Tour Operators
TICO fees set to rise
Registrant fees are soon set to rise in Ontario, the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) announced at its annual general meeting Tuesday night. Starting April 1, 2013, the proposed fee would be .15 per $1,000 of business, rising to .25 the following year and .30 in 2015. The move, which will be first subject to consultation with stakeholders, who currently pay .05 per thousand, comes after six years of artificially low fees while TICO sought to reduce the Compensation Fund balance from approximately $30 million to a desired range of $20 million to $25 million. One delegate challenged...
Sunquest Roulette is back
Sunquest clients can once again take advantage of vacation savings with the return of the Sunquest Roulette promotion. Clients can save when booking a Sunquest all-inclusive Roulette package vacation to Jamaica, Los Cabos, Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Puerto Vallarta or the Riviera Nayarit, for select departures between Oct. 28 and April 27, 2013. Available from all gateways across Canada, clients simply select their destination, their preferred departure date and their desired star rating (4-star, 4+ star, 5-star and 5+ star available) and they will receive the lowest...
Discover the real New Zealand
Boomerang Tours is offering travellers a chance to experience a small group tour with its new local operator MoaTrek. The operator is not only a new addition to this year's line-up, but also available exclusively from Boomerang. David Boign, vice-president of Boomerang Tours, explained that each MoaTrek group has a maximum of 18 guests. Small and personal groups offer opportunities to meet the locals -- farmers, winemakers, gardeners and chefs. There are special occasion lunches and dinners in wonderful locations with warm hosts and fine wine and food included in the tour cost. As well, there...
Sunwing unveils US collection
With the Canadian dollar retaining its strength against the US dollar, more Canadians are flocking south of the border for their vacation than ever before and to keep up with this demand Sunwing has expanded its US program with the debut of its new "USA Collection"brochure. Sunwing continues to offer flights, hotels and vacation packages to such destinations as Florida and Las Vegas. Travellers booking Florida with Sunwing can take advantage of flights and packages to Orlando, St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Ft. Lauderdale, as well as a range of hotel and resort offerings in nearby cities such...
An AGM reminder from TICO
TICO is reminding all registrants that its annual general meeting will be held on Tues., Sept. 18, 2012 at the Toronto Congress Centre. All registrants are encouraged to attend. In addition to other agenda items, this year's AGM will include a special presentation by our advertising and public relations partners on a new registrant/agent engagement campaign that TICO plans to launch this fall. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be webcast so that the presentations can be viewed online from home or office. The webcast coverage begins at 4 pm EST and the log on is...
Goway set for South America in 2013
Goway is offering 4 different escorted tours with regular departures to South America in 2013 as part of its signature Holidays of a Lifetime tour series. The 15 day Splendours of South America includes Chile, Argentina and Brazil and highlights a scenic Andes crossing, wine tasting in both Santiago and Mendoza, a day tour to Uruguay, a Tango show in Buenos Aires, a Samba show in Rio and a stopover to view the spectacular Iguassu Falls. Prices start from $9,999. The 13 day Cradle of the Incas features Peru with a stopover in Bolivia, and visits Lima, Cusco (including the unique Inti Raymi...
What’s past is past
Watch for a revitalized and re-invigorated Sunquest Vacations this winter now that the operator has re-invented itself by sorting out issues that it had with both its lift and with a number of hotels it was using in the winter of 2011-2012. At a VIP reception at Toronto's funky Drake Hotel, Sunquest vice-president, Steve Butchart didn't mince words, telling the gathering of some of the tour company's top producing agents that the past winter hadn't been the "most stellar" for the company and that errors were made in both planning and execution. But what's done is done and Butchart said that...
Transat by the numbers
Transat A.T. Inc. reports that it posted revenues of $909.1 million for the quarter ended July 31, 2012, compared with $937.0 million in 2011, a decrease of $27.9 million, or 3.0%. The company recorded a margin of $22.1 million, compared with of $14.7 million in 2011, and a net income of $9.4 million ($0.25 per share on a diluted basis), compared with a net loss of $2.8 million ($0.07 per share on a diluted basis) in 2011. Before non-cash and non-operating items, Transat reported an adjusted after-tax income3 of $10.5 million ($0.28 per share on a diluted basis), compared with $2.8 million...