Destinations
The Positive Impact Of Regenerative Tourism
Regenerative tourism can make a meaningful difference rebuilding our social and physical assets and creating new opportunities for visitors and residents. A panel discussion on regenerative tourism at the 2022 TIAC Tourism Congress moderated by Donna Hatt Chief Administration Officer at Travel Media Association of Canada helped to explain what regenerative tourism is, why it matters and how everyone in the sector can move towards both contributing to and benefiting from this approach to the visitor experience. Speakers from six very different companies shared their own examples,...
Industry Talks Recovery At Air Sector Summit
Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra led a National Summit on the Recovery of the Air Sector late last week. The Summit brought together industry partners, including airports, airlines, industry associations, labour groups, consumer rights groups, and government departments and agencies to discuss critical issues facing commercial passenger air transportation and the future of the air sector in Canada. Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Annie Koutrakis, also participated in the...
Boissonnault Energizes TIAC Congress With Closing Speech
Bounding onto the stage as the last speaker of the 2022 TIAC Tourism Congress, tourism minister Randy Boissonnault’s infectious energy and passion for tourism brought delegates to their feet with an enthusiastic standing ovation at the end of his session. In his rapid-fire presentation, recounted how much had changed since his 2021 presentation to TIAC, with the government easing travel restrictions, finally culminating in dropping vaccine mandates and eliminating all COVID-19 border and quarantine restrictions on Oct. 1, 2022. He also listed the supports that the government put...
Fiji Airways Takes Off From YVR
For Canadians, Fiji is that much closer with the launch of Fiji Airways commercial flights to and from Vancouver. Fiji Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andre Viljoen is encouraging Canadians to take advantage of these twice weekly flights to enjoy the world-renowned Fijian hospitality. Said Viljoen: “Our Five Star airline, and multi-award winning onboard experience, including meals, amenities and staff service offer the best value for money. With Canada well into winter and travellers eagerly looking for warm tropical paradise, the timing of our newest route...
Reimagining Tourism: The Time for Incrementalism is Over
Rodney Payne doesn’t mince words. Tourism has been destructive, but we can – and must -- do much better. The answer, he believes, is in a clear-eyed assessment of what’s gone wrong, and a collective, concerted effort to change how things are done. The driving force behind Destination Think, Payne is a successful entrepreneur, most recently founding Tourism Sentiment Index to create a standard KPI for our industry. But he is deeply concerned about the impact that tourism has had on both earth and human systems and believes that merely becoming “sustainable” is not enough: ...
Travel With Pride
All nine affiliated properties of Accent Inns Inc. are now officially Rainbow Registered with Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce. First launched in June 2021, the Rainbow Registered Accreditation Program was created to better identify 2SLGBTQI+ friendly businesses across Canada and move the needle on 2SLGBTQI+ rights. Rainbow Registration is a national Canadian accreditation for 2SLGBTQI+ friendly businesses and organizations. Seeing a Rainbow Registered symbol indicates to consumers that the business meets a stringent set of standards to ensure 2SLGBTQI+ visitors feel safe,...
Polk County Ramps Up Presence In Canada
The Polk County (Florida) Division of Tourism and Sports Marketing, commonly known as Visit Central Florida, has announced a new strategy aimed at bringing it closer to the Canadian travel trade with its new representative based in Toronto, Juanita Ariza from TM Americas. Kris Keprios, senior sales Manager for Polk County Division of Tourism and Sports Marketing, said that: “Canada is Florida’s largest international source market. Being closer to the travel trade is important, especially in the post-pandemic era, when travelers are looking for experiences closer to...
Technology: Key To A Better Border Experience
The vision is to make border travel as seamless as travelling in your own country. Technology and collaboration can help us get there. The technology exists to improve the passenger border experience at airports, marine ports and the land border, but progress is slower than the industry would like, according to members of the Border Modernization panel at the 2022 TIAC Tourism Congress. A first and relatively simple step at airports would be to tweak the current system and remove older processes that are slowing down the flow of passengers, according to Chris Phelan, senior vice...