Tour Operators
WestJet Embraces The Future
“Tonight is about telling the story of our future,” was the welcome that WestJet's director, agency sales, Jane Clementino had for about 150 of the carrier's top travel agency partners in Toronto last night. And quite a story it is and is going to be. Senior WestJet executives – including Tim Croyle, executive vice-president, commercial; Richard Bartrem, vice-president, marketing communications; Chris Van Rensburg, director, guest experience; Alfredo Tan, chief digital and innovation officer – joined Clementino for the evening that offered an opportunity to celebrate and...
Rewards For Agents From RIU, Sunwing
RIU Hotels & Resorts and Sunwing got together to thank their top-performing agents this month with appreciation lunches in Quebec City and Kitchener, Ontario. Top producing agents were invited to enjoy a complimentary lunch, meet with RIU and Sunwing sales teams and learn about upcoming renovation and expansion plans for RIU Hotels & Resorts. At both events, director of business development for partner marketing, Hugo Aguilera, talked to attendees about the latest resorts that opened in Mexico; including Riu Palace Costa Mujeres and Riu Palace Baja California. He also...
Join The Costsaver Clique
Costsaver has launched its first global FAM trip. The Costsaver Clique Top Achievers Trip gives 13 top selling agents from Canada the exclusive opportunity to experience its inaugural program in Asia next year. Gavin Tollman, Costsaver's Global CEO, said: “Our Costsaver program for 2019 is already proving a winning formula for agents, opening up touring to a whole new audience. Thanks to the trade, who have embraced the Costsaver concept and our 'Ready to Go' rate, sales are already 30% up to date year on year, with a highly successful expansion across Europe, North Africa, USA,...
Goway Unveils 2019 Idyllic Islands Brochure
Goway Travel has unveiled its new 2019-20 Idyllic Islands Brochure. This 52-page catalogue is North America’s most comprehensive travel guide to the world’s most Idyllic Islands, including Tahiti, Fiji, Cook Islands, Bali, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives and the islands of Greece and Croatia. Included are a range of resorts from boutique to ultra-luxury, boutique cruises, vacation packages and more. “This catalogue is a go-to guide for travellers seeking an incredible island retreat. Vacation ideas and resorts featured here have been carefully selected and are perfect for...
EXCLUSIVE: Forecast 2019
Is the glass half full or half empty? That's a question I've been asking for a while now, writes executive editor, Bob Mowat in Canadian Travel Press' special Forecast 2019 issue. By all accounts, 2018 has been a good year for the Canadian travel industry, not to mention for the global travel industry. Yet as the year winds down, there are some disturbing signals that raise concerns that all is not well – the turmoil in Alberta's oil industry and the closing of GM's Oshawa car plant are but two examples of such concerns. Consider as well, recent comments by IATA's director...
Goway In A Festive Mood
Goway wants to wish the travel industry a Merry Christmas and Merry Marsupial! Goway's Aubrey Schmidt, Sam Cottar and kangaroo mascot Skippy were spreading Christmas cheer Thursday, with Cottar and Schmidt sporting new sweatshirts that has a Santa hat on an image of the planet and which read Goway Globetrotters, a reference to the tour operator sending people to every part of the planet, with the exception of North America and the Caribbean. “We're pretty much covering the globe,” Schmidt said during a visit to Baxter Media's Toronto office. Meanwhile, Goway is promoting...
TravelBrands Offers 12 Days of Giveaways
From Dec. 6-21, TravelBrands Cruises, by Encore Cruises is bringing the holiday spirit by hosting Encore’s Favourite Things. For 12 weekdays, travel agents have the opportunity to earn daily bonus Loyalty Points. “To celebrate the holiday season, we wanted to host a giveaway for our dedicated agents,” says Nathalie Tanious, vice-president, TravelBrands. “Any agent who makes the qualified booking will automatically receive the giveaway of that day. This is our way of saying thank you to our travel agent partners in the season of giving.” The giveaways and qualifying...
Istanbul: Where East Meets West
Two notable emperors were bullish about Istanbul. Napoleon demonstrated his appreciation for the city when he stated that, “If Earth was a single state, its capital would be Constantinople” as Istanbul was called for much of its existence, while Roman emperor Constantine made it the capital of the Roman Empire, choosing it for that role in part because of the city's location, which sees part of the city in Europe and part in Asia. The city long bore Constantine's name when it was called Constantinople, only to eventually be renamed Istanbul, with Istanbul-based tour guide Hakan...