Tour Operators
King/Queen For a Day
Helping Toronto-area travel agents get the feeling their guests will get while staying at an Excellence Group property – that of being treated like a king or queen – Transat Holidays invited dozens of agents to Medieval Times for a presentation by its resort partner, followed by dinner and show. Excellence Group, which operates luxury resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean under the Excellence Resorts and Beloved brands, introduced its latest venture Finest Resorts, which will open its first property, near Cancun, on Feb. 12, 2015. Unlike its original adults-only brands, Finest will...
Transat Makes Changes
Transat is continuing to make changes. The company indicates that these are part of the ongoing integration of Vacances TMR on the one hand, and on the other of a strategic thinking process that it has been conducting in order to improve our efficiency. Transat has also completed the integration of its Transat Discoveries team within the Transat Tours Canada structure, which entails changes within these teams and at TTC, particularly on the commercial side. All brands (Transat Holidays, Nolitours, TMR and Transat Discoveries) will now be represented by a single sales team and a new...
Sunwing Connects Ottawa to St. Maarten
Sunwing Vacations will be bringing the island of St. Maarten closer to Ottawa residents this winter with new direct, non-stop flight service. The weekly flight, aboard Sunwing Airlines, takes flight Dec. 15. New this winter is the adults-only, five-star all-suite Sonesta Ocean Point Resort. A Sunwing Relax Resort, Sunwing guests will receive exclusive perks such as express check-in, a bottle of sparkling wine, rum or tequila in the room, late check-out, unlimited à la carte dining and a 20% discount on spa...
Sunquest Expanding Again
Sunquest is expanding its network, adding four new routes to its sun program for Winter 2015, all of which are available in the system now and ready to book. Increasing its offering out of Halifax, Sunquest now features packages to Samana, with flights on Air Canada and WestJet, and to Puerto Plata, with flights on Air Canada, WestJet and United Airlines. It has also added Samana packages out of Ottawa, again with flights on Air Canada and WestJet, and now features packages to Curaçao out of Montreal, with flights on Air Canada, WestJet and American Airlines. These new routes...
Connect With CanJet On Sabre
CanJet Vacations is now available on Sabre Vacations. John Kirk, CanJet Vacations' vice-president, sales & marketing, said of the move, “We recognize the importance of also positioning ourselves on this key leisure platform, enabling agents to access CanJet Vacations flights and package holidays however they choose.” The company is already on sale on the Softvoyage shopping platform, SIREV. CanJet Vacations launched its new brochure to the trade two weeks ago and Kirk reports that there has been a lot of interest from agents and also many inquiries about group...
See Mauritius In Style
Kompas Express has introduced a special Business Class package to Mauritius, one of the Indian Ocean's most exotic destinations. The package, featuring five-star accommodation, is for 11 days and priced from $7,198 from Toronto with add-ons available from most other Canadian cities. With Kompas, travellers can now easily reach Mauritius via Dubai aboard Emirates' A380 aircraft and their world-renowned Business Class. An option of extending the journey in Dubai is also available. For added comfort, Kompas Express has teamed up with three luxury properties, the Le Meridien Ile...
Transat Upgrades Online Shopping Tool
Transat has made improvements its online shopping tool in an attempt to make the shopping process easier for agents and consumers looking for a Sun package. Using the selection criteria (number of travellers, interests, preferred accommodation type, hotel services wanted and a choice of destinations), the shopping tool filters the results and creates a personalized electronic brochure. The new functions allow users to compare hotel attributes, view TripAdvisor comments and find the best price for a given hotel over a one-month period. Consumers who use this tool to create their...
Goway Puts Spotlight on Africa
Goway is going gangbusters in Africa, particularly in the luxury segment, though fears persist that the Ebola crisis could hurt travel to the destination in the future. “It [Ebola] is so far from the destinations we sell,” notes company GM Africa and Middle East Moira Smith. Nevertheless the Toronto-based tour operator was out in full force with a couple dozen continental suppliers at an agent-consumer event in Toronto Sept. 22. The show was set to move on to Vancouver and, for the first time, Seattle, later in the week. Pictured at the Toronto event are (l-r) Goway's Robin...