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

Australia is open for international visitors, and Canadians are chomping at the bit. Canadian consumers recognize that Australia did a good job handling COVID-19, and that there’s a “huge demand” for visits amongst Canadian travelleres, Chris Allison, the North America acting general manager for Tourism Australia, said at a Tourism Australia “Australia On Tour” event in downtown Toronto on Tuesday. A study in December found that Canadian interest in visiting Australia was back to pre-pandemic levels. Tim Liu, Managing Director, Sales Planning & Effectiveness at Air Canada, said Air Canada recognizes the increased interest and is responding with more flights. Read more

Beginning today, tourism businesses in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton can apply for support through the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) to expand and enhance visitor experiences. Destination Toronto is administering the program in its capacity as Regional Tourism Organization 5 (RTO5), working in close partnership with the City of Toronto, Tourism Mississauga, and the City of Brampton Tourism Office, on behalf of FedDev Ontario.  Announced by the federal government in July 2021, the Tourism Relief Fund supports tourism businesses and organizations in adapting their operations to meet changing public health requirements, while investing in new products and services to attract visitors Read more

FlightHub Group today announced a partnership with WestJet to assist in the transportation of GlobalMedic’s field team members to and from areas impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. Through coordinated collaboration, WestJet will provide flights to and from European gateways across its network, where FlightHub will then transport the GlobalMedic team members to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. “FlightHub is proud to partner with WestJet and provide humanitarian support for the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine,” said Chris Cave, CEO of FlightHub Group. “We commend the work being done by the GlobalMedic team, and hope that transporting their members closer to the front Read more

Sunwing Airlines Inc. says the network-wide system outage that has grounded travellers and delayed flights to and from sun destinations is still not resolved. The crisis is now stretching into its fifth day. Canadian Press and the Toronto Star report that Sunwing continues to advise customers travelling over the next few days to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Sunwing has apologized for the ongoing delays, which it says are the result of a data security breach affecting its third-party provider of passenger handling systems. The Toronto-based airline/travel company says it has been forced to write out Read more