New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals Paris as the world’s most powerful city destination. But the future belongs to China. The report, sponsored by Visa and researched in partnership with Oxford Economics, analyzed key indicators such as Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP, employment and traveller spend. The U.S. had three cities in the top 10: Orlando, New York and Las Vegas. China had three in the top 10: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. COVID-19 had a devastating impact on Travel & Tourism and in particular major cities around the world as countries closed their borders Read more
Tokyo
WestJet today announced its 2023 summer 787 Dreamliner routes from YYC Calgary International Airport, unveiling Tokyo, Japan, as its first destination in Asia with new service to Narita International Airport. The airline is also creating greater two-way tourism opportunities and increasing connectivity between Western Canada and Europe with new service between Calgary and Barcelona, Spain and Edinburgh, Scotland along with increased frequencies on existing European routes. Today’s announcement comes as WestJet prepares for broader expansion within Canada and North America over the coming months. Open Jaw reports that flights from Toronto to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, Barcelona and London Gatwick will Read more
The Canadian government today announced an expanded agreement between Canada and India that will allow designated airlines to operate an unlimited number of flights between the two countries. The previous agreement limited each country to 35 flights per week. This significant move will allow airlines of Canada and India to better respond to the needs of the Canada-India air transport market. The new rights under the expanded agreement are available for use by airlines immediately. “The expanded air transport agreement between Canada and India is a positive development for air transport relations between our countries,” said Canadian Transport Minister Omar Read more
Air Canada today announced the strategic expansion of its international network for summer 2023, with the addition of new European services to Brussels, Toulouse and Copenhagen. It is also resuming key Asia services to Tokyo-Haneda and Osaka, and is restoring frequencies to leading destinations in the Atlantic, Pacific and South America regions. “We continue to pursue our disciplined approach of expanding our global network in response to anticipated demand. We are especially pleased to be adding three new strategic routes to Europe, resuming important services to Japan, and increasing frequencies to key international destinations for summer 2023,” said Mark Galardo, Read more
I always like to support Canadian products, and that includes tourism and related companies like Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which has its world headquarters in mid-town Toronto. I’ve been lucky enough to stay at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts around the world, including Maui, Hawaii Big Island, New York City, Santa Barbara, Chicago and other places. They’re all different but they all raise the bar in terms of rooms, style, food, drinks and service. So I’m always happy to give them a little bit of attention when I can. I got a note from their public relations team today Read more
