Hotels & Resorts
Above & Beyond
Where were you when the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship? Well, for close to 400 of the Canadian travel industry's finest, the answer to that question is they were at the second annual Agents' Choice Awards Gala at the Arcadian Court in Toronto. It was a night of celebration and anticipation as Baxter Media unveiled the results of the 20th Anniversary edition of the Agents' Choice Awards Readership Survey, and – with all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's Oscars – presented awards to the 2019 favourite suppliers as selected by the 6,512 travel agents from across Canada...
Club Med Appointment
Mélanie St-Germain, manager of Meetings and Events by Club Med, has announced Maria Chung has been appointed the new MICE business development manager for Ontario and Western Canada. Chung is joining Club Med with more than 25 years of experience in the travel industry. Involved in several notable hotel openings, including the opening of InterContinental Toronto Yorkville where she spent 10 years, and introducing the Thompson brand to Canada, Chung has filled several senior positions in sales and marketing over her 2.5 decades in the industry. Chung’s strong sales and...
Ottawa Travel Agent Wins With Sandals
Sandals' largest and longest cash incentive to date -- created exclusively for Canadian agents – continues to reward winners from across the country. Vincent Mazet from CWT Concierge in Ottawa, Ontario recently accepted his prize of C$1,000 from Giselle Williams, business development manager, Toronto, Central Ontario and Ottawa, Unique Vacations Canada Inc. for making just one booking. “Sandals Cash Splash,” which launched in October 2018, awards multiple, monthly cash prizes to agents who make a booking direct with Unique Vacations Inc. through Sept. 30, 2019. Each new...
Good As Gold
Jamaica's minister of tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett has hailed Sandals Resorts as a prime example of indigenous companies in the tourism sector that are taking their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to new heights, ensuring that the positive impact of tourism is reaching all corners of our communities. Minister Bartlett made his comments during the recent World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) North America Leaders Forum panel: From Doing CSR to Being CSR. Bartlett pointed out that in an effort to modify the perception that the tourism sector is too focused on the narrow...
Finding Paradise
“In the cottages, there’s no WiFi, there’s no TV. There’s minimal technology – only a Bose sound dock for music and a Nespresso coffee machine. That’s it,” General Manager Matthew Semark explains upon arrival at Petit St. Vincent Private Island, a 115-acre tropical oasis in the southern tip of The Grenadines. Free of telephones and room keys, each of the 22 one-bedroom cottages and two-bedroom beach villas rely instead on a flag pole system to communicate with staff, writes assistant editor, Ann Ruppenstein in this week's Travel Courier cover story. “When guests are...
Club Med Celebrates in Canada
On June 14, dignitaries, partners and industry professionals gathered to lay the official first stone for Canada’s inaugural Club Med resort, Club Med Québec Charlevoix. Notable attendees included the Minister of Tourism of Quebec, Caroline Proulx; President of Club Med, Henri Giscard d’Estaing; and chairman of the board of directors of Groupe Le Massif, Daniel Gauthier, to help mark this momentous development in Canadian travel and tourism. Club Med has announced Dec. 5, 2020 as the official opening date for the sole waterfront mountain resort of the pioneering brand. It will...
SLH Expands European Portfolio
Small Luxury Hotels of the World’s (SLH) three latest hotel joiners are the epitome of European elegance. Indulge in a curated art hotel in the heart of Vienna, relax in a 15th century villa set amongst the rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside, or choose a Roman holiday fit for wine or culture aficionados. Hotel Das Tyrol, Vienna, Austria Following an extensive refurbishment, the 30-room Hotel Das Tyrol is an elegant hotel that puts you at the heart of the action in Vienna. The walls of this luxury boutique hotel are adorned by an impressive collection of original Viennese...
Agents’ Choice: Two Decades Of Tracking Trends
For 20 years, Baxter Media has worked diligently to make the Annual Agents’ Choice Readership Survey the most-trusted and authoritative travel industry poll in Canada. And the result, Canadian travel agents have made it their own, voting for their favourite suppliers in growing numbers, year-after-year. Over two decades, we've learned a lot by listening to agents across the country because, no matter how you slice it, Agents' Choice is their survey. It's our way of giving them an opportunity to let suppliers know how well they're doing from one year to the next. So here it...