wttc2

Among last week’s news highlights, ACTA launched a loan relief campaign, tropical storm Idalia ravaged Florida and Georgia, China finally dropped COVID testing for arrivals, Air Canada slashed routes from Calgary, and Transat completed a deal to sell land it owned in Mexico.

NEWS

ACTA has launched a letter writing campaign calling on the federal government to provide more time for federal loans to travel agents/agencies to be repaid. The association is urging agents to send a letter to their Member of Parliament and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland by Sept. 29. A recent survey by ACTA on Debt and Government Pandemic Loans conducted in July reveals that 27% of travel businesses owe at least $100,000, 56% owe at least $50,000 and 80% owe at least $10,000 – and that a majority of travel agencies and independent travel advisors are not confident they can repay principal and interest on CEBA, RRRF and HASCAP loans by Dec. 31.

Tropical Storm Idalia left a trail of flooding and destruction across the US Southeast, stretching back to its landfall as a hurricane in Florida. Still, it was far less destructive than feared, providing only glancing blows to Tampa Bay and other more populated areas as it came ashore with 201 kph winds in rural Florida.

China no longer requires a negative COVID-19 test result for incoming travellers, representing a milestone in its reopening to the rest of the world after a three-year isolation that began with the country’s borders closing in March 2020. The new measure (or lack thereof) came into effect Aug. 30.

BY THE NUMBERS

According to WTTC’s Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2023 Global Trends Report the GDP contribution of the US Travel & Tourism sector grew by 16.9% in 2022 to reach $2 trillion. Additionally, the sector also created 2.7 million more jobs compared to 2021. The impressive growth was fuelled by a strong resurgence in demand from international visitors – including Canadians – whose spending increased by more than 150% year-on-year, to reach $115.7 billion in 2022.

AIR

Beginning Oct. 30, WestJet will double its daily service Calgary and Ottawa, adding seven additional weekly flights during peak travel periods. In addition, five weekly flights have been added between Calgary and Los Angeles. Flights can be  booked as of Sept. 5.

 Air Canada is eliminating six major routes out of Calgary this winter, in part due to an industry-wide pilot shortage. The airline confirmed that it will no longer offer non-stop flights from Calgary to Ottawa, Halifax, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Cancun, or Frankfurt as of the end of October.

Canada Jetlines has released an expanded winter flight schedule featuring service between Toronto and Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Orlando – in addition to increased frequencies to Cancun and Las Vegas. Flights to Orlando start Oct. 30 and to Mo’ Bay on Nov. 5.

Porter Airlines is launching a mobile app that includes the ability to check-in, access booking details, select seats, add bags, manage flight changes, access boarding passes, and receive real-time flight notifications.

DEALS

Canadian outdoor enthusiasts will receive 20% off their stay at AutoCamp California properties in Joshua Tree, Yosemite and Russian River for the rest of the year if they use the code VISITCALIFORNIA while booking. The three glamping/airstream sites offer a unique way to visit the state and offer such amenities as heated pool, yoga, sea kayaking, wellness classes and more. AutoCamp is also launching a new location in Sequoia National Park in mid-2024.

Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) has launched the Barbados ‘World of Difference’ Experiences Campaign, where each approved traveller will receive BBD$200 (CDN$135) in a digital wallet format, to be spent exclusively within Barbados. In effect until Oct. 15 for travel through Oct. 31, travellers are invited to book a holiday to Barbados through their preferred booking mechanism and stay at an approved accommodation partners. Some conditions apply. For details. Visit www.bookbarbados.com/worldofdifference

TOURS

“Sea, Safari, South Africa” is the latest South African tour from Contiki. Encompassing nine safari parks (photo), plus Cape Town and Johannesburg, the two-week trip combines the diverse Garden Route with popular wildlife viewing spots Isimangaliso, Hluhluwe and Kruger National Park – where guests will get to sleep ‘under the stars’ on an exclusive Contiki campsite. The trip is live and available to book in 2024.

The second edition of Air Canada Vacations’ Travel Agent Toolkit will be made available as of Sept. 6 during the #ACVDreamMakers Tour. This toolkit includes a step-by-step guide to using the tour company’s new digital Sun brochure, the most recent flight schedule for winter, an overview of available hotels and cruises, as well as Air Canada Vacations promotions and offers.

HOTELS

Transat A.T Inc. completed the sale of its land in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, for US$38 million to Finest Resorts, a luxury resort group, part of the Excellence Collection. Initially announced on July 10, the transaction is designed to enable Transat to pursue its strategic plan of refocusing on its airline activities. Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay a portion of the Corporation’s debt.

In 2024, Nobu Hotel New Orleans and restaurant are set to open within the newly created Caesars New Orleans, following a multimillion-dollar transformation of Harrah’s New Orleans.

RESORTS

Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau in the Bahamas has launched a new Navigator Experience, an exclusive butler service catering to guests staying in the One Particular Harbour residences section of the resort. Upon booking, guests are matched with a personal Navigator who will be their point of contact even before they arrive in The Bahamas. From arranging seamless airport transfers to securing the best dinner reservations, the Navigator’s mission is to deliver an extraordinary and unforgettable stay.

The “In The Kitchen Summer Series” is the newest culinary offering at Rosewood Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas. For US$285 p.p., guests can now book intimate cooking sessions with the renowned resort chefs to learn the craft of international cuisines, dish plating and wine pairings.

CRUISE

Carnival Cruise Line announced the name of its new exclusive cruise port destination on Grand Bahama Island: Celebration Key. Carnival ships will begin to call in July 2025.

New five and six-day itineraries will be launched by American Queen Voyages in February 2024. These voyages will allow travellers to explore the natural beauty and rich history of the Lower Mississippi River during shorter voyages on the contemporary riverboat American Countess. The five and six-day itineraries are round trip New Orleans sailings, beginning on Feb. 17 including St. Francisville and AQV exclusive port, Nottoway, Louisiana. EBBs are available.

ATTRACTIONS & THEME PARKS

The Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans has re-opened after its completed renovation of the Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium. The project was the biggest renovation of the Aquarium since it opened on Canal Street in 1990. The renovation makes the Audubon campus the only aquarium/insectarium under one roof in the world.

FAMS & INCENTIVES

Riviera River Cruises is celebrating the announcement of its new ship on the Douro River in Portugal with a promotion for travel advisors. Advisors who make new bookings for five cabins (10 guests, excludes groups) on 2024 departures of the MS Porto Mirante through the end of November will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary cabin of their own aboard the ship and a US$2,000 airfare credit. The Porto Mirante will sail 10 departures of the new ‘Highlights of the Douro Valley and Salamanca’ itinerary from July to October next year. Visit https://www.rivierarivercruises.com/.

EVENTS

In the pink: Santa Monica Tourism (represented in Canada by Pulse Communications) recently treated some members of the trade to a private screening of the Barbie movie in Toronto (photo), which was largely filmed in the beachside enclave of Los Angeles. Attendees were encouraged to channel their inner Barbie or Ken by dressing in pink.

Back for the 12th time, Goway will host its gala Africa and Middle East event in Toronto on Oct. 24 featuring close to 30 suppliers from across all of Africa and the Middle East for a full-day of training, events, meals, cocktails, and a free-flow trade show. The event will take place at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, 370 King St. W. from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click HERE to register.

PEOPLE/APPOINTMENTS

Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) has announced the appointment of Canadian travel agency veteran Dianne Jackson as Director, Franchise and Affiliate Members at TDC, effective Sept. 11. Jackson will be part of the leadership team and will report directly to General Manager Karine Gagnon. Jackson will be responsible for the success and growth of the TDC Network’s franchise and affiliate travel agency program for all provinces, except Quebec. She will also be responsible for the renewal and recruitment process of new franchises and affiliates, as well as maintaining strong business relationships with TDC members and key players in the industry.

DESTINATIONS

This week, Berlin becomes a capital of literature. Around 200 authors from over 40 countries are expected at the 23rd International Literature Festival, Sept. 6-16.

A new website has been launched by Discover The Palm Beaches, the official tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County, Fla. With stunning visuals and intuitive navigation, the enhanced digital design provides a user-friendly experience for users looking to discover the destination’s 39 various towns and cities. Information includes accommodations, attractions, dining, events and more, including an improved official partner listing guide, real-time hotel rates, plus booking referrals to multiple top hotel sites. The website will be updated once more to include two new menu sections focused on Meetings and Trade Travel.

LAST WEEK IN TRAVEL HISTORY

In 1872, the world’s first “Wild West Show” was staged at Niagara Falls, Ont. The main attraction was American frontiersman James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickock who appeared in “Buffalo Bill’s” show until 1874. Hickock’s reputation as a marksman made him a celebrity in the travelling show.

Send info to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com

First published at Travel Industry Today

Source

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

A Disney cruise is full of magical fun for kids and families with plenty of relaxation for adults. It’s where the magic of Disney meets the enchantment of a cruise. Where everyone can run off on their own adventures to incredible kids’ clubs or adult-exclusive spaces. And where it’s easier than ever to come together, let go and create memories that will last a lifetime!

Step aboard and enjoy some seriously magical family bonding “we time”—with entertainment, dining, activities and interactive experiences the whole family can enjoy together. Then, discover all the ways everyone can find their own special magic. Character sightings and immersive experiences like kids’ clubs and awesome waterslides are just a few of the activities your kids are sure to love. And Senses Spa & Salon, adult-exclusive fine dining, pools and lounges were specially designed for adults to unwind and relax for some much deserved “me time.”

First published at Travel Industry Today

Source

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Some 15,000 people, including many tourists, pasted each other with tomatoes Wednesday as Spain’s annual “Tomatina” street battle took place in the eastern town of Buñol.

Workers on trucks tipped 120 tons of overripe tomatoes into the main street of the town for participants to throw. The street fight leaves both the street, its houses, and participants drenched in red pulp.

Tickets for the festival start at 12 euros ($13).

The town hoses down the area and the revellers shower off within minutes of the hour-long noon battle finishing.

The festival, held on the last Wednesday of August, was inspired by a food fight between local children in 1945 in the town, located in a tomato-producing region.

Participants use swimming goggles to protect their eyes and usually dress in T-shirts and shorts.

Media attention in the 1980s turned it into a national and international event, drawing participants from every corner of the world.

First published at Travel Industry Today

Source

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

A recent Saturday evening Mass at Sagrada Familia parish in Barcelona, Spain, had all the hallmarks of a neighbourhood worship service. But it also featured security checks to get in and curious tourists peering down to take photos of the worshippers from above. The regular Mass is held in the crypt of modernist architect Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece church, one of Europe’s most visited monuments.

With tourism reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic records in Barcelona and across southern Europe, iconic sacred sites are struggling to accommodate the faithful who come to pray and the millions of visitors who often pay to view the art and architecture.

“We’re working to get ahead of this, so that we don’t get to a collapse,” said the Rev. Josep Maria Turull, rector at Sagrada Familia and the Barcelona archdiocese’s director for tourism, pilgrimage, and sanctuaries.

An increasingly popular strategy is to have visitors and the faithful go separate ways – with services held in discrete places, visits barred at worship times, or altogether different entry queues.

This spring, the Vatican opened a separate “pathway” starting outside St. Peter’s Basilica for those who want to enter to pray or attend Mass, so they wouldn’t be discouraged by sometimes hours-long lines for the average of 55,000 daily visitors, said Basilica spokesperson Roberta Leone.

But the challenge remains: how to balance the churches’ competing roles amid the tourism surge without sacrificing their spiritual purpose.

“It’s just really hard because you also want people to experience your faith,” said Daniel Olsen, a Brigham Young University professor who researches religious tourism. With an estimated 330 million people visiting religious sites yearly around the world, it’s one of the tourism market’s largest segments.

Worshippers, who often come because celebrated churches tend to have more services than regular parishes, need free access even as tourists often pay fees that are crucial to maintaining the sites.

“The temple needs to be a place for services and not a theme park,” said Joan Albaiges after Mass in the Sagrada Familia crypt, which he’s attended regularly for six decades.

He praised the move in recent years to celebrate one multilingual Sunday Mass at the main altar in the soaring, colour-filled basilica. There’s such demand for the 800 free tickets, however, that several hundred people queueing routinely don’t get in, Turull said.

Lay and religious leaders say the histories of the sacred sites should be presented to visitors, who are increasingly unfamiliar with faith traditions in rapidly secularizing countries where lesser-known churches are emptying out or being repurposed.

“Some people go to the cathedral, and they don’t realize they’re in a church. It’s a situation that’s developing in nations that were majority Christian, and now faith is cooling off,” said José Fernández Lago, rector of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Filled with masterpieces from Romanesque sculpture to lavish Baroque decorations, Santiago’s cathedral attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists and pilgrims who since the Middle Ages have travelled along the Camino routes to venerate St. James’s tomb.

To preserve its role as a revered pilgrims’ church, Lago said, the cathedral doesn’t charge entry fees, cap visitor numbers, or require a dress code. On a hot early summer morning, a steady stream of pilgrims ducked each other’s selfie sticks in front of the jewel-encrusted St. James statue, some still in tight cycling shorts or sweat-stained hiking shirts.

But visits aren’t allowed during the four daily Masses celebrated at the main altar, and priests as well as security guards constantly ask visitors to lower their voices to allow others to pray.

“It keeps getting harder,” said Juan Sexto, who in 10 years working security at the cathedral has noticed a change in how many visitors behave.

As crowds surged before the always-packed noon pilgrims’ Mass, he kept stepping to the main microphone asking for silence – which lasted a minute or so before enthusiastic visitors resumed chatting.

Waiting for Mass to start, pilgrim Miguel Angel Ariño said the church did well to allow only the faithful during worship times, while leaving the cathedral open long hours for cultural visits.

“As people, we need the transcendent. Leisure and rest, and time with God, are not incompatible,” Ariño said.

Without some strategy, however, they can become so. Co-existence between worshippers and tourists has been controversial at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. Built as a landmark cathedral in the Byzantine era, turned into a mosque by the conquering Ottoman empire in the 1400s, and open as a museum for the last century, it was converted back into a functioning mosque in 2020 by Turkey’s Islamic-oriented government.

Now visitors can tour the structure for free outside of prayer hours. In Hagia Sophia’s main section where prayers are held, the vast mosaics depicting Christian figures are hidden behind drapes and most of the marble floor is covered with carpeting.

“We would like it to be a museum again,” said Ricardo Bravo, a tourist from Mexico visiting the monument with his family. “We would like to see more things to understand more, to appreciate more Turkish culture.”

At many of Spain’s most-visited churches, the balance was often off-kilter in the opposite direction. So many visitors thronged the vast Basilica del Pilar in Zaragoza on a mid-June Saturday that it was nearly impossible to hear the midday Mass celebrated in the small chapel where a statue of Our Lady of the Pillar is venerated.

With some 2.5 million annual visitors, Barcelona Cathedral was also close to a breaking point before its council revolutionized the worship vs. tours balance over the last few years.

“It was like being in a market,” recalled Anna Vilanova, who directs the cathedral’s tourism strategy. “We had to put some order.”

The cathedral instituted caps on visitor numbers, required tour groups to use wireless audio guides to reduce noise, and added staffers to explain the new policies to visitors and those coming for daily Mass or confession, held in a side chapel with crystal doors to preserve silence.

While 3.7 million tourists explored the Sagrada Familia’s arresting architecture and mesmerizing stained glass windows last year, Fenelon Mendez remains focused on the parish activity literally underneath.

Originally from Venezuela, he’s lived in the neighbourhood with his family for a decade and often serves as sacristan and altar server. There are ministry programs for single moms and for migrants, and regular food distributions, he said.

The basilica provides a unique experience, so the faithful should continue to get full access to it, Mendez said. But the crypt where regular worshippers gather is the true core where many like him feel at home.

“You could take the basilica to New York, but we are here,” he said in the sacristy, long after the day’s tourists had stopped wandering above.

First published at Travel Industry Today

Source

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News