The new kids on the block

The latest on Puerto Vallarta’s thriving hotel and resort scene

ANN RUPPENSTEIN Whether your clients are looking for luxury, an all-inclusive escape, a no-frills hotel or something in-between, Puerto Vallarta has a lot of options for leisure and business travellers alike. Here’s the scoop on some of the latest updates and openings in the popular Mexican tourist destination, which Conde Nast Traveller named one of the Top Cities in the World. Hotel...

 

Where are Canadians heading?

Insights into outbound travel trends

ANN RUPPENSTEIN Canadian travellers are proving that age is but a number, as a growing number of citizens are continuing to cross countries off their bucket lists as they grow older. “A lot of those older cohorts are a lot more mobile than their predecessors, so while historically travel tapers off in the later years, it’s still going strong right now,” says Jennifer Hendry, senior...

 

For TravelBrands, it’s all about agents

GREG COATES (Photo above: The TravelBrands team of John Puntillo, CIO and VP, information & technology; Sam Youssef, director, integrated marketing; Nathalie Tanious, vice-president, commercial; Enzo DeMarinis, co-founder; Frank DeMarinis, president & CEO; Diane Lattavo, vice-president, flight operations; and Tony Saunders, CFO & senior VP, finance.) Coming off its strongest...

 

ANA educational stirs interest in the trade

Canadians discovering Okinawa

TED DAVIS (Photo above: Kourijima Beach on Kourijima Island is linked to Okinawa by a short bridge.) New tour programs that feature the Japanese island of Okinawa are now coming to market, following the operation of a successful agent fam trip there late last year by ANA (All Nippon Airways). This type of travel trade fam promotion with Okinawa was a first for ANA from Canada. As a result,...

 

Airlines make changes, no rebooking fees charged

Boracay cleans up, but closes down

TED DAVIS (Photo above: The wide beach at Boracay is a busy place, with perfect fine white sand.) Airlines that operate flights to the Philippines are now making changes to frequencies and schedules to account for the unprecedented closing of Boracay, the nation’s most popular resort island. Boracay will be closed to tourists for six months as of April 26, in order to execute a massive...

 

Leveraging Instagram in the travel business

It’s an Instagrammable world

ANN RUPPENSTEIN They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words, and with 800 million monthly active users, there’s no denying people are drawn to the imagery of Instagram. Seeking more insights into its users, Susan Rose, director of product marketing at Instagram, says the social media app commissioned a research company to run a study on how people are influenced by content pertaining to their...

 

We’ve still got a door!

The Travel Agent Next Door

BOB MOWAT [In the second of a two-part series on the The Travel Agent Next Door, Flemming Friisdahl recounts how it all started and what has made the home-based agency group different.] It’s never easy starting a new business, and Flemming Friisdahl admits that he’s “very happy” that he still has a “door to walk through,” but clearly the planning that The Travel Agent Next...

 

Committed to taking care of agents and their customers

Allianz Global Assistance

BOB MOWAT (Photo above: Dan Keon, vice-president, market management, Allianz Global Assistance) Photo courtesy ALLIANZ GLOBAL ASSISTANCE One of the first things that travel agents need to know about Allianz Global Assistance is that the company is committed to taking care of its partners and their customers. “There are two main things that travel agents need to know about Allianz Global...

 

A little Q&A with IGLTA’s John Tanzella

ARMANDO MENDONÇA (Photo above: Armando Mendonça and John Tanzella, president & CEO, IGLTA at the IGLTA Conference in Los Angeles in 2015) My first IGLTA Conference was in 1989 in Vancouver during my tenure at Canadian Holidays. It was at a time when LGBT discrimination was palpable, and the pink dollar had no value. But how times have changed as the IGLTA Conference prepares to...

 

Love is in the air in Saint Lucia

ANN RUPPENSTEIN You could say that love is in the air in Saint Lucia. The Caribbean island has been named the “Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination 2017” by the World Travel Awards. Not only has Saint Lucia received this recognition for the fourth consecutive year, but it’s taken home the award eight out of nine times since 2009. “Properties such as Jade Mountain are known for...