‘A BIT OF A SMACK’: Advisors brace for July 1 commission cuts
With reduced commissions from Air Canada coming into effect this week (July 1) industry associations say the cost-cutting move attributed by the airline could hurt the income of thousands of travel advisors.
70,000 MISSING: Here’s how to help Venezuelan earthquake victims
Efforts by local and international rescue teams to pull survivors from the rubble grew increasingly desperate in Venezuela on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira.
BRITISH AIRWAYS, PORTER ANNOUNCE CODESHARE
Effective July 8, a new codeshare agreement between Porter Airlines and British Airways will take effect, giving British Airways customers seamless access to travel on 17 select Porter Airlines domestic routes in Canada including Ottawa, Edmonton and Winnipeg.
EUROPE OVERWHELMED BY HEAT: Record-breaking temperatures spreads east
Temperatures soared to record highs from Switzerland to the Czech Republic and Denmark on Saturday, as a heat wave that baked western European countries last week moved to central and eastern parts of the continent.
CALIFORNIA, HERE SHE COMES: New York’s Coker takes top tourism post in Golden State
Visit California today announced Julie Coker has been named the organization’s next – and only second ever – president & CEO, succeeding longtime leader Caroline Beteta, who announced her retirement earlier this year. Coker will assume the role Oct. 1, swapping coasts from New York, where she was president & CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions.
LAST WEEK THIS MORNING: June 22-26, 2026
A round-up of news nuggets, airlines, hotels/resorts, cruising, tours, events, FAMS/incentives, deals, destinations and more are covered in our weekly round-up of travel industry news you may have missed.
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DISPLACED CUBA PAX CHOOSING D.R. AND MEXICO
Sunwing Vacations, now Canada’s largest former supplier of Cuba vacations, says it has seen a dramatic switch in bookings to the Dominican Republic in place of the troubled Caribbean island.
WESTJET LATEST TO TRIM FUEL SURCHARGE, OTHERS HOLD STEADY
Some Canadian airlines are scaling back fuel surcharges as fuel prices fall, while others are holding steady for now.
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY: Tourist faces five years for racist remarks in Brazil
Brazil’s federal police detained disembarking airline passenger in Sao Paulo’s international Guarulhos airport for racism on Wednesday, the latest in a series of high-profile arrests of foreign tourists on similar grounds.
IT’S ONLY NATURAL: Natural phenomena outshine events as travel catalyst
Rare natural phenomena such as auroras, solar eclipses, wildebeest migrations and volcanic eruptions are the strongest catalysts for event-driven international travel, surpassing sporting events, concerts and festivals, according to a new survey of global travellers.
WHERE’S THE HOOGHLY? YOU’RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT
By WALLACE IMMEN/ Think you’ve seen it all? Leave it to Scenic Group to keep expanding the definition of exotic cruising. Their latest boutique ship, Scenic Aura, will be exploring a river that flows through India’s West Bengal along with land extensions for tiger viewing and visiting the Taj Mahal.
LISTENING IN: Remembering David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas, the lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose husky, high-strung tenor on “Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die” and other hits, helped make the so-called “brass rock” band among the most popular acts of the late 1960s, died “peacefully” Tuesday at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto at age 84.