Tour Operators
Intrepid Puts an End to Elephant Rides
Intrepid Travel is leading the way in animal protection in the tourism industry and is encouraging travellers to take action to become animal friendly tourists. The Australia-based adventure travel company ended elephant rides and visits to entertainment venues on all of its trips earlier this year, following an extensive three-year research process to assess the welfare of captive elephants at entertainment venues in Asia. The research was conducted by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) with the support of Intrepid Travel, who have worked with the animal charity...
G Adventures Launches Family Promotion
Adventurers of all ages eager to explore the world can now do so for less as G Adventures is offering a discount on all family tours. The company’s 2014 line-up of family trips spans five continents, including popular Morocco and Peru itineraries. Through June 30, travellers booked on any of the 27 family adventures using promo code 20FAMILY2014 for travel by Dec, 15 will receive 20% off the land only price for each family member travelling together. G Adventures CEOs are specially chosen to help families make the most of the travel experience and with a maximum group size of...
IATA Resolution 787 Gets Tentative Approval
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has welcomed the decision by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to tentatively approve Resolution 787. That resolution is the foundation document for the New Distribution Capability (NDC), a travel industry-supported program launched by IATA for the development and market adoption of a new, XML-based data transmission standard. "This is excellent news for air travellers, airlines, intermediaries and for competition," said Tony Tyler, IATA Director General and CEO in commenting on DOT's tentative approval. In that...
Visit New Cuba Resort on Nolitours
Just opened last August, the new Hotel Eurostars Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba offers a great vacation at a great price point. Experience the new property for yourself. Nolitours and Air Transat want to send one lucky travel agent on an all-inclusive trip for two to the Hotel Eurostars Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba. But hurrym the contest closes on Thursday (May 22). The prize package includes round trip airfare, ground transfers, and a one-week all-inclusive vacation. Located on 1.5 km of stunning beach, enjoy four-star amenities like three a la carte restaurants, 24-hour snacks, unlimited...
Sunquest Brings Back Price Guarantee
Sunquest is advising travellers not to get caught in the cold this winter by paying more than they have to with the SPF – the “Sunquest Protection Factor” and its price guarantee which is back for all winter 2014-2015 vacations. Valid on all new sun bookings made by Sept. 30 for travel between Dec. 18 and April 30, 2015, to practically every hotel in Mexico and the Caribbean available through Sunquest, should customers purchase a package and the cost of that package decreases after booking, Sunquest will honour the new lower rate, refunding them up to $1,000 per booking. To...
Growth Spurs Additional G Adventures Departures
Year-on-year growth of 21% in the Canadian market (January to March) has resulted in G Adventures adding an additional 22,000 spaces in 2014 and 2015, across 16 of its best-selling tours. This equates to a 37% increase in capacity across these itineraries. Robyn James, marketing manager, Canada, G Adventures, says adding the new departures will help agents sell more, as there will always be space to meet the demand from their customers. “Last year we were the first adventure tour operator to introduce 100% guaranteed departures, meaning agents could book customers on a trip...
Tours Hai has New Enhanced Site
Asia specialist Tours Hai International has a new improved web site -- www.tours-hai.com. The site has been reconfigured for easier navigation both by travel agents and their clients and is fully compatible with android mobile media. The main menu is now presented in the form of icons much like a touch screen on mobile phones. They lead more quickly to the destinations and various tour programs. Upon opening each product, the itinerary, price and inclusions page are shown on three separate tabs. When opening the itinerary page, there are icons on the top right that allow visitors to...
Quintana Roo Welcomes The World
In this week's issue of Canadian Travel Press, western editor Ted Davis reports that the state of Quintana Roo -- home to Mexico's No. 1 tourist destinations Cancun and the Riviera Maya -- recently hosted the Tianguis Turistico travel trade mart and conference for the first time ever. And organizers celebrated by posting numbers that far exceeded the targets for this 39th edition of the conference. The buyer count was a particular point of achievement, having reached 847, sourced from 61 countries. That represents a 45% increase over countries represented at the Tianguis Turistico held...