries in all of Virginia. Jennifer Buske-Sigal of Visit Loudoun says those visiting the county of Loudoun says wine and...
Go Green For Ireland
As the world gears up to go green on March 17, Tourism Ireland is wishing the world a Happy St. Patrick's Day with Liam Neeson lending his voice to the 2015 campaign. Neeson's dulcet tones will be heard as part of a 60 second film that includes stunning footage of the island of Ireland, interwoven with iconic images of Tourism Ireland's annual Global Greenings that take place every year in celebration of St. Patrick's Day around the globe. Each year thousands of landmarks, iconic sites, statues, buildings and even people and their pets go green to celebrate Ireland and St. Patrick's...
Tourism Terrific For Britain
In this week's digital edition of Travel Courier, managing editor, Michael Baginski reports that the UK is headed for a third successive record year for tourism in 2015, but Canada may not be helping. Based on provisional stats for 2014, arrivals from this country were expected to drop 11% year on year to a total of 773,000 visitors -- that after a 6% jump in 2013. Overall, Canada ranks 14th as a source market for the UK (but No. 10 for spend). Blame for the 2014 decline is being directed largely at the dip in the Canadian dollar, which is now trading at around $1.90 to the pound...
Planning An Escape
MasterCard recently commissioned a survey that explores the travel plans of Canadian and Americans as well as to take a look at the continuing role that technology plays in destination choices. Along with a nifty, and informative video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htuZu8tMLKQ&feature=youtu.be – featuring MasterCard’s vice-president of mobile payments, Nick Dinh, highlights of the survey include: Planning Your Escape: Nearly a quarter (23%) of Canadians say they will be travelling this March Break/Spring Break. Ten per cent say they will be travelling within Canada and...
Dubai Is Flying High
Dubai Tourism and partners touted the Middle Eastern destination to the trade March 10 at its annual Toronto lunch event. The theme? The high-flying city isn't just a stop-over destination for Canadians anymore. On hand were: Tom Civitano, VP sales & marketing, Jumeirah Group; Don McWilliam, Emirates, Canada country manager; Jessica Herring, director, North America, Dubai Tourism; and Robert Zuzek, Kompas...