Up in the air . . .

ETIHAD Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is introducing Economy Space, a new seating option across its wide-body fleet, to enhance its product offering and to provide more choice to its customers on longer flights. By December 2018, Etihad Airways will have retrofitted its 10 Airbus A380s with Economy Space seats, which feature an increased seat pitch of up to 36 inches. The redesign increases the number of extra legroom seats in Economy from 20 to 80 on this aircraft type.

KOREAN Air celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first scheduled service between Canada and South Korea, by holding events at the Vancouver and Toronto airports on 2 November. Korean Air launched its scheduled service to Canada on November 2, 1988, with the DC-10 passenger jetliner flying the Seoul-Vancouver-Toronto route twice a week. After international exchanges and cooperation between the two nations improved, Korean Air then split the route into Vancouver and Toronto services in December 1995. The two regular services from Incheon to Vancouver and Toronto have contributed to the economic development and movement of people and supplies between Canada and South Korea.   


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Mexico a popular vacation destination for Canadians

SWOOP Airlines has announced a service to Mexico with the addition of four new routes serving the cities of Cancún, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport will see twice weekly service to Puerto Vallarta International Airport and three times weekly service to Cancún International Airport beginning January 8, 2019 and January 14, 2019, respectively. 

Similarly, Abbotsford International Airport will enjoy twice weekly service to Puerto Vallarta and twice weekly service to Mazatlán International Airport beginning January 12, 2019 and January 20, 2019, respectively.

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Epic dream job from Ski.com

THE Epic Pass offers more access than ever, and Ski.com, the largest provider of ski vacations in North America, is searching for a candidate who can show what it's like to experience it all. 

One lucky person will be hired to travel the world for two months via United Airlines to seven countries on three continents, and ski or ride more than a dozen of the 65 destinations available on the Epic Pass. In addition to being introduced to unique experiences at world-class resorts, he or she will be decked out in head-to-toe gear from Helly Hansen, Rossignol and Oakley; capture enviable content with video equipment from GoPro; have a direct line to custom snow forecasts from OpenSnow and collect a paycheck of US$10,000.

The ideal candidate must have a serious desire to travel to some of the most amazing mountain destinations in the United States, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France and Japan; must be able to ski and/or snowboard and must love après, mingling with locals and documenting new experiences.

To apply, interested job seekers must submit an application video between September 5 and October 15, 2018 explaining in 60 seconds or less what makes them the perfect candidate. For more information and to apply, applicants should visit www.ski.com/dreamjob or apply by posting an application video to Instagram tagging @skicom, @epicpass and using the hashtag #EpicDreamJob.


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U.S. tops list for Australian Travellers

AUSTRALIANS are planning trips to the Americas, with the United States and Canada ranking high on the list of preferred destinations for the upcoming 2018 holiday season according to global luxury travel network Virtuoso. Known as a leading trend forecaster in the industry, Virtuoso has surveyed its 1,400 Australian travel advisors to uncover expert insights into luxury holiday trends and the preferences of their elite clientele. 

Top International Destinations 

• United States 

• Canada /Italy (tie) 

• Japan 

• France 

• New Zealand

Top Unusual/Surprising Destinations 

• Iceland 

• Bhutan 

• Mongolia 

• Sri Lanka 

• Antarctica

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Aurora Adventure

THE enchanting aurora borealis conjures images of dancing night skies, sub-zero temperatures and mountainous landscapes blanketed in snow, like glistening vanilla ice-cream. In Canada’s north-west #Yukon Territory, you don’t need to wait until winter to experience this light show spectacular. As one of the few locations on Earth where the northern lights are visible from late summer all the way through to spring, you may not even need a jacket as you gaze up at Mother Nature’s best artwork. 

Head to Yukon’s scenic Southern Lakes Region during the autumn months of late August and September, and combine two of nature’s most colourful marvels. With autumn in full swing, the Southern Lakes Region transforms from lush green to rich crimson, orange, and sparkling gold, the ultimate backdrop for wildlife viewing. Keep the camera poised for grizzly bears, elk and mountain sheep along the way, stroll the shores of Bennett Lake, following the footsteps of the Klondike gold stampeders who blazed a torturous trail on their way to Dawson more than 120 years ago. 

As night falls, the autumnal glory makes way for spellbinding auroras splashed across the sky in a mind-blowing kaleidoscope of vibrant jades, reds, yellows, and purples. Check into a wilderness lodge, such as the luxurious Inn on the Lake, the Boreale Ranch at the base of the Seven Sisters mountain range, or Southern Lakes Resort overlooking placid Tagish Lake. Autumn evenings in the Southern Lakes Region are relatively mild, allowing for active night time adventures. Meander along the hiking trails to a secluded spot to capture the very best aurora photographs. 

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Picture Credit: By Anthony DeLorenzo from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada - Aurora Borealis, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org

Up in the air . . .

LONDON Gatwick is gearing up for its busiest summer on record, with 8,846,000 people set to use the airport during the school holidays. It follows a successful June at #Gatwick, which saw 4.5 million passengers travelling through, with the airport’s long-haul routes growing by +26% year-on-year.

Gatwick’s Canadian routes performed particularly well, in the month that saw world leaders visiting the country for this year’s G7 summit. Winnipeg grew by +66.3% in June, with Edmonton +28.2%, Montreal +23.8% and Calgary +13%.

Other long-haul routes that experienced significant year-on-year growth in June included Lima and Kigali, while emerging short-haul destinations Volos and Tallin also saw large growth rates.

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Top 10 global experiences

TRIPADVISOR, the travel planning and booking site, today announced the winners of its first-ever Travelers' Choice awards for Experiences. The awards recognize 345 experiences, tours, and activities globally, highlighting the world's best experiences overall. They're also broken down by country, and by category including day cruises, cultural experiences, day trips, multi-day tours, hop-on hop-off tours, and food, beer, and wine experiences.

Top 10 Experiences in the World:

• Cooking Class and Lunch at a Tuscan Farmhouse with Local Market Tour from Florence – Florence, Italy
• Berlin Bike Tour – Berlin, Germany
• New York in One Day Guided Sightseeing Tour – New York City, New York
• Sydney BridgeClimb – Sydney, Australia
• Vatican VIP Experience: Exclusive Breakfast at the Vatican with Early Access to Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel – Rome, Italy
• New Orleans Cooking Class – New Orleans, Louisiana
• Rotorua Maori Hangi Dinner and Performance – Rotorua, New Zealand
• Best of Niagara Falls Tour from Niagara Falls, Ontario – Niagara Falls, Canada
• Vancouver to Victoria and Butchart Gardens Tour by Bus – Vancouver, Canada
• Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin – Dublin, Ireland

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Canada's best kept secret

CANADA'S best-kept secret is being shouted from the roof-tops of social media as more and more Aussies discover Canada’s beating heart in its central province of Manitoba. With its rolling prairieland in the south, sub-arctic tundra in the north and the rugged terrain of the pristine lakes region, Aussie road trippers are living the dream. 

#Manitoba is Canada’s sixth-largest province, has more than 100,000 lakes and a population of 1.2 million. It is bordered on the north by Nunavut Territory, on the west by Saskatchewan, on the east by Ontario and on the south by North Dakota and Minnesota. While considered one of Canada’s Prairie provinces, Manitoba actually has three distinct geographical zones: the agricultural triangle in the south; the sub-arctic tundra in the far north; and the predominant Precambrian Shield with its rugged terrain and thousands of pristine lakes. 

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Picture Credit: By Green slash at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67877145

Blooming marvellous

SINCE 1953, Canada’s most colourful festival celebrates the tulip, Ottawa’s official flower and an international symbol friendship and peace, through art and culture. Paying tribute to veterans, and the WWII liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops, our millions of tulips set the stage for a celebration of authentic art, cultural, historic, culinary and family tulip experiences at various official venues. 

Uniquely Canadian and One of the largest events of its kind in the world the festival takes place May 11-21 with attractions throughout the city at Lansdowne Park, Dow’s Lake, Garden Promenade and the Byward Market. Bloomex will be providing tulips and other flowers for events leading up to and during the festival. As an added value, Bloomex will be adding a free festival pass to every Ottawa Capital Region order from May 1-20.

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Big year for Canada

MORE Australians visited #Canada than ever before during 2017, with visitation up by almost 12.6 per cent on the previous year. A total of 375,395 Aussies made the trip to Canada during the year, typically spending more and staying longer than any other foreign market. It was a big year for Canada as it celebrated its 150th birthday with a record-breaking 20.8 million tourists from around the world, the highest number in Canadian history.

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Pop up in Manitoba

FOODIES scouring the globe for the ‘next big thing’ have found it in Canada’s central province of #Manitoba, with RAW:almond, taking place from 24 January to 13 February 2018. 

Manitoba’s capital city of Winnipeg, launched the concept in 2013 as the only #pop-up #restaurant of its kind in North America, where guests feast on multi-course meals, prepared by some of Canada’s finest chefs, served up in an elaborate tent perched on the fork of the frozen Assiniboine and Red rivers. The event grew wildly popular, with foodies flocking to experience this unique gastronomic adventure, and top chefs vying for a chance to showcase their edible works, created in the make-shift kitchen adjacent to the dining room. 

The 2018 RAW:almond features a large dining tent with seating for 30, where top chefs from Winnipeg, Canada and the US will take the helm in the kitchen for two nights each, with a weekend brunch also served.

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Signature tourism products in Quebec highlighted in new campaign

THE brand-new ‘14 Experiences of Québec’ campaign from aims to highlight the region’s range of signature tourism products and showcase what makes Canada’s French-speaking province of #Québec such an original destination. 

The experiences are ‘Great Outdoors’, ‘Snowmobiling’, ‘Gourmet Delights’, ‘Culture’, ‘Indigenous Traditions’, ‘The St Lawrence River’, ‘Vibrant Cities’, ‘Skiing’, ‘Road Trips’, ‘Fauna/Wildlife’, ‘Biking’, ‘Hunting and Fishing’, ‘Countryside Getaways’ and ‘Festivities’. 

The new campaign shines the spotlight on each of the 14 experiences, promoting the variety of cultural, culinary, historical and nature activities that visitors can discover in Québec.

www.quebecoriginal.com/en

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Resort in British Columbia to join The Unbound Collection by Hyatt Brand

SPIRIT Ridge sits on land that has been the home of the Osoyoos Indian Band for thousands of years. Rich in culture and historical relevance, the iconic resort’s design embraces the Okanagan First Nations people and celebrates their deep spiritual connection to natural surroundings. Nestled on the slopes of the South Okanagan Valley, the adobe style resort features all-suites and villas accommodations ranging in size from one to three bedrooms. All suites and villas feature fully equipped kitchens, outdoor private terraces and sweeping vistas of the surrounding vineyards, desert mountains and Osoyoos Lake.

In December 2017, Spirit Ridge at Nk’Mip Resort will join The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand, a global collection of unique and story-worthy stay experiences. Situated 250 miles east of Vancouver in Osoyoos, British Columbia, the luxury Spirit Ridge resort will be the first Canadian property affiliated with The Unbound Collection by Hyatt portfolio and sixth globally for the brand, which spans across North America, Latin America and Europe.

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Great June for Nova Scotia Tourism Operators

TOURISM statistics show an 11 per cent increase in non-resident, overnight visitors to Nova Scotia in June. This is the fourth straight June that tourism numbers have gone up. 

Visitation by air was up 18 per cent compared with June 2016 while visitation by road increased eight per cent.

Most of the increase in visitation is from Canada, specifically Atlantic Canada (up 26,000), followed by Ontario (up 25,000). Visitors from the United States increased by 6,000, while visitation from overseas markets increased by 1,000.

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On the runway . . .

AIR Canada has announced the strategic expansion of its international network from Vancouver with new services launching June 2018 to Paris and Zurich, and the start of year-round flights to Melbourne. All flights will be available for purchase starting September 6 at aircanada.com or through travel agents.

In addition, Air Canada is increasing its non-stop Delhi flights from Vancouver that resume October 14, with up to five times weekly service for the 2017/2018 season, and increasing its London-Heathrow service with twice-daily flights for summer 2018.

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Up in the air . . .

PROUDLY celebrating the country's talent and achievement during a banner year for Canadian culture, Air #Canada presents the top 30 nominees for Canada's Best New Restaurants, in partnership with lead sponsor American Express. The highly anticipated longlist will be made public today on CanadasBestNewRestaurants.com.

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Canadian Golf Getaway

STAY at the iconic Windermere House and play at the Windermere Golf & Country Club in #Canada. 

Windermere House embodies the natural beauty of its surroundings and offers over 50 activities to keep guests entertained, with one being #golf. Windermere Golf & Country Club is a Muskoka gem and is located only steps away from Windermere House. 

This scenic 18 hole, par 72 course was established in 1919. It offers 14 ponds, tree-lined fairways, and 124 acres of spectacular views. Windermere House’s longstanding partnership with this classic course results in preferred rates and tee times for our guests.

www.windermerehouse.com

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Whales & Gardens Tours in British Columbia

BRITISH Columbia’s largest and most trusted whale watching company Prince of Whales Whale Watching, is excited to welcome guests aboard the Salish Sea Dream — a sleek new state-of-the-art, eco-friendly $3.5 million catamaran that will provide a new experience for tourists and locals on the “Ultimate Day Tour.” 

The custom-built 78-foot catamaran will depart Vancouver each morning, taking guests on a whale-watching tour en route to the B.C. Capital. In Victoria, there will be many options for sightseeing around the city before travelling by shuttle to the world-famous Butchart Gardens. From the Gardens, guests will take a breathtaking sunset cruise back to downtown Vancouver. The vessel can carry 95 passengers and everyone will have a great view as each person will have a seat inside the cabin and on the deck. Combining two of Victoria’s “must do” activities, the Salish Sea Dream will offer whale-watching excursions each afternoon from the Inner Harbour and stopping for a visit to the Butchart Gardens as part of the “Whales and Gardens” packages. 

“It’s a fantastic trip and it really offers something different,” says Prince of Whales Whale Watching owner Alan McGillivray. “We live in such an amazing part of the world and this gives people a front-row seat to see and learn more about the animals that live in and travel through our waters.” 

Marine naturalists and experienced crew will be on board and offer informative talks about marine mammals, birds and other wildlife, as well as the ecosystem and key points of interest. It will be an entertaining and educational trip with a focus on conservation.


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TO Canada with Love

#TORONTO continues a year of celebrations in 2017 with a newly released summer programme of free events as part of TO Canada with Love. TO #Canada with Love is the City of Toronto's year-long series of celebrations, commemorations and exhibitions honouring Canada's 150th birthday with more than 30 City-produced events taking place throughout 2017.

The TO Canada with Love summer programme includes:

MomenTO
A city-wide schedule of events, MomenTO highlights 150 years of Canadian moments through people, places and events significant to the history of Canada and Toronto. Torontonians are encouraged to contribute to an online MomenTO timeline, and to present a diverse set of events, exhibits and installations.

National Aboriginal Day and The Indigenous Arts Festival
The City of Toronto continues its tradition of producing and presenting the largest National Aboriginal Day celebrations in the country with the five-day Indigenous Arts Festival from 21 to 25 June at Fort York National Historic Site. These events acknowledge June is National Aboriginal History Month.

Canada Days
A city-wide celebration, Canada Days presents more than 130 performances by emerging and established artists from across Canada with international guest artists at four locations across Toronto, including a four-day festival at Nathan Phillips Square from 30 June to 3 July and one-day events at Mel Lastman Square, Humber Bay Park West and Scarborough Civic Centre on 1 July.

Iconic CN Tower
On July 1, 2017 The CN Tower will celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary with a spectacular fireworks display and lightshow! The show begins at 10:30pm with a 30 second lightshow, followed by 5 minutes of fireworks set to Canadian music, and will end with another fantastic lightshow.

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Whistler named best ski resort in the world

FOR the third consecutive year, #Whistler has been named the best ski resort in the world in the prestigious ULTRAS awards. The ULTRAS are presented by Ultratravel magazine and honour the best in luxury travel from around the globe.

Ultratravel is luxury travel magazine, distributed with the best-selling UK daily newspaper, the Daily Telegraph. The winners of the 2017 ULTRAS awards were determined by Ultratravel readers who voted across 19 categories ranging from the best in airlines, hotels, tour operators, golf resort and more.

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