IATA teaching agents how to deliver the right services

Special needs, special care

MIKE DUNBAR (Photo above courtesy of IATA) Assisting travellers with special needs is a business imperative whose time has come, particularly given the demographics of an aging, but still active boomer generation. And IATA has developed a learning module to allow travel agents and their suppliers to serve customers with physical disabilities and mobility issues, as well as those with hidden...

 

It’s time to make it about the destination

All-inclusive evolution

BOB MOWAT PART 2 In the second part of a three-part series, the conversation continues with Melia Hotels International’s vice-president of global brand strategy, Tony Cortizas. This week, he talks with Canadian Travel Press about the all-inclusive space; the Group’s plans for its Paradisus brand in the Asia Pacific region; and some of the trends driving the company’s strategy in this...

 

The Hawai‘ian Islands – distinctly different

IAN STALKER (Photo above: The Napali Coast is one of an endless number of Hawai'ian locales that offers stunning scenery.) Colin Wood says Hawai‘i vacations never need to amount to more of the same. Wood, Account Director for Hawai‘i Tourism Canada, notes those considering a Hawai‘i vacation have a choice of islands, with differences in those islands quickly becoming apparent to...

 

Tiger tourism’s role in conservation

TED DAVIS (Photo above: Snoozing in captivity. In India, some tigers end up in zoos, like this one in Darjeeling.) International Tiger Day has just passed (July 29), once again spotlighting efforts to maintain and even increase the small population of tigers remaining in the world. International Tiger Day has been in operation every year since 2010, when it was created at the St....

 

Changing attitudes with a sustainable strategy

Meliá Hotels International

BOB MOWAT (In the first part of a three-part series, Meliá Hotels International’s vice-president of global brand strategy, Tony Cortizas sits down with Canadian Travel Press for a wide-ranging conversation about the all-inclusive space, market trends to watch, the brand and the latest developments at MHI.) Talking to Tony Cortizas is always an experience and considering that he’s in...

 

IATA going global with new paperless ID card

Beyond the AD75

MIKE DUNBAR Canada is one of only two testing grounds for IATA’s brand-new digital Travel Professional ID Card, which went mobile via the AgentExperience app last week. If all goes without a hitch here and in Australia, the paperless card is expected to go global in a couple of months. And, in a major bid to boost the number of ID Card members worldwide, IATA is actively enlisting more...

 

Iberostar raises the bar

ANN RUPPENSTEIN (Photo above: The infinity pool at the soon-to-open Iberostar Grand Hotel Packard in Havana, Cuba.) Fresh off a €500 million renovation primarily across its European properties, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts is now in the next phase of its global expansion plan with another €700 million in upgrades and new properties underway in the Americas. “We are sure that the...

 

Experience, reliability is what apto is all about

IAN STALKER (Photo above: Tour operator members come from many countries, among them Turkey, home to the ruins of Ephesus.) A new alliance comprised of tour companies working in inbound tourism proudly states its members collectively have considerable expertise. The Toronto-based Alliance of Pioneer Travel Operators now has some 30 members from destinations as diverse as Iceland, Peru,...

 

Educate. Discover. Gather. Evolve.

In Conversation with TL Network’s John Lovell and Christine James

ILONA KAUREMSZKY Despite worldwide political unrest especially south of the border with President Trump in the headlines daily, top executives of North America’s largest network of professional travel agents, Travel Leaders Network cite little to no effect in business at its annual international trade show. Judging by the record numbers of registrants at the first-ever Travel Leaders EDGE...

 

Allianz helping get ailing Canadians home in ‘flying ICU’

GREG COATES (Photo above: Dan Keon, vice-president, Market Management, Allianz Global Assistance Canada, and Sam Cimone, president, Skyservice Air Ambulance International It’s a flight you never want to have to take, but one that helps saves lives and one that Allianz Global Assistance Canada and partner Skyservice Air Ambulance International have been offering for more than 30...