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| CARIBBEAN WEEK WRAPS UP WITH A BANG! |
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Governments of the Caribbean Gala recognizes leaders in the Canadian-Caribbean community, celebrates inaugural Caribbean Week
Charmaine Pang
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| Allen Chastanet, CTO Chairman, and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary-General of CTO, present (centre) David Singh, Honourary Chairman, with a Special Recognition Award | | The first ever Caribbean Week in Canada wrapped up with the Governments of the Caribbean Gala and Awards Presentation, held last Friday at the Liberty Grand complex in Toronto. The evening acknowledged some of the many individuals making a difference in the Canadian-Caribbean community, beginning with the Honourary Chairman, David Singh, who was the primary sponsor for Caribbean Week. Allen Chastanet, Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary-General of the CTO, presented Singh with a Special Recognition Award. Singh, originally from Guyana, created his Destiny Group of Companies to benefit those in the Caribbean. He is also involved in raising funds for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness in the region, as well as other socioeconomic ventures.
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| A CUBAN CELEBRATION WITH HOLA SUN |
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Hola Sun Agent Appreciation Night brings the magic of Cuba to Canada with live Cuban music & entertainment
Bryen Dunn
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Luis Miguel Diaz Sanchez – President, Gran Caribe Hotel; Jorge Felix Salazar – President, Hola Sun; Carlos Zambrano – Director, Cuba Tourist Board
| | Hola Sun held their annual Agent Appreciation Night this past Friday as part of Toronto’s first Caribbean Week which wound down this past weekend. The invite-only event was held at Le Treport Banquet Hall in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto. The Cuba Celebration was well attended by over 100 suppliers, partners and travel industry representatives. The evening began with a full course dinner, followed by live entertainment direct from Cuba by Los Van Van and Benny More. There was also a special performance by Grammy award winner Pedrito Calvo, who’s also a member of the famed Buena Vista Social Club.
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| TORONTO STAR TRAVEL SHOW |
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This year’s Toronto Star Travel Show showcased over 150 travel professionals and exhibitors and a new Caribbean Pavilion
Lisa Raffaele
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| Toronto Star Travel Show | | The Toronto Star Travel Show was held this weekend at the Toronto International Centre, Mississauga. On Friday morning the show was open to the trade and media only. Trade day highlights included: Sunquest 2008 product brochure presentation, a Caribbean Tourism Organization industry update, a free 2008 Blue Book and an opportunity to become a CITC-certified travel counsellor. This year’s event showcased more than 150 exhibitors representing tourist boards, visitor bureaus, specialty tours, accommodation properties and travel retailers from 40 countries, who were all on hand to offering new product brochures, information seminars and travel deals. 2007 consumer show highlights include: Caribbean Tourism Organization’s new cultural pavilion, including music, cooking demonstrations and food samplings; Air Miles free cardholder access, VIP parking and reward miles redemption for travel and merchandise; interactive information seminars on the new ‘Discover the World’ Stage and a new food and drink sampling area titled ‘Taste the World’.
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| E-DOCUMENTS FOR SUNQUEST, ALBATOURS |
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Phase Two of e-Documents announced; changes to be implemented today
Sunquest and ALBATours have sent out a media release detailing Phase Two of their move to e-Documents. In April 2006, Sunquest and ALBATours were the first charter tour operators to move to a fully electronic environment for both documents and invoices for air-only travel and package holidays. Since then, various enhancements, designed to improve the way in which these eDocs and eInvoices are distributed, have been developed and as of Oct.1, 2007, they will be implemented. For e-Invoices, each night Sunquest and ALBATours send a summary via email to the agency that details all the bookings that have been invoiced. Up until now, there was a link to the sunquestagent.ca site where agents had to sign in to view the actual invoice with Sunquest and ALBATours' Terms and Conditions. As of Oct. 1, there will be a direct link to the invoice included in that email – agents will no longer have to sign in to sunquestagent.ca.
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| EMIRATES OFFERS SPECIAL DUBAI RATES |
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Travel agents can receive special rates starting from $400 to fly direct to Dubai
In advance of its new direct service from Toronto to Dubai beginning October 29, 2007, Emirates Airline is offering special fares to travel agents who may want to sample the airline’s award-winning service to various destinations. A sample of rates being offered to agents is a round-trip fare from Toronto to Dubai for $400.00, plus applicable taxes. Other special rates include, Toronto-Australia for $650.00, plus taxes; Toronto-New Zealand $650.00 plus taxes; Toronto-Seychelles $650.00 plus taxes; Toronto-Mauritius $650.00 plus taxes; and all other destinations on the Emirates network, $500.00 plus taxes. Fares are valid for registered agents and one traveling companion and up to 2 children less than 18 years old. One free stopover is allowed in Dubai. The offer is valid from October 29, 2007 to December 4, 2007 and from December 31, 2007 to March 31, 2008. Bookings can be made within 30 days of departure and tickets must be issued by the Emirates ticket office. Agents will be required to show proof of employment.
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| OASIS HONG KONG CELEBRATES IN VANCOUVER |
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Oasis finds success in first three months of service between Vancouver and Hong Kong
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, the first low-fare, long-haul carrier to fly direct from Vancouver to Hong Kong, has marked its first three months of operating six non-stop flights a week. Mr. Raymond Lee, Chairman of Oasis, spoke at the Vancouver Board of Trade regarding the airlines successes to date and the close connection between the two Pacific Rim cities. “We are incredibly proud of our achievements in the last three months, clearly there is a demand for high quality service at an affordable price for both Canadian and Chinese travellers,” said Mr. Lee. “We believe that Oasis’ business model has huge growth potential around the world as a value-focused, long-haul carrier.”
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| SANA KELLER STARTS PULSE COMMUNICATIONS |
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Pulse Communications & Travel Marketing to continue with Virginia Tourism
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| Sana Keller | | Sana Keller has started her own company, Pulse Communications and Travel Marketing Inc. (PCTM), after 10 years at Discover the World Marketing. PCTM will specialize in PR and destination marketing in the Canadian market. PCTM’s clients include the Virginia Tourism Corporation (Ontario and Québec), and Tropical Incentives DMC (Mexico). Keller will also continue to work in the capacity of Public Relations on clients Discover The World continues to represent as needed. Keller has an extensive background in the Canadian travel industry, having worked for over 17 years with various industry sectors including hotels, airline and destinations in the capacity of sales, marketing and public relations. She currently sits on the Board as Vice-President of the Discover America-Canada Committee and have held past Board member organization positions with SITE, ANTOR and TMAC.
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