The Trudeau government say the majority of non-compliant passengers on a rowdy Sunwing flight in late December of last year have been fined. Following Transport Canada’s investigation into the Montréal-Cancun flight of December 30, 2021, the agency announced today that it has issued a total of 42 penalties to 37 of the 154 passengers, including 18 penalties for non-compliance of vaccination status, and 24 penalties for not respecting instructions to wear a mask. The total value of these penalties, which could reach a maximum of $5,000 each, is $59,500. The December 30 flights sparked outrage and headlines around the world Read more
Canada
A new study finds that 96% of Americans who have previously traveled internationally plan to do so in 2022. And Canada is a prime destination. International Medical Group, which is based in Indianapolis, has released the results of its Travel Outlook Survey that evaluated the 2022 travel plans and trends of IMG customers who have previously traveled outside the U.S. The results of the survey reveal that 96% of respondents plan to travel internationally in 2022, an 11% increase over pre-pandemic travel levels. “It is clear that people are feeling more comfortable traveling abroad and are ready to take the international Read more
Canadian cities are beginning to recover from more than two years of a terrible tourism drought. Destination Vancouver says March 2022 occupancy was 65% in the city, up substantially from 40% in March of 2021. “We’re definitely seeing pick-up,” a spokesperson told me. “Looking ahead to the next six months, hotel bookings are up over 300% compared to same time last year. “Tourism is coming back.” Scott Beck, president and CEO of Destination Toronto, tells me that Toronto was at 60% hotel occupancy last month. Toronto was around 40% for the first couple months of the year. Beck said it’s Read more
Eight Canadian hotels have been honoured with five-star ratings from the Forbes Travel Guide, and four are in Toronto. Two Canadian hotel spas also were awarded five-star ratings. Forbes today announced five-star ratings for The Ritz-Carlton Toronto, The Four Seasons Toronto, The Shangri-La Toronto and the Hazelton Hotel in the city’s Yorkville district. The Four Seasons Toronto spa also got a five-star spa rating. In Vancouver, five-star ratings went to the Shangri-La, The Fairmont Pacific Rim and the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. The Four Seasons Montreal was the lone entry for Quebec, although the hotel spa also received five stars. The Read more
Air Canada ticket sales for March of this year nearly reached pre-pandemic levels, one of the surest signs yet that the travel rebound is real. Canada’s largest airline released its first quarter results today. One of the key indicators is that ticket sales for March of 2022 were more than 90% of sales in March, 2019. Air Canada officials called that “a leading indicator to much stronger 2022 second and third quarter results.” For the quarter, Air Canada had operating revenues of $2.573 billion, more than triple that of the same quarter last year. The airline reported a first quarter Read more
