Tour Operators
ACV, Royal Irish Join CATO
Air Canada Vacations and Royal Irish Tours (RIT) have joined the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO). The announcement comes as CATO continues to work to rebuild the travel industry; advocating and lobbying for the elimination of travel restrictions. CATO chair, Brett Walker commented: “The more members, the greater the influence and the better the chances we’ll see a recovery sooner rather than later. Successful lobbying by CATO and others has achieved its first milestone – essential aid. Now we must double-down and work even harder on recovery efforts.” To...
Cruising With TravelBrands’ $0 Deposit Offer
TravelBrands is offering a $0 deposit when booking a cruise vacation until six months prior to sailing. This exclusive offer lasts until Nov. 30, 2020 and is applicable on new individual bookings at least six months prior to departure. The TravelBrands offer is available with Azamara, Carnival, Celebrity Cruise Line, MSC Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International. And it’s applicable to all sailings, room categories and durations. TravelBrands Encore Cruises is a premier cruising wholesaler with over 25 years of history in the travel...
Finding A New Mission
With a storm rolling in calling for rough seas with strong nautical winds and up to six metre swells, eco-tourism operators Kevin Smith and Russell Markel knew they were racing against time to remove the lift bags filled with tons of marine debris their crew and colleagues had collected over the last five weeks off the north coast of BC. “There’s no way we can be there in those conditions and we were worried that the bags were going to be washed out to sea,” says Markel, the owner of Outer Shores Expeditions, one of five small ship tour operators that made up the Marine Debris...
Softvoyage Automates FTCs
Softvoyage has introduced a simple electronic way to redeem Future Travel Credits (FTC). Now, Sirev users can easily, safely and promptly verify their customers’ future travel credits and apply the FTC as payment method. The process is simple: 1) Log on to Sirev 2) Click “future travel credit” (also available at the payment page) 3) Enter basic details: Name Booking number Date of birth Select supplier The FTC is listed as a payment method. Partial payment can also be used. This new tool will also be available shortly to Softvoyage customers using...
Don’t Miss Tomorrow’s Sun Peaks’ Agent Webinar
Join Megan Nelson, Senior Market Development Specialist at Tourism Sun Peaks, on Thursday, October 15th at 10am (PST) for a Sun Peaks Webinar. Learn why Canada’s 2nd largest ski area is the ideal destination for your clients this winter. Whether they are skiers or snowboarders, looking to explore the outdoors through unique winter experiences or wanting to cozy up in a condo by the fire with a private hot tub, there is something for everyone. This educational session will include an overview on the destination in both winter and summer, accommodation, activities, terrain and...
A Difficult Decision
WestJet has announced that it will be indefinitely suspending operations to Moncton, Fredericton, Sydney and Charlottetown while significantly reducing service to Halifax and St. John's. The suspension eliminates more than 100 flights weekly or almost 80% of seat capacity from the Atlantic region starting Nov. 2, 2020. Ed Sims, WestJet president and CEO, explained: “It has become unviable to serve these markets and these decisions were regrettably inevitable as demand is being obliterated by the Atlantic bubble and third-party fee increases.” And Sims continued: “Since the...
Sunwing Survey Finds Canadians Ready To Travel
A new survey, commissioned by Sunwing, reveals that a growing number of Canadians are ready to go on vacation. The survey was conducted by Sunwing among members of the Angus Reid Forum between Sept. 28-29, 2020 with a representative online sample of 1,505 Canadians, in both English and French. Results revealed that 56% of Canadians are considering going on vacation within the next year. Regular vacation-goers are even more likely to be interested in an upcoming getaway, with seven-in-ten (71%) saying that they are considering a vacation. Of respondents who would consider travelling...
Goway Groups Is Meeting The Challenges
Goway Travel's Groups Only department is meeting the challenges of these unprecedented times with the addition of their Travelmate program and three new booking incentives. Goway’s Travelmate Assurance A dedicated senior Group Coordinator will be assigned to groups bookings, guaranteeing destination and customer service expertise to work in partnership with travel professionals. Group files will also come with a priority phone line throughout the entire travel process, from first inquiry to final landing. Travelmate also offers a Priority Assist line that’s available from...