Destinations
Caribbean Needs To Be Prepared For Tougher Competition
Be prepared. That’s the message from experts warning that while the Caribbean tourism industry has been seeing gains from the U.S. travel market, competition is on the horizon and much planning is necessary to sustain the momentum the region has been enjoying. According to ForwardKeys, following strong U.S. arrivals performance over the past couple of years, “Caribbean destinations need to rethink their U.S. strategy now that they are facing tougher competition.” The data analytics firm points out that: “The U.S. as an outbound source market is currently the world’s...
A Little Luxury From Ovadias Tours
Luxury travel operator, Ovadias Tours has been serving the Canadian and US markets for more than 60 years with programs in Greece. The operator wants travel advisors to familiarize themselves with what it offers by going to www.ovadiastours.com and www.greekislandsandtours.com . On its www.ovadiastours.com website, Ovadias Tours asks advisors to: Please click on “Luxury” http://www.ovadiastours.com/luxury/ for VIP’s & Celebrities packages. Please click on "hygiene & safe protocols", our services for travel to Greece with safety. Then click on the "Best...
CTO Welcomes The USVI
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has started 2023 by welcoming the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) as its 25th member country. The USVI joins the organization of regional tourism leaders at a time when the CTO seeks to refocus its mandate on shaping the Caribbean tourism sector of the future. The relationship between the USVI and the CTO is not a new one, and the organization is confident that the renewed partnership will result in several positive outcomes for both parties, and the wider CTO membership. In welcoming the new member, Chairman of the CTO, Hon. Kenneth...
ForwardKeys Tracks Surge In China Flight Bookings
According to ForwardKeys, China’s decision to ditch its zero-Covid policy has triggered a surge in flight bookings. On Dec. 7, Chinese authorities announced that a negative PCR test would no longer be required for air travel between provinces. Domestic flight bookings immediately surged 56% on the previous week and continued to increase 69% the following week. On Dec. 26, China removed all COVID-related restrictions on domestic air travel; and bookings surged again, reaching 50% of 2019’s level in the final week of the year. As of Jan. 3, domestic flight bookings during the...
Alghabra Looking To Make Changes To APPR
Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra made it clear yesterday that the “circumstances Canadians faced during the holiday season were unacceptable” and that they deserve answers about what happened. During Transport Committee hearings looking into the events that took place over the holiday season, Alghabra also made it clear that Canadians deserve to be kept informed about alternative arrangements when their travel is disrupted and that they also deserve to be “compensated when their rights have been violated.” He said: “Upholding the rights of travellers is … a...
Discover The Spirit Of Fiji
Tourism Fiji's Ruth Daly says visiting her destination can truly be a family affair. Daly, regional director at the tourism board's Los Angeles office, told a Baxter Media webcast that her South Pacific destination is a particularly welcoming place, adding there's a "spirit on Fiji that everyone is family … You arrive as a visitor but you leave family." Visiting families will find "amazing" family programs, she continued. Tropical Fiji is home to some 333 islands, about 110 of them inhabited. Those visiting the inhabited ones will encounter Fijian culture everywhere, with...
Due South
The US Southeast is a place of American origins, home to mythic characters like Atticus Finch, Tom Sawyer and even Forest Gump, to old world manners and new world encounters. It’s all still there to be experienced, and now further enhanced with a slate of new attractions to help reach visitor spending targets, writes Ted Davis in the latest issue of Canadian Travel Press. Liz Bittner, president and CEO of Travel South USA, related how the tourism industry in the 12 member states of the Travel South collective was valued at US$8.8 billion before the damaging onset of Covid-19 in 2020....
Swoop Takes Off To Cuba
Swoop has inaugurated service between Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Juan Gualberto Gomez International Airport in Varadero, Cuba (VRA). Bob Cummings, President of Swoop, said: “As Canada's favourite sun and fun ultra-low-cost carrier, we are thrilled to celebrate our launch into Cuba. Varadero is widely known as a Canadian favourite for affordable beach vacations, and so we're proud to provide Torontonians a new ultra-convenient, ultra-not-expensive option for travel to Playa Azul.” Ontarians looking for a pre-packaged vacation to an all-inclusive...