Welcome to the EDGE

A first look at Celebrity’s new flagship vessel

GREG COATES The first thing you’ll notice when seeing Celebrity Cruises’ iconic new flagship, the Edge, is the tangerine-coloured – not orange – Magic Carpet, an industry-first 90-ton platform that is cantilevered over the side of the ship. The groundbreaking 2,918-passenger Edge welcomed its first passengers last week as Celebrity offered travel trade personnel from around the...

 

Carrier’s Canada-Istanbul link could see more flights

IAN STALKER Turkish Airlines is eager to serve as a modern-day Orient express for those wanting to travel from this country to Istanbul. The carrier now has six weekly non-stop flights from Toronto to a city that straddles the dividing line between Europe and the Orient, and three a week from Montreal, and Mustafa Dogan, the airline’s VP of sales for the Americas, Britain and Ireland,...

 

Playa Hotels & Resorts: Making sure agents are part of the success story

Voices of Travel podcast with Ron Pradinuk

Travel agents may know the name, Playa Hotels & Resorts, but many may not be fully aware of the number of brands under their umbrella. Or how fast their expansion has been over recent years. Panama Jack, Jewel, and Sanctuary Cap Cana – all impressive resorts unto themselves. Add to that list a number of Hyatt’s and Hilton’s which they fully own and operate, and you have some of...

 

Lufthansa is committed to agents

BOB MOWAT Canada, travel agents and a whole lot more were topics of the first of a two-part conversation when Canadian Travel Press sat down with the Lufthansa Group’s senior vice-president sales for Lufthansa Hub Airlines and chief commercial officer (CCO) Hub Frankfurt, Heike Birlenbach. “The Canadian market belongs to one of the big markets for the Lufthansa Group,” Heike...

 

Asia Pacific growing in importance for global tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released its Asia Tourism Trends Report showing Asia and the Pacific outperforming all world regions in growth in international arrivals since 2005. The report shows that international tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew 6% in 2017 to reach 323 million, around a quarter of the world’s total. Of all world regions, Asia and the Pacific,...

 

2019: The year of ultra-personalization for upscale travellers

  MIKE DUNBAR In its Luxe Report for 2019, Virtuoso makes it clear that travel in the coming year will be highly personalized and inspired by a desire to experience new destinations in unusual ways. Virtuoso gathered responses to the new survey from its agencies and advisors in 50 countries, including from 185 locations in Canada, in order to forecast what the coming year will bring. In...

 

WTM report: Brexit has Brits pondering vacation plans

MIKE DUNBAR Holiday traffic from Britain to Europe could be decimated next year, if the UK exits the EU without a deal, come March 29. As many as 20 million Brits could opt to vacation elsewhere unless a Brexit deal can be agreed, according to research released at this year’s World Travel Market (WTM) in London. A “no-deal” scenario could see British tourists heading for their...

 

Ensemble is ready for the next fifty years

ILONA KAUREMSZKY “You don’t know what you don’t know,” co-president Lindsay Pearlman says matter-of-factly on the past and future surprises of technology in the topsy-turvy travel business. [caption id="attachment_116403" align="alignright" width="300"] Rice and Pearlman[/caption] Yet, despite the doom and gloom of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) or Alexa taking over the role of...

 

Coastal Florida airport offers quick access to Orlando theme parks

IAN STALKER Pictured above: Kayaking is among activities outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy in the Melbourne area. Lori Booker says the coastal Florida airport she promotes offers quicker access to Mickey Mouse’s home turf than the larger airport found in Walt Disney World’s backyard. Booker, spokeswoman for the Orlando Melbourne International Airport, says that facility’s smaller...

 

Georgia seeks to make inroads in Canada

IAN STALKER Tracy Vaughan and her colleagues are holding out a hand of friendship to Canadians making a vacation journey by car to Florida or who decide that they simply would like a road journey that’s a little shorter. Vaughan, director, business development & international accounts, tourism, for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, says Georgia has varied and differing...