Travel groups from across the globe are calling on government leaders around the world to provide dedicated financial support for travel reliant businesses and to lift travel bans as quickly as possible. The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), Association of South African Travel Agencies (ASATA), Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) and World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), collectively representing the hundreds of thousands of people who work at travel agencies and related businesses around the world, today (December 13) called on government leaders globally Read more

More than a week after the Canadian government announced increased testing at Canadian airports, they’re only halfway to the final target. Worried about the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the federal government on November 30 announced that all passengers arriving at Canadian airports from destinations other than Canada and the U.S. would need to be tested. Exactly how testing would work was unclear, and it’s been slow to roll out. Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos on Friday conceded that Canada’s airport testing, which is the responsibility of the federal government, is nowhere near its final target. Duclos said Read more

Canada’s Health Minister today warned Canadians that travelling outside the country is “risky and unstable.” He also said a formal “do not travel” warning could come later. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Jean-Yves Duclos said the Omicron variant around the world is making international travel difficult, and that coming home is increasingly complicated and unpredictable. Duclos said Canadians should be “more vigilant” when travelling outside the country. Omicron hasn’t been a major issue domestically, he said, but “If they think about travelling outside of Canada should be a red, a big red part of their radar screen. It should be flashing, Read more

Tourism in Canada isn’t expected to rebound until late 2025 or early 2026, says the head of Destination Canada. Speaking at the marketing agency’s annual general meeting, held virtually on Thursday, Destination Canada President and CEO Marsha Walden said it will take that long for tourism expenditures to reach 2019 levels. Walden said Destination Canada anticipates total tourism revenues in Canada will reach $78 billion next year. That’s a 51% increase over 2021 but well below the $105 billion Canada raked in for 2019. “At the depth of the crisis almost every segment of our industry came to a complete Read more

Jamaica celebrated the launch of Swoop’s new non-stop service from Toronto to Kingston with a special welcome reception at Norman Manley International Airport on Wednesday, December 8. Passengers and crew on the airline’s inaugural Kingston flight were greeted by senior government officials and representatives from Jamaica’s tourism sector, including Peter Mullings, Acting Deputy Director of Tourism, Marketing; Joy Roberts, Executive Director, Jamaica Vacations Limited (JAMVAC); Her Excellency Emina Tudakovic, Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica; Camille Needham, Executive Director, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association; and Dale Davis, Director of Operations and Maintenance, PAC Kingston Airport (PACKAL). “Now more than ever before, Read more

Canada’s federal auditor general is slamming the way Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) handled the controversial quarantine hotel program this year. A report from auditor general Karen Hogan says PHAC had a hard time keeping track of whether travellers staying in quarantine hotels were actually there. Global News reports that Hogan said PHAC “has no idea whether three-quarters of people who arrived by air earlier this year obeyed the requirement to quarantine at government-authorized hotels as part of the enforcement effort to limit the spread” of the corona virus. “Though the Public Health Agency of Canada improved its results, Read more