Destinations
A Definite Cachet
In this week's edition of Travel Courier, Ian Stalker reports that Icelandair will be adding an additional flight from Edmonton this summer, with the carrier noting the move comes as a result of "high demand." The new flight will operate on Tuesdays, and with the additional departure, Icelandair now offers flights up to five days a week with non-stop service to Iceland and connections to more than 20 destinations in Europe. Earlier this year, Icelandair previously announced an early launch date of March 5 and increased the seasonal flight schedule to year-round service from...
Accommodating Option
The Four Points by Sheraton Waterloo-Kitchener Hotel & Suites is now open in Waterloo, Ontario. The hotel completed an extensive renovation becoming the newest addition of the Four Points by Sheraton portfolio. The newly renovated hotel features 104 comfortable and stylish guest rooms, with 52รก tower suites, meeting facilities, on-site restaurant, lobby bar and 24-hour fitness centre. Four Points brand will reach its 200th hotel milestone in 2014 fueled by increasing demand in key markets around the world. There are currently 27 Four Points in Canada, representing Starwood's...
Cashing In On The Cold
Let's see how to put this politely. Actually, there's no good way. You see, when Canadians are freezing their butts off, they don't care much about anything except getting out of the country and ending up somewhere that's warm. In fact, in this week's edition of Canadian Travel Press (Feb. 17, 2014), our intrepid, though shivering, reporter, Ian Stalker discovered in his conversations with a number of top travel agents and tour operators, that sinking temperatures -- not to mention nasty weather -- was having more effect on Canadians' travel plans than was the Canadian...
Quite A Trio
Royal Caribbean International has announced that the second ship in its new and most advanced Quantum class of ships, Anthem of the Seas, will be joined by Adventure of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas in the U.K. as part of an unprecedented 2015 Europe season. The cruise company had previously announced that the Anthem of the Seas would homeport at Southampton, U.K. when it launches in April 2015. The ship will mark its inaugural Europe season with 19 cruises to the Spanish, French and Italian rivieras, and the Canary Islands on three- to 16-night itineraries, and then reposition...
Good On You, Mate!
Following a five-day trip to Australia, Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), praised the progress that Australia had made in " converging with UNWTO's main policy recommendations of supporting travel facilitation, intelligent taxation and sustainability." Rifai met with federal and state government officials as well as main private sector associations and UNWTO Affiliate Members during his five day visit. The UNWTO's secretary-general congratulated Andrew Robb, Australia's minister for trade and investment, "for their commitment to...
Play Ball!
Okay, so there's still snow on the ground and Canadians continue to shiver in the icy grip of winter, but there is hope. Consider the fact that the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel are getting ready for the 2014 baseball spring training season. The popular Florida vacation area is the spring training home of the 2013 World Series champs, the Boston Red Sox, along with the Minnesota Twins. Training is set to begin on Feb. 27, with two college exhibition games. The spring training season runs through March 29. The tentative season schedule includes 17 games at JetBlue Park, Fort Myers....
Swept Up In The Revelry
St. Maarten is gearing up for its 45th Annual Carnival celebration, which takes place from April 21 to May 5, 2014. The annual event is the island's largest cultural celebration and features parades, pageants, musical performances and a host of other activities culminating with the traditional "Burning of King Momo." St. Maarten's Carnival stands out among other regional celebrations due to the duration of this activity (two weeks) and the way locals embrace participating vacationers who get swept away in the revelry. Edward Dest, interim director of tourism for the St. Maarten Tourist...
Open To The World
Greater Moncton International Airport reports that once again in 2013, it saw "healthy increases" in its passenger traffic. In 2013, the number of passengers at the airport rose to 647,682, a 5.3% increase over 2012 (615,085) and a nearly 12% increase over 2011 (579,329). These customers flew on the GMIA's main airline partners, including Air Canada Express, the airline offering the most frequency from Greater Moncton, as well as Porter, WestJet and United. A significant increase was also noticed coming from chartered aircraft (Flair and Canadian North) transporting mobile workers...