MIKE DUNBAR
(Photo above: Eric Leopold)
Air travel retailers and their clients can say goodbye to passenger name records (PNRs), e-tickets and electronic miscellaneous document (EMDs) – but not just yet. They’ll have to wait until IATA’s groundbreaking ONE Order initiative is up and running across the global airline industry.
But that’s definitely going to happen, according...
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
With guests coming from across North America and Europe, Sandra Gagic decided to work with a travel agent to simplify the booking process for her destination wedding – but it still didn’t go off without a hitch.
“We had bad luck, and our condo completely burned while we were in Punta Cana – four days before the wedding. Tell me about pre-wedding stress,” she...
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
(Photo above: Marlie Morrison at Ronto Roasters, locatedin the Black Spire Outpost, during the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort.)
Leading Disney teams across Asia Pacific and Canada, Marlie Morrison says the factors that drive respective markets to travel to its theme parks vary like night and day.
“It’s so different, which is fascinating. I...
G Adventures recently held a trip called G for Good to India and Nepal to highlight the power of community tourism and social enterprises.
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
Human trafficking survivor Indira Gurung is president of the SASANE organization in Kathmandu, Nepal, advocating for the rights of rescued women and raising awareness of the widespread issue in an effort to end forced labour and sexual...
TED DAVIS
(Photo above: IPW delegates took their first tentative rides on surf boards during a Day One excursion to Huntington Beach.)
America continues to struggle with slow-downs in tourism, but the IPW conference and travel trade market is doing its bit to reverse the trend.
During the most recent IPW in Anaheim CA, the U.S. Travel Association reported that IPW will generate US$5.5...
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
What gives travel agents the EDGE over an online booking? For Christine James, TL Network’s vice-president Canada, it’s about the value and credibility that comes with being an expert.
Whether it’s booking a bucket-list cruise around the world or an annual vacation for an African safari or a luxury river cruise, she said many travellers would rather turn to a travel...
IAN STALKER
(Photo above: The Ethiopian city of Axum is home to a structure Ethiopians believe contains the Ark of the Covenant.)
Ethiopian Airlines believes its Cloud 9 service is heavenly.
The carrier has five-times-a-week Toronto service, and passengers can choose between economy and business class service, with the latter called Cloud 9.
And Birhan Abate, the airline’s area...
IAN STALKER
(Photo above: Sayulita has built a following with surfers.)
Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit views itself as a crossroads between resorts that are often at the upscale end of the lodging spectrum and Mother Nature.
Richard Zarkin, spokesman for the Riviera Nayarit Convention & Visitors Bureau, says numerous upscale hotel companies – such as St. Regis and Four Seasons –...
BOB MOWAT, GREG COATES, IAN STALKER & ANN RUPPENSTEIN
Where were you when the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship?
Well, for close to 400 of the Canadian travel industry’s finest, the answer to that question is they were at the second annual Agents’ Choice Awards Gala at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.
It was a night of celebration and anticipation, as Baxter Media unveiled the...
GREG COATES
Carnival Cruise Line continues to expand its year-long “Why Use a Travel Advisor,” or WUATA, program dedicated to promoting the value of travel agents.
Originally launched in May, Carnival has now expanded the program with the launch of WUATA.com, a WUATA brochure and an exclusive WUATA Facebook page.
According to Adolfo Perez, Carnival’s senior vice-president of sales...
