The U.S. has been plagued by holiday cancellations, but Canada’s two largest airlines say things are much smoother north of the border. Multiple reports out of the United States this weekend point to major cancellation issues, blamed on both staffing shortages and weather issues. The website flightaware.com, which tracks planes around the world, reported 690 cancellations for flights within or into/out of the U.S. on Christmas Eve, followed by 996 on Christmas Day. As of 1 p.m. Eastern Time today, the site was reporting 774 cancellations for flights within or into/out of the U.S. Delta was looking at 131 cancellations Read more
Canada
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada is welcoming the federal government’s announcement to introduce new regulations that would temporarily expand the Local Lockdown Program to include employers subject to capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more and reduce the current-month revenue decline threshold requirement to 25 per cent. They also are applauding the temporary expansion of the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit to include workers in regions where provincial or territorial governments have introduced capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more. The Liberal government on Wednesday announced new programs to help businesses and workers hit by partial lockdowns across Canada. Read more
The Canadian government is not going to be closing its borders to battle Omicron, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today. Speaking at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Trudeau said the Omicron variants “is already here.” “Shutting down the borders at this point would not be an effective measure,” Trudeau said. The government instead feels its best to try to limit gathering sizes and improve COVID-19 testing, he said. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos echoed Trudeau’s comments, saying Canada has “some of the strongest border measures” in the world. He also noted that visitors to Canada must be tested for the coronavirus before Read more
Prince Edward Island has joined Newfoundland & Labrador by bringing in required quarantine periods for visitors. In yet another setback for the Canadian travel and tourism industry, PEI leaders say that, as of today (Dec. 22) at 8 a.m., fully vaccinated visitors to the province will have to isolate for four days. Every visitor who enters PEI will be given two rapid COVID-19 tests and must complete them on day two and day four. If both tests show negative results, the individual can leave isolation. Unvaccinated individuals must complete eight days of self-isolation. Visitors to PEI also must fill out Read more
It’s hard to predict what 2022 will look like for travellers, but here’s a look at some potentially hot destinations for the year ahead. AUSTRALIA There’s going to be tons of pent-up demand for trips Down Under if the world can get past Omicron, and avoid the next variant. In Queensland, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel will allow visitors to learn about conservation efforts and the local ecological system from indigenous guides. The Tasman, Marriott’s first Luxury Collection Property in Australia opened last week (Dec. 15) in Hobart. It’s the first big hotel in Read more
