Destinations
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...
Whatever, Whenever, Whichever
It's all about flexibility as Sunquest’s program to London and Paris offers the ability to book any duration, any travel date, and choose from a selection of airlines. The program offers departures out of either Toronto, with service to London and Paris, or Montreal, with service to Paris. With daily frequency available year-round, Sunquest packages include roundtrip airfare aboard Air Canada, Air Transat, Air France or British Airways, and a range of hotel options (11 in London and nine in Paris). Transfers, tours and theatre tickets are also available at an additional...
In The Forecast
International visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific destinations will continue their growth momentum over the next five years, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Visitor Arrivals Forecasts for the period 2015 to 2019. Preliminary estimates indicate that the rate of growth over that period will average between 5% and 6% per annum to generate an aggregate inbound count of more than 670 million by the end of 2019. PATA CEO Mario Hardy said: “According to the PATA Visitor Arrivals Forecasts, 38 destinations in the period 2015 to 2019 will see more than 158 million additional...
Explore The Possibilities
In its latest marketing campaign, the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC) is encouraging visitors to "Explore the Possibilities in Northern Ontario" in 2015. Working with tourism partners from Northern Ontario, the OTMPC campaign shares the endless, range of opportunities available in the North. A key piece of the marketing campaign is the distribution of 810,000 copies of the new Explore the Possibilities in Northern Ontario magazine. The magazine contains a distinctive 'flip-the-book' feature with half of the publication dedicated to activities across Northern...