The number of air passenger complaints to Canada’s transport regulator has more than tripled over the past year, soaring past 42,000 as of this month, Canadian Press reports. Complaints totalled about 13,400 as of March 31, 2022, before skyrocketing to unprecedented highs in the ensuing 12 months, according to Canadian Transportation Agency reports. They hit 36,000 in late January, and rose by another 17 per cent since then. Ottawa recently announced $75.9 million in new funding to help deal with the backlog. Canadian Press reports another $11 million was given to the CTA last year, and that the number of Read more
travel agents
Experts are warning Canadians that travel is about to get very busy again. And they say we need to be prepared. “Yes, I am getting many requests for bookings,” Toronto-based travel advisor Amy Urquhart of Pure Magic Vacations told me. “People are still looking to book getaways for March Break and into later spring and summer. The demand is overwhelming at times.” “As far as bookings go, I am well above where I was in the same time period of 2019 pre-pandemic,” said Canadian travel agent Brenda Slater, an Ontario agent and Travel Concierge with Beyond The Beach. “The Read more
Following is a Sunwing statement on holiday travel disruptions for Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Agency Leaders Advisory Group To our valued travel advisors, At Sunwing, we have always remained steadfast in our purpose of making vacation dreams come true and travel advisors are integral to that process, helping our mutual customers choose from a wide variety of all inclusive resorts located in a number of popular vacation destinations. We know the past three years have been challenging and we have navigated through each obstacle together. Of course, this past month has been particularly difficult for travel advisors Read more
The travel rebound is surging to levels even experts didn’t expect. Global luxury travel network Virtuoso gathered data and insights from its network of travel advisors, preferred partners and high net worth/ultra-high net worth clientele based on its data warehouse of more than $49.5 billion in transactions and an ongoing series of surveys. The company found that, despite the challenges, travel sales in 2023 are pacing 47 percent higher than 2019. Virtuoso also reports strong interest in summer visits to the United States, Italy, France, Canada, and Greece. The results of the Virtuoso report were shared at luxury travel’s leading Read more
A well-known travel agents group is asking the Trudeau government to fix Canada’s airport mess. “As has been reported across nationally, travellers are experiencing significant delays at airport security and customs & immigration check points– and Canadians renewing passports in-person are experiencing day-long wait times, sometimes having to return day after day,” the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies said in a statement today. “These delays are caused by several factors, including labour shortages and increased administrative burdens due to legacy COVID-19 policies, as well as absenteeism.” Lineups have been particularly long at Toronto Pearson the last week or so. “Canada’s Read more
