Destinations
WestJet Expands Halifax Service
WestJet is expanding its service from Halifax Stanfield International Airport with the release of its 2015 summer schedule, making official – WestJet Encore is now serving Canadians coast to coast. “Halifax is at the core of our service increase across Atlantic Canada, now marking WestJet Encore’s presence from coast to coast,” said Ferio Pugliese, president, WestJet Encore. “Within two years of the launch of WestJet Encore, and with the support of our guests and the hard work of WestJetters across the country, we will have grown from two aircraft serving five cities in...
Israel Tourism Soars
It seems Americans are falling for the Holy Land as, “2014 broke the record for American tourism to Israel,” reports Uri Steinberg, Israel Tourism Commissioner for North America. “While the increase is modest over 2013,” Steinberg continued, “it is a considerable achievement in light of the troubles that affected our region during the summer of 2014,” he said. Steinberg went on to explain that he believes many Americans see Israel as a '”bucket-list, must-see” destination, for whom, he continued, “it's not a matter of 'if' to visit Israel, but 'when.'” The US...
ASTA Supports Cuba Initiatives
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has commended the Obama Administration for taking another giant step toward allowing Americans to travel freely to Cuba. In regulations issued last week by the Commerce and Treasury departments, travel agents will be legally unencumbered from selling authorized travel services to Cuba, effective upon publication in the Federal Register. “It is a long-standing policy at ASTA that travel freedoms should not be used as a pawn in matters of foreign policy,” said president and CEO Zane Kerby. “On behalf of our US-based members, we have...
A Taste of St. Croix
Hotels on the sun-and-rum-soaked island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands have announced packages for the 2015 St. Croix Food & Wine Experience, which will dish out a series of fundraising events April 12-18. Vacation packages offer car rentals, tickets to events, meals and more. Hotel taxes and service charges are additional unless noted and restrictions may apply. St. Croix Food & Wine Packages need to be booked with the hotel. Packages are as follows: The Buccaneer The Buccaneer Culinary Getaway is $2,990 and includes five nights in ocean-view accommodations, a...
Dine Out Vancouver
Special room rates and packages in Vancouver are on the horizon, in preparation for the Dine Out Vancouver Festival, which returns for its 13th anniversary, Jan. 16 to Feb. 1. Gourmands can opt for a foodie getaway, as a number of hotels are offering discounted room rates of $78, $108 and $138 per night, plus Dine Out packages. Some 200-plus restaurants around the city are offering prix fixe menus, with price points of $18, $28 and $38 per person. There are also themed events like Street Food City, a gathering of the city’s popular food carts over a week. The Film Feast at the...
Shuffling Off To Buffalo
Sunwing will begin Buffalo-Cancun service Saturday (Jan. 17), with the tour operator predicting that it will be carrying significant numbers of people from both sides of the Canada-US border to the Mexican sunspot. Sunwing – which earlier bought US tour operator Vacation Express – expects to see many southern Ontario residents heading to Cancun from Buffalo and also boarding Sunwing planes that will begin flying from Buffalo to Punta Cana as of Valentine's Day, with the company's Lawrence Elliott telling a Toronto audience Thursday that “the cost of flying out of Buffalo is...
Vegas By The Numbers
What goes on in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas. The following are some interesting facts about Las Vegas for 2014, a year in which the capital of fun hosted more than 40 million visitors: 7,982,550 pillows fluffed at MGM Grand. 3.2 million people visited The Adventuredome at Circus Circus. 1 million Hershey’s Kisses distributed across Las Vegas to celebrate the opening of Hershey’s Chocolate World at New York-New York. 729,753 pizza slices were served at Shawn McClain’s FIVE50 Pizza Bar at ARIA. 267,436 toilet paper rolls were used by the Blue Man Group at Monte...
Record-Setting Huddle Wraps Up
Florida Huddle concludes today (Jan. 16) having set records for participation, including a strong contingent of travel trade and media from Canada. The annual state travel trade show, in its second year of being run by VISIT FLORIDA, was held over two days and three nights at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Centre. PressToday's Mike Baginski reports that VISIT FLORIDA president and CEO Will Seccombe (shown in photo) predicted that the state would achieve a fourth consecutive year of record growth following records in the first three quarters of 2014. New...