NEWS
WestJet hedges its bets with strong domestic program, adding more flights in the West CALGARY — Banking on another summer of domestic travel amid the pandemic, WestJet says it will restore more service to its Canadian network with 11 new routes across the West and Ontario. The routes include new connectivity between the prairie provinces and tourism destinations in B.C. The news comes two days after WestJet said it will bring back flights to Atlantic Canada and Quebec City. Flights to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City will be restored starting in June 2021 after service had been suspended indefinitely in November 2020. Flights to Deer Lake and Gander will also be restored, at the end of June. In Western Canada, WestJet announced it will offer nonstop service to 15 communities across Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The new routes include flights between Toronto (YYZ) and Comox (YQQ); between Ottawa (YOW) and Victoria (YYJ); and eight new routes connecting the Prairies to top tourism destinations in B.C., such as Regina (YQR) to Kelowna (YLW). "As we look to the coming months with cautious optimism, we know our restart agenda will be pivotal to Canada's economic recovery," said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. "Stimulating air travel benefits all Canadians and supports those hardest hit; with one in every 10 Canadian jobs tied to travel and tourism, the ripple effect benefits our whole country.” "We are at an inflection point, one that is buoyed by the rollout of vaccines, months of learning how to take appropriate precautions, and a view to Canada's beautiful summer months that allows us to spend more time outdoors," added Sims. "If Canadians were to shift two-thirds of their planned international-leisure travel spend towards domestic tourism, it would help sustain 150,000 jobs and accelerate recovery by one year, all while seeing what Canada has to offer." 10 | TRAVELWEEK | April 8, 2021
Transat is days away from finalizing its summer 2021/winter 2022 schedule MONTREAL — With an eye to resuming flights by mid-June 2021, Transat is currently finalizing its summer 2021/ winter 2022 program. Transat’s Public Relations and Marketing Advisor, Marie-Eve Vallieres, told Travelweek Group’s ProfessionVoyages.com that Transat’s summer 2021/winter 2022 offering “will mainly focus on the top destinations that Canadian travellers already enjoy and are eager to find, in Europe and the South, and also in Canada. We expect this to resonate particularly strongly with our passengers.”
“The reservation systems will be updated by the end of the month.” On March 12 Transat announced that its flights would resume June 14. Canada’s four major airlines - Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Transat - agreed to the federal government’s request to halt all winter sun flights Jan. 31-April 30, 2021 amid the pandemic. Says Vallieres: “Although it is still too early to reveal the content of this program, we can already confirm that some destinations will not be operated in 2021. The reservation systems will be updated by the end of the month for the Summer 2021 program, and within the next few months for the Winter 2022 program." Passengers who had a scheduled flight will receive all the necessary information over the next few weeks, in chronological order of departure, added Vallieres.
Are Ontario travel agencies eligible for one-time grants worth $10K - $20K with 2021 Ontario Budget? We sure hope so TORONTO — Unless the Ontario government has mixed up its travel industry jargon, it looks as though Ontario travel agencies could be eligible for one-time grants worth between $10,000 and $20,000 through the province’s Ontario Tourism and Hospitality Small Business Support Grant program. The brand new program was announced on March 25 by the province’s Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, as part of the 2021 Ontario Budget. According to the budget, Ontario will provide an estimated $100 million in one-time payments of $10,000 to $20,000 to eligible small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector. The wording goes: “Examples of eligible businesses include: Hotels, Motels, Travel Agencies, Amusement and Water Parks, Hunting and Fishing Camps and Recreational and Vacation Camps.” It adds: “Application details, including a full list of eligible businesses, will be available soon.” It also notes that any small businesses that received the Ontario Small Business Support Grant will not be eligible for the new grant. As he outlined the details of the Ontario budget, titled ‘Protecting People’s Health and our Economy’, at Queen’s Park today, Bethlenfalvy noted that tourism and hospitality have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic. “Some 140,000 tourism and hospitality jobs were lost between February 2020 and February 2021,” said Bethlenfalvy.
