Resorts
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...
It’s All About Agents
Baxter Media's 2019 Agents' Choice Awards Gala was all about travel agents and presenting sponsors – Air Canada, Sandals and Trafalgar – each thanked them heartily for their hard work and support. Representing Air Canada and Air Canada rouge was John MacLeod, vice-president of Global Sales & Alliances, who noted that since its launch in 2013 rouge has proved a huge success, now serving 70 destinations. “This would not have been possible without the agent support [we get] from across Canada,” he said. On behalf of Sandals, Gary Sadler, senior vice-president of sales,...
Agents’ Choice Celebrates Josef Ebner
Being presented with the W.H. Baxter Lifetime Achievement Award at last night's second annual Agents' Choice Awards Gala is just the latest highlight for a man whose career and life have seen many lofty achievements. Josef Ebner, regional vice-president - Canada and managing director of downtown Toronto's Chelsea Hotel has also received accolades from the likes of Hotel Association of Canada, Canadian Hotel and Marketing Sales Executives, the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, the Austrian Canadian Council, and SKAL. His efforts to create...
RIU Enters Senegal
RIU Hotels & Resorts has purchased a 25-hectare site in the Pointe Sarène area on Senegal’s west coast, a “paradise destination in the midst of the tourist development process.” With it, the chain strengthens its commitment to Africa, where it already owns six hotels (five in Cape Verde and one in Tanzania) and runs a further five hotels in Morocco. The planned investment amounts to 150 million euros, which includes the purchase of the site and the development of future hotels in the destination. The size of the site will allow two properties to be built, and it is being...