Tour Operators
Transat Picks Solé
Transat has named Jordi Solé as president of its new hotel division. His appointment is effective Feb. 20 and he will lead Transat's entire hotel development operations in the Caribbean and Mexico – two markets where the international tourism company has been active for 30 years. In making the announcement, Transat's president and CEO, Jean-Marc Eustache said, “We are delighted to be associated with a tourism and resort industry professional who has extensive experience in operations, sales, marketing and staff management at all-inclusive resorts at Sun destinations.” And...
ACV Increases Winter Lift
Air Canada Vacations (ACV) is advising agents and their clients that it will offer increased winter lift on select destinations on board Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. This includes: Air Canada Rouge will offer another flight option from Montreal to Cancun on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from March 2-18; The Toronto to Cozumel route with Air Canada has been extended to April. Flights will also operate Saturdays on April 14 and April 21; The Calgary to Cancun route will now also operate on Mondays from Feb. 26 to April 23 on board Air Canada Rouge; Ottawa to Punta...
Hefel Böhler Ready To Take On The Future
Ahead of a milestone year for Insight Vacations — April marks the brand’s 40th anniversary — Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold’s new global CEO Ulla Hefel Böhler was in Toronto yesterday (Jan. 30) for a welcome luncheon. “To be precise, 13th of April 1978 was when Insight Vacations was founded in the UK and in the last few weeks we’ve had a lot of fun looking back at those 40 years and at some of those amazing memories and innovations that have really paved the way for our present brand,” she said. “I can’t give too much away, but we will be launching a very nice...
Collette Unveils 100 Days of Giveaways
Collette has launched 100 days of giveaways in honour of its centennial celebration. Travel agents and their clients have 100 days to enter to win a prize. To enter, guests must submit their reason for travel to have a chance at winning the grand prize of $10,000 towards any Collette trip. Visit https://goo.gl/oowsg2 to register. “We have spent the last 100 years bringing people around the world, and along the way we’ve learned that travel isn’t about the places we go, it’s about the guest and their reason for travel,” said Courtney Iannuccilli, vice-president of...
Exodus Launches Bucket List Bingo for Agents
With the goal of rewarding hard working agents, adventure tour operator Exodus Travels has launched “Bucket List Bingo,” offering agents the opportunity to cross items off their own bucket list. From Feb. 1 to June 30, agents can cross of tiles on Exodus Travels' Bingo card, corresponding with trips booked by each new client. The first five agents to complete a full line wins an ultimate getaway, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Exodus Travels' Bucket List Bingo prizes include: Hawaii Islands Adventure, 10 days; Classic Tanzania Safari, eight days; Galapagos Islands,...
U.S. Virgin Islands Have A Plan
The U.S. Virgin Islands has a plan. In the wake of the two Category 5 hurricanes that hit in September, the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism has developed a 150-day rolling marketing plan to share with industry stakeholders. Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty said: “This new plan has been developed to establish priorities and a road map of activities we will pursue as our destination recovers.” Nicholson-Doty noted that the “abridged plan” will be fluid and adaptable to the current dynamic recovery environment and the Department of Tourism is committed...
Making The Leap
IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative took a “critical” leap forward last October when all three global distribution system (GDS) providers – Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport – confirmed that they will achieve the highest level of certification as aggregators by the end of this year, reports Quebec editor, Mike Dunbar in his multi-part series on IATA in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. According to NDC program director Yanik Hoyles, getting the GDSs on board was crucial, since their commitment signaled that NDC has been embraced by all...
Good News From Jamaica
Clearly, Canadians were making it Jamaica, again in 2017. The Jamaica Tourist Board's (JTB) regional director – Canada, Philip Rose told Press Today that Jamaica welcomed 405,174 Canadian visitors in 2017. And that, Rose said, represents an increase of 8.9% over the previous year. “I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate my team for all their ongoing efforts. I thank our airline, tour operator and hotel partners for their commitment to Jamaica,” observed a clearly pleased Rose, before continuing: “Lastly, I invite all mentioned above to join me in saluting our...