News that has caught Chris' eye in the Travel World

Managing the number of visitors to Machu Picchu (31 May, 2017)

Peru is attempting to better manage visitor numbers at its number one attraction: fabled Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas.  The number of visitors to Machu Picchu each year has grown from the low 100,000s in the 1980s, to nearly 1.4 million currently. So the plan is for ticket sales to be divided into a morning ticket and an afternoon ticket. There will still be an option to buy both the morning and afternoon ticket, giving travellers the recommended full day in the ruins. Initially this change was to begin this summer, but now the date has been moved back to January next year. So keep an eye out for further developments if this site is on your wish list soon. 

Zoomers are Top Travellers! (24 May, 2017

Zoomers are set to account for a rising share of luxury travel as the generation continues to retire, according to new data from an Age Wave & Merrill Lynch study recently released. Households headed by those 65 years and older have more than 21 times the median wealth of households headed by people under 35. From a travel perspective, the figures become even more powerful.  

Consumers 50 years of age and over account for 33 percent of the population, yet they are responsible for 53 percent of airfare expenditures, 59 percent of hotel spending, 74 percent of cruise ship fares and 76 percent of total net worth. What’s more, those aged 55 and older will soon enjoy time affluence like never before, with 2.5 trillion hours of leisure time over the next 20 years.

Zoomers are in search of peak experiences (48 percent) and adventure (45 percent), with 95 percent of retirees saying they prefer to have more enjoyable experiences than more ‘things’. So it’s no wonder that travel organizations are becoming more and more focused on the Zoomer demographic as it becomes clear that this is, as the marketers like to put it, the ‘sweet spot’ for travel. For more information click here. 

New summer routes for Transat (17 May, 2017)

Transat have revealed their plans for next winter’s vacation flights to the sun. They will fly to 36 sun destinations from 22 Canadian cities this winter, as well as to several European destinations. Tampa and San Juan are new options for the winter, with flights from both Toronto and Montreal.

Tampa Florida is a city that is already well-known among Canadian travellers. It boasts lots of great restaurants, not to mention outdoor activities and, of course, beautiful beaches.  San Juan Puerto Rico, the other new destination, is one of the oldest cities in America. With its spectacular beaches and picturesque colourful buildings, the island of Puerto Rico appeals to travellers in search of history, culture and relaxation. Both of these new destinations are also departure points for many new cruise packages.

In Europe, travellers in search of some warmer winter temperatures in Europe will be able to get away to Portugal from Toronto, with four flights a week to Lisbon, one to Porto and one to the Algarve during peak season.

Transat is also increasing its flights to the UK from Toronto by offering two flights a week to Manchester and Glasgow, in addition to continuing its year-round daily flights to London Gatwick.  I flew this route with Transat earlier this month and it was timely, comfortable and very good value.

For more information visit www.airtransat.com  

New routes for Air Canada (11 May, 2017)
 

Air Canada continues to expand its international network with the addition of six new routes for the winter season, including two from Toronto and two from Montreal. From Toronto you can now fly to Belize in Central America and to St. Vincent in the Caribbean. The new routes from Montreal are to Lima in Peru and to Phoenix, Arizona. Flights are now available for booking.

 The direct flight to St Vincent is particularly interesting, as this is the first time it has been possible to fly directly to this Caribbean  island - the old airport was too small for larger planes. With the recent opening of the new airport, all that has changed and I forecast that St Vincent and the Grenadines will be one of the trending destinations this year.