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| TRAVELHOTNEWS.COM RETROSPECTIVE 2008, PART 1 |
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Charmaine Pang
It’s time to look back at 2008. The most newsworthy stories of the year included Thomas Cook’s purchase of IFS Voyages Inc., parent company of Fun Sun Vacations and Intair, adding another two companies into their wide portfolio of brands. Other news which dominated headlines included the collapse of XL Leisure Group in the U.K. and the demise of several airlines including Oasis Hong Kong, Zoom Airlines and additional regional carriers, all serving to highlight the biggest story of the year – the economic crisis.
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| TOURISM SPENDING DROPS |
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StatsCan-Tourism announces Q3 tourism spending dropped; five years of growth ended
Canadian Press
Tourism spending in Canada fell 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2008, as outlays by both Canadians and international visitors to Canada declined. This ended five years of growth following the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) episode in the second quarter of 2003. Statistics Canada reports key tourism spending by Canadians in Canada edged down 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, a sharp decline from the 0.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter and from the 1.5 per cent average quarterly gains of the previous two years.
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| BMI’S CANADA FARE SALE |
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“Better for Business” sale from YYZ, YOW, YUL, YVR, YYC available until Jan. 31, 2009
bmi has launched phase two of its “better for business” sale, offering value on economy and business-class fares out of key Canadian gateway cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and Calgary to destinations through Heathrow in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. With no blackout periods and a minimum stay of three days or a Saturday night stay required, the bmi better for business sale offers business and leisure travellers a thrifty, convenient option in early 2009.
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| NASSAU PARADISE SAVINGS WITH THOMAS COOK |
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Your clients save $200 at Nassau Paradise Island Hotels; promotion ongoing until Feb. 9, 2009; applicable towards Sun Deal
Starting Jan. 10 and running until Feb.9, 2009, Sunquest, Holiday House, Intair and Fun Sun Vacations will be offering a Nassau Paradise Island consumer promotion where your clients can save $200 per room on their next trip to the island.To receive the savings, your clients must book an air-inclusive vacation package for three consecutive nights or longer at any of the participating hotels. Travel can be completed any time between Jan. 17 and July 31, 2009.
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| DOUBLE ASIA MILES FOR CX |
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First and Business Class passengers can earn double Asia Miles with Canada-Hong Kong flights from Feb. to Apr. 2009
For travellers flying between February 1 and April 30, 2009, inclusive, the Asia Miles Double Miles Offer is available with the purchase of a qualifying First or Business Class round-trip ticket from Vancouver or Toronto to Hong Kong. With the bonus offer travellers can earn enough Asia Miles to qualify for free flights, upgrades or other lifestyle awards. Your clients can relax with new long-haul in-flight product featuring First Class suites and full-flat beds with enhanced privacy in Business Class. The new product is onboard flights between Toronto and Hong Kong & select flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong. Keep reading for rules and restrictions.
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| NCL’S WAVE SEASON SAVINGS |
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Norwegian Cruise Line expands Wave Season savings; 50% off standard deposit from Jan. 10 to 17
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is expanding its Wave Season Freestyle Resolution Sales Event by offering 50 per cent off the standard cruise booking deposit for all sailings fleet-wide. This offer is only applicable for Inside, Oceanview, Balcony, Mini-Suite, Penthouse and Romance Suites, and does not apply to Garden Villas, Courtyard Villas and Owner's Suites). This offer runs for one week only from Sat., Jan. 10 through to Sat., Jan. 17, 2009 and is combinable with NCL’s on-board credit promotion, which launched last month.
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| NEW RULES FOR NON-VISA VISITORS TO U.S. |
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US travel rules change for those not needing visa
Canadian Press
U.S. officials say people from countries that do not need visas to enter the United States must begin registering under a new travel authorization program before making their journey. Travellers from the 35 countries are asked to obtain an authorization from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at least 72 hours before their flight departs to the U.S. The program has been voluntary since August and becomes mandatory Monday. U.S. Embassy spokesman Dick Custin in Britain said today that approval has been granted in nearly all of the cases involving voluntary participants. The online application form asks tourists to say if they are drug users and divulge certain criminals convictions or past terror activities.
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| OLD ALITALIA OUT, NEW ALITALIA IN |
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Alitalia ceases operations; new Alitalia SpA takes over
Canadian Press
Italy's bankrupt national carrier will cease operations Monday evening at 10 p.m., with a seven-hour break before the new Alitalia SpA takes flight with a 6 a.m. Tuesday departure from London's Heathrow airport bound for Rome. The new airline, the merger of Alitalia's profitable assets with the much smaller Air One, is slimmer, with 148 aircraft from both airlines combined, compared with 173 in the old fleet, and about 12,500 employees, down from more than 23,500 between the two airlines. There will be nothing manifestly different about the new Alitalia. The logo remains the same, as do the green flight crew uniforms.
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