Destinations
Curaçao On Track For Big Gains In 2023
The Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) is on track to welcome a record 525,000 visitors to the island in 2023. During the 2023 Routes Americas airline route development conference in Chicago last week, Hugo Clarinda, Deputy Director of the Curaçao Tourist Board, expressed confidence about achieving the goal, citing strong performance in the first two months of the year and promising forward bookings from hotels and airlines. The CTB reported a 20% increase in stayover visitors for February compared to the same period last year, with a total of 42,562 tourists visiting the island...
Lights, Action, Let’s Festival
The Global Tourism Film Festival, in association with the City of North Bay, Ont., has announced its lineup of tourism promotion films, workshops, and seminars, coming up April 27 to April 30. GTFF 2023 screening selections include films from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Central and South America. Film categories comprise Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films and Tourism Commercials that compete for the prestigious Global Cine Awards. GTFF returns with its mandate to present a multi-activity slate of film and events which have the power to raise awareness...
Yucatán Makes A Pitch for New Flights
Yucatan’s minister of tourism, Michelle Fridman was on hand for the Routes Americas conference in Chicago last week meeting with key decision makers for airlines, airports, and destinations. Raul Paz Technical Director at the Ministry of Tourism of the state of Yucatan, joined the minister at the event for talks with carriers such as Porter Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Delta Airlines and LATAM Airlines – airlines that currently don’t serve the destination – to convince them to include Yucatan in their future operations schedules. Fridman said: “For Yucatán, attending this...
Lynx Air Expands Hamilton, Kelowna Services
Lynx Air has added two new routes from Hamilton to Vancouver and from Toronto to Kelowna. The carrier will offer seasonal summer services between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Kelowna International Airport (YLW) starting April 13, 2023, and between Hamilton’s John C. Munroe International Airport (YHM) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) starting April 16, 2023. Both services will operate as “through flights” via Calgary International Airport (YYC), providing a seamless service with a single boarding pass and the ability to check bags through to the...
Clear Sailing Ahead For Great Lakes Cruising
As Stephen Burnett, Executive Director, Great Lakes Cruise Association (GLCA), sees it, “Over the next 20 years, we expect the number of cruise ships to triple in the Saint Lawrence river and the Great Lakes and it's predictable that we will need more port communities, more docking spaces and more stakeholders involved in the industry.” Burnett continues: “In 2023, we are expecting 12 cruise ships to deploy into the Great Lakes and in total they will offer in excess of 37,000 individual cruise births. This means that over 1.1 million times a cruise guest in 2023 will visit a...
Ireland Welcomes The World At Meitheal and Meet the Buyer
Tourism Ireland is welcoming international buyers from 17 countries to the island of Ireland this week for the country's largest annual global travel trade events -- Meitheal (Killarney, Co. Kerry) and Meet the Buyer (Belfast, Northern Ireland). Five representatives from Canadian tour operators will connect with the more than 450 Irish businesses taking over 310 appointments over 4 days to expand and enhance future programming. These events are among the most important in the Irish tourism calendar, with key themes this year including sustainable travel, immersive outdoor...
Jamaica Is Leading The Way
Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett is welcoming the resurgence of the villas sub-sector as the popular Caribbean island sees its local hotel room-stock set to grow by 20,000 new rooms over the next five to 10 years. The Minister credited the COVID-19 pandemic for bringing about a revival in villas for visitor accommodation, noting that: “Jamaica is now leading the way in providing new and exciting villa experiences for tourists across the region.” Bartlett made the comments during his keynote address at the official opening of the $1.3 billion Bengal Cove Villas...
See Things Differently In Britain
VisitBritain has launched an online game as part of its new multi-million pound international campaign in Canada for 2023 to drive tourism to Britain. The campaign, called Fake (Br)it Till You Make It, highlights the richness of Britain’s regional diversity. The online game on VisitBritain’s consumer website uses machine learning, testing players as they have a go at mastering a variety of accents from across Britain, and then sharing links with destination information to drive bookings. Participants in the game are encouraged to share their results on social media and...