Canadians’ holiday travel budgets are more than double what they were last year, a trend that bodes well for airlines and the tourism industry. IBM’s Holiday Shopping and Travel Report finds that, in response to economic disruption and financial strain, Canadian consumers are rethinking their wish lists, with many diverting their holiday budgets from shopping to travel. This holiday season, Canadians are more concerned about rising costs and inflation (64%) than COVID-19 (56%), and they are recalibrating their celebration plans accordingly. – Compared to last year, Canadians’ holiday travel budgets are up by 131%, significantly higher than the global average Read more
Canada
The federal government today announced an end to mandatory vaccination for Canadians travelling domestically on airplanes and trains, and also for outbound international travel. Senior ministers in the Trudeau government said foreign travellers will still need to show proof of vaccination to enter Canada, while unvaccinated Canadians returning home will still be required to quarantine. The new rules will take effect Monday, June 20. Other entry requirements will stay in place, including the requirement to fill out the government’s ArriveCAN app. Masks will still be required on airplanes, large ships, and trains, officials said. Foreign nationals coming to Canada will Read more
Two of Canada’s largest travel companies are proposing a major merger. WestJet and Sunwing announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement under which the WestJet Group of companies will acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. “The transaction will bring together two distinctly Canadian travel and tourism success stories to deliver new travel options and greater value for travellers in the rapidly expanding leisure and work-from-anywhere travel markets,” officials said. “The combination will enable both companies to protect and create jobs and rebuild strength in the Canadian travel industry at a critical time.” Robert Kokonis, president of Toronto-based AirTrav, Read more
A top Canadian doctor says Canada doesn’t need to require PCR tests for incoming travellers. “What’s really clear is that COVID is everywhere and that it’s not travel that’s the major source of spread,” said Dr. David Carr, an emergency medicine professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto, told the CBC. “Making people repeat their PCR [test] upon arrival is deflecting resources away from where they could be better spent,” he said. “As we watch the loosening of other requirements, such as isolation periods, it would seem that loosening of requirements around travel should follow Read more
The best-known COVID-19 expert in the U.S. says the American government should “seriously” consider requiring domestic travellers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. “There’s requirements that you might want to get if you want to get into college, or you want to go to a university, or you want to work in certain places,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said on MSNBC on Monday. “When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated. If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.” CNBC Read more
