The 382-passenger Silversea Silver Shadow, currently sailing between Vancouver and Alaska until the end of September, welcomed PAX aboard in Vancouver last week for a tour of the ship with a select group of travel media before passengers set sail for Seward…
White Rock is an idyllic beachside city offering a great lifestyle just north of the US border and just south of Surrey on the Semiahmoo Peninsula
White Rock is a beachside city just north of the Canada–United States border and Blaine, Washington, and just south of Surrey on the Semiahmoo Peninsula. It’s named for the huge white boulder that sits on the beach, a “glacial erractic” dating back to the Ice Age…
Read the rest at REW.ca
My article about Elephant Hills in Thailand won an outstanding achievement award in the Environmental/Responsible Tourism category at the 2015 Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Awards, held this past weekend in Cape Breton. You can read the article in the digital edition of the PAX Magazine November issue.
Customers want different ways to experience the Crystal Cruises style – and the luxury cruise line is undergoing a major brand expansion to satisfy their desires. That's what Crystal Cruises CEO and president Edie Rodriguez told members of the travel media during a breakfast overview of key company developments during Cruise360 in Vancouver last week…
Cruising is booming. That was the message from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) at Cruise360 in Vancouver last week.
To get a sense of what that bright future has in store, CLIA gathered the presidents of four major cruise lines for a panel discussion on the state of the industry and where things are headed. Christine Duffy of Carnival Cruise Line, Adam Goldstein of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Rick Sasso of MSC Cruises USA and Andy Stuart of Norwegian Cruise Lines sat down with Cindy D'Aoust, CLIA's president and CEO, to share their thoughts…
Cruise360, the largest cruise industry conference, kicked off in Vancouver this week, welcoming more than 1,200 travel professionals and representatives from 25 cruise lines to a six-day event featuring product and destination workshops, daily training sessions and plenty of ship inspections.
"This week will offer a truly panoramic view of our ever-changing industry,†said Cindy D'Aoust, president and CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), at the event's opening session…
Transat representatives announced big changes for the brand during an intimate lunch at Vancouver's Seasons in the Park restaurant yesterday, including the retirement of Nolitours as of today.
"It's very positive news,†said Nicole Bursey, commercial director. "This simplification makes it easier for the traveller and travel agency partners to understand our brand. 
With new direct Dreamliner flights from Vancouver to Delhi launching on Air Canada October 20, a direct flight from Toronto available now and Canada’s recent addition to India’s e-visa program, it’s never been easier for Canadians to travel to India. In light of the royal visit to the subcontinent by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last month, we sat down with Cris David, president of Insight Vacations Canada, to talk about four luxurious Indian travel experiences fit for a prince.
India’s luxury hotel offerings include over-the-top converted palaces and former royal residences, like the Taj Lake Palace on Lake Pichola in Udairpur, built in 1746 for Maharana Jagat Singh II.
“It’s a building no one would be able to build today,” David said. “It’s a magnificent sculpture in marble in the middle of a lake, built as a pleasure palace. You can hear stories and anecdotes about the shenanigans of the royalty who once lived there.”
The hotel has been featured in several movies, most notably as the home of the title character in Octopussy.
“Arriving is a breathtaking experience,” David said. “You come in on a private jet boat and are showered with rose petals. You’re escorted to the front desk under a sequined umbrella to protect your skin from the sun.”
Ranthambore National Park is the former hunting ground of the Maharajahs of Jaipur. Responsible modern hunters, of course, hunt with cameras rather than guns, but the park remains the best place to search for Bengal tigers in the wild.
After a long, hot day in the royal hunting grounds, it’s only reasonable to rest your head at the Nahargarh Ranthambore, built in the style of a traditional hunting palace in the foothills of the Aravalli Mountain Range near the park.
“There’s no place better to retire to after a photo game safari than the Nahargarh,” David said. “These are incredible spacious guestrooms decorated in traditional Rajput style.”
This classical dance style featuring elaborate makeup and costumes stems from traditional dance and theatre performance styles in the southern region of Kerala. Dramatizing epic stories, performances in the sixteenth century would last all night long – up to eight hours. Modern performances are much shorter so that they can be enjoyed in an evening.
Incorporating highly specialized eye, foot and body movements, Kathakali requires intense training.
“The dancers train for six years before they start to perform,” David said, adding that each dancer spends up to three hours applying the makeup for a single performance.
You may have visions of riding an intricately decorated elephant, channelling princes past. But as tourists and tour operators have started to recognize the exploitation and harm inherent in riding these creatures, the former bucket-list activity has gone out of favour, with most reputable tourism providers halting the practice altogether.
“We’ve removed wildlife rides from all tours,” he said in his launch presentation, to a round of applause. “Riding elephants is exploitative and cruel to the animals and is something we’ve taken out of all our programs, not only in India. We’ll take you to places you can see them, meet them, but not ride them.”
Visit elephants at a refuge, but let your dreams of riding them go.
Originally published at FlightNetwork.com
WestJet landed in Vancouver for its Travel Trade Expo last week (May 12), bringing 70 outside suppliers and 450 travel agents together for an evening of learning and celebration at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
The expo, now in its second year and attracting twice as many agents as the inaugural edition, replaces multiple events showcasing individual destinations so agents can get all the information they need about the airline and the destinations it serves at one action-packed showcase…
Turismo Chile hosted 100 travel agents last week at a training session and cocktail reception at the Loft at Earls in Vancouver. It was the only Canadian stop for the nine-member delegation with representatives from properties and travel operators from Patagonia to the Atacama Desert…