Many of us in the travel industry can feel it; that sense of pent-up travel demand. And now we’re seeing proof. Canadian government statistics show that 742,400 Canadians flew back into the country via Canadian airports in December of last year. That’s nearly 70% of the pre–pandemic figure of 1.1 million from 2019. It’s also nearly eight times more than the 93,800 Canadian travellers in December of 2020. Tour companies and cruise ship owners are bumping up their public relations efforts of late, sensing a soon-to-arrive boost in travel. Conventions and meetings are coming back in some parts of the Read more
Canada
If you’re a Canadian who hoped to drive to Florida this winter, you better have your proof of vaccination. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security quietly issued a statement on Thursday that, starting today (Jan. 22, 2022), it will require non-U.S. individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. These new restrictions will apply to non-U.S. individuals who are traveling for both essential and non-essential reasons. They will not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals. The U.S. requires proof of a negative COVID test taken within a day Read more
A Radio-Canada report says the Trudeau government could eliminate mandatory on-arrival testing within days. Their report says the Liberal government in Ottawa “plans to backtrack and return, quickly, to the establishment of random tests” for air passengers arriving in Canada. “The final decision has not yet been made, but, according to a federal source very close to the file, it is a matter of weeks, even days,” said Radio-Canada. Several tourism groups and a group that represents Canadian travel agents have recently called for an end to the government’s mandatory on-arrival testing, which was introduced late last year for passengers Read more
Canada’s new ultra-affordable airline, Lynx Air, announces the much anticipated launch of its booking website, with tickets going on sale for flights to the airline’s first five destinations: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Kelowna and Winnipeg. This is an important milestone in Lynx’s mission to make air travel accessible to all Canadians, with ultra-low fares, a fleet of brand-new Boeing 737 aircraft and great customer service. Base fares start at $39 for a one-way ticket between Kelowna and Vancouver. One-way fares between Calgary and Vancouver start at $49, while one-way tickets between Calgary and Toronto start at $69, according to Yahoo Finance. Read more
An influential group of Canadian travel agents is joining the chorus of those pushing for a change to Canada’s on-arrival PCR test program. “The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) and its travel and tourism advocacy partners call on the federal government to lift the mandatory arrival testing and quarantine requirement for fully-vaccinated, asymptomatic travelers so these tests can be used to support Canada’s domestic testing needs,” the group said in a statement today (Friday, Jan. 20). “It is important that the Government of Canada remove these temporary measures – as well as others introduced over the past two years– Read more
