Time to act on Ontario Act

[caption id="attachment_130819" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Vanderlubbe[/caption] BOB MOWAT There is a move afoot within the industry that’s intent upon making some significant changes to Ontario’s Travel Industry Act (TIA). That shouldn’t surprise anyone because it has happened before, as the industry took its complaints about the cost burdens on registrants and concerns about...

 

Welcome to The Bahamas, thank you for not cancelling

[caption id="attachment_130811" align="aligncenter" width="584"] The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) talked tourism at this year’s World Travel Market in London. Seen here, from l to r., are Olivier Ponti of ForwardKeys; the CTO’s Dominic Fedee; and the Bahamas’ Joy Jibrilu.[/caption] MIKE DUNBAR A mere two months after hurricane Dorian devastated Grand Bahama Island and the Abacos,...

 

Nature is always nearby in Costa Rica

[caption id="attachment_130592" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Visitors will see a wide range of birds in Costa Rica.[/caption] IAN STALKER Wildlife enthusiasts visiting Costa Rica may awaken to an alarm clock provided by Mother Nature. Tourism guide Michel Aranda told a recent Toronto Costa Rica promotion that some Costa Ricans awaken to early morning calls by howler monkeys, famed for...

 

Costa Rica is blessed by Mother Nature

[caption id="attachment_130588" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Costa Rica is the home of the zip-line.[/caption] IAN STALKER A raft of rafting opportunities continues to await adventurous sorts planning to vacation in Costa Rica. The country is seen as a pioneer in the ecotourism movement, but recent years have also seen the development of large oceanside resorts belonging to international...

 

Ensemble takes action

Travel consortium targets sustainable tourism

[caption id="attachment_130570" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Brett Tollman[/caption] Ted Davis A growing priority for the tourism industry to help solve the climate change crisis largely drove the agenda at the recent Ensemble Travel Group international conference in Seattle. An overall conference theme of “Travel With Purpose” directed the opening keynote comments by Ensemble CEO...

 

Lufthansa to add Ottawa service in May

IAN STALKER The Lufthansa Group is preparing to provide an airborne link between Ottawa and Frankfurt, a routing that would mean the Lufthansa Group will in 2020 serve five cities in this country during the summer. Plans call for Lufthansa to begin offering five weekly flights between this nation’s capital and the German city on May 16. “We’re quite excited that we’re adding...

 

Berlin celebrates the fall of the wall

[caption id="attachment_130296" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Visiting Toronto to promote Berlin were Moritz van Dulmen of CultureProject Berlin, Kirsten Schmidt, Vist Berlin, Simone Leimbach of CultureProject Berlin, and Burkhard Kieker and Birgit Kohlstedt, Visit Berlin.[/caption] IAN STALKER Berlin is nearing a landmark anniversary in the both city's history and East-West relations...

 

Atlantis works to safeguard Bahamian environment

[caption id="attachment_130289" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Atlantis, Paradise Island has been welcoming guests for more than 20 years.[/caption] IAN STALKER The Bahamas’ Atlantis, Paradise Island resort routinely takes on the Florence Nightingale role for ailing marine creatures. The eye-catching Paradise Island property, at 3,800 rooms the largest property in the Bahamas and...

 

Insight Vacations taking guided holidays into the 21st century

[caption id="attachment_130272" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Insight Vacations’ Carla Brake, Ulla Hefel Böhler and Brad Ford[/caption] BOB MOWAT Europe is hot, so it wasn’t too surprising that Insight Vacations’ CEO Ulla Hefel Böhler was in an upbeat mood when she stopped in Toronto recently to launch the operator’s 2020 Europe & Britain Collection. “Right now out of...

 

Fall for Switzerland

Autumn and wine tourism key to attracting more travellers

[caption id="attachment_130240" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Switzerland Tourism’s Pascal Prinz and Martin Nydegger[/caption] ANN RUPPENSTEIN Looking at the demand for what travellers want from a Swiss vacation, Martin Nydegger, the CEO of Switzerland Tourism, believes visitors are seeking the road less travelled. [caption id="attachment_130258" align="alignright" width="300"] The...