Tour Operators
Destination Indigenous
The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is launching its new Destination Indigenous marketing campaign in an effort to encourage, highlight and educate travellers about the many Indigenous experiences that will welcome Canadians this summer. The new initiative will be unveiled on National Indigenous People’s Day – which will be celebrated on Sunday, June 21 – and the marketing campaign will include the release of an experience Web booking platform that will link travellers with: Export-ready Indigenous tourism businesses that will be accepting visitors this...
ACV Expands FTC Validity
Air Canada Vacations is expanding the validity of future travel credits (FTCs), announcing that any FTCs issued for cancelled vacations due to COVID-19 will no longer have an expiry date. That change is in addition to the flexible changes that were previously announced in April which included the ability to transfer the credit to another person, and the ability to keep the residual value of the credit resulting from a fare difference. Customers with cancelled Air Canada Vacations bookings scheduled to depart between March 4 and July 31, 2020, inclusively, will automatically receive a...
Baxter Media Launches #TravelWebcastWeek
Canada’s travel industry is inching towards reopening, but there seem to be more questions than answers. When will travel restrictions be loosened? If Canadians are looking to travel close to home, are there opportunities for operators to package and agents to sell Canada? What new protocols are destinations putting in place to keep travellers safe? And so many more… In search for answers to these questions, Baxter Media presents #TravelWebcastWeek, a series of free webcasts from June 23 through 25, exploring the future of travel and tourism in a post-COVID-19 world. An...
ACV Back In Cancun
On June 12, 2020, vacationers departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport and made their way to sunny Cancun for their first trip with Air Canada Vacations since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Passengers were greeted warmly as they arrived for their transfer to either the Catalonia Playa Maroma or Barcelo Maya Palace. Nino Montagnese, managing director at Air Canada Vacations, observed: “We’ve all been eagerly awaiting the moment when we could resume our operations and make dreams travel once again. We’re pleased to have been able to welcome our first customers back...
Virtual Reality: Key Part Of Booking Process
According to GlobalData, virtual reality may become a key component in the booking process going forward. In its latest consumer survey, the data and analytics company reports that a total 45% of global travellers remain extremely concerned about the outbreak of COVID-19, making it clear that consumer uncertainty remains one of the greatest barriers facing operators. Making virtual reality (VR) a key component in the booking process may act as an additional tool to ease consumer uncertainty, creating an advantage for travel companies that incorporate it. Johanna Bonhill-Smith,...
TIABC, Key Partners Pen Letter To Government
In a letter to B.C. Premier John Horgan, TIABC and a number of its local and national partners stressed the importance of a cooperative approach between the federal and provincial governments to take immediate steps to coordinate and facilitate the restart of Canada's tourism and travel sector. The letter was signed by TIABC, Canadian Gaming Association, BC Chamber of Commerce, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, International Air Transport Association, InnVest Hotels, Marriott Hotels of Canada/Marriott International, Tourism Toronto, Toronto Board of Trade,...
Join The Movement With #timetotravel
The Canadian Travel & Tourism Roundtable has sent an open letter -- signed by 130 senior travel and tourism executives -- to Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and the provincial Premiers urging them to reopen this country’s travel and tourism industry as soon as possible. The letter begins by telling the country’s leaders: “As a society, we have faced a threat like no other, COVID-19. And we are still dealing with it. Under the leadership of our governments, we agreed to implement tough decisions to protect our health and safety. We shut down our schools, our businesses, and...
Reflecting On What Really Matters
Although there is no date yet for when Canadian travellers can visit Austria again, the destination is currently experiencing the re-start of travel and tourism as its borders with neighbouring countries are re-opening across hotels, restaurants and attractions. “Our social, civic, as well as cultural life is returning fully,” Michael Gigl, Director for the Austrian Tourist Office in North America tells Travel Courier. “Travel truly has the power to build bridges between people, between cultures. We have suddenly, and painfully, learned that the opportunity to travel, especially...