Tour Operators
Tour East Responds To China Travel Advisory
Tour East Holidays – a subsidiary of CTEH – said it will refund deposits in full to customers who decide to cancel or postpone their upcoming tours with the company to China. The company's decision comes in the wake of the Canadian government's decision on Jan. 14, 2019, to upgrade its Travel Advisory to China for Canadian citizens to “Risk Level.” Risk Level warns Canadian travellers that they face “risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws” should they travel to a country that has been identified as Risk Level. Annie Tsu, CTEH's president and CEO, said: “We...
A Sunwing Celebration
Following last year's immensely successful opening of Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa and in anticipation of the grand opening of Cancun's hottest new luxury resort, Royalton Cancun Resort and Spa later this month, Sunwing is offering 4X STAR points (that convert to cash) on all new bookings to this beachside resort, located in the Hotel Zone just steps from world-class shopping and nightlife. Customers who book by Jan. 25, 2019, for departures between Feb. 1, 2019 and Oct. 31, 2019 can Vacation Better with a free oceanview room upgrade and receive a Luxury Junior Suite Oceanview for the...
ACV Unveils Europe Training Sessions
Air Canada Vacations has announced a series of Europe Regional train sessions across Canada to celebrate the launch of its 2019 Europe Collection. During the sessions, ACV's sales team will share highlights of the 2019 product line-up along with its new programs and partnerships. As the main event sponsor, Portugal Tourism will be presenting along with other Europe suppliers including Avis Rent A Car, Azamara Cruises, Insight Vacations, and Royal Caribbean International. Dana Gain, senior director of sales, groups & partnerships at Air Canada Vacations, said: “Our Europe...
The Greening Of Adventure
Traveller concerns with the effects of over-tourism, plus the desire to travel sustainably, have become major pillars of considerations for adventure vacations in 2019, says a leading adventure travel specialist based in Sydney, Australia. Concern about over-tourism is convincing adventure travellers to avoid heavily populated travel hotspots and seek out alternatives in lesser-known destinations, says World Expeditions. These people are aspiring to escape the frenetic pace of modern lifestyles and seeking to maximize a positive impact on the destinations that they visit. Publicity...
IT’S TIME TO VOTE!
Are you ready to pick your favourites? Well it's that time again as Baxter Media launches the 2019 Agents' Choice Readership Survey this week. Agents' Choice is Canada's original and most authoritative travel industry poll and each year it asks Canadian travel agents to pick their favourite suppliers in over 40 different categories – ranging from airlines to tour operators; cruise lines to destinations; coach operators to car rentals; and a whole lot more. Numbers matter and in 2018, 6,027 Canadian agents voted for their favourite suppliers in the annual poll. In 2019, the...
Contiki Launches ‘New Year, New You’ Campaign
Contiki has launched a new campaign designed to encourage travel agents to inspire young clients to make travel their resolution for the new year ahead. Entitled, “New Year, New You,” the first major campaign of 2019 for Contiki asks millennials across Canada to think about how they can “be a better you.” Every January Canadians pledge to reset and motivate themselves to live their best life in the new year – whether it’s the old adage of getting healthier or quitting bad habits. But a recent study conducted by Contiki found that over half of Canadian respondents will be...
ATI To Reward Top Agents With African Safari
Recognizing that travel advisor partners have been instrumental in making them one of the top Africa travel specialists in North America, African Travel, Inc. (ATI) will be rewarding their loyalty by sending six of their top-selling advisors on a luxurious six-night trip to South Africa this year. The lucky agents of the President’s Top Producers Award will comprise of African Travel’s top five producers across North America with the highest revenue, plus the advisor with the most improved year-over-year growth. Calculations will be based on client bookings between December 2018...
H.I.S. Group Acquires Red Label Vacations
2019 has certainly started off with a bang with the announcement today that Red Label Vacations Inc. – which operates redtag.ca, itravel2000.com, The Travel Experts and TravelBrands – has signed an agreement to be acquired by a subsidiary of H.I.S. Group, a leading global travel services company based in Japan. Under the terms of the agreement, Red Label Vacations will continue to operate as an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary of H.I.S. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the Canadian Competition Bureau....