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Canadian Resort & Travel Association

CRTA MEMBER NEWS

Full Recovery At Hand, Says UN Tourism

Source: Travel Industry Today

UN Tourism’s projection for 2024 points to a full recovery of international tourism with arrivals growing 2% above 2019 levels

The agency says more than 285 million tourists travelled internationally in January-March, about 20% more than the first quarter of 2023, underscoring the sector’s near-complete recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.

Competition Bureau to study competition in Canada’s airlines industry

Source: Travelweek

The Competition Bureau has launched the consultation process for Canadians as it prepares to launch a market study of competition in domestic air passenger services in Canada. The bureau says the market study will allow it to better understand what is driving these issues, and to make recommendations to all levels of government to improve competition in the airline industry. The study will examine how to make it easier for new businesses to compete and easier for consumers to make informed choices.

Canadian border workers could strike as early as June 6

Source: Windsor Star via MSN

A potential strike involving Canada Border Service Agency workers looms at border crossings nationwide after the release of a Public Interest Commission report.

PSAC-Customs and Immigration Union members at the border service agency include border services officers at airports, land entry points, marine ports, and commercial ports of entry, inland enforcement officers, intelligence officers, investigators, trade officers, and non-uniformed headquarters staff.

Border agency workers, including those at Windsor’s bridge and tunnel crossings, have been without a contract for two years.

Schumer calls out Canadian government on “flagpoling” practice

Source: WIVB Buffalo via MSN

The method allows temporary Canadian residents who require work permits or visas to come into the United States for as little as a few hours and get their paperwork processed at the border, later receiving their needed permits within days. Schumer said that residents do this in lieu of sending their permits in the mail, which can take up to nine months to be processed.

Schumer said that this legal loophole ties up a border agent for as much as a half hour for a single temporary resident, which has led to increased wait times at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Peace Bridge in Buffalo, and Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in Lewiston.

He is calling on the Canadian government to close the loophole.

After being sued by states for timeshare exit scheme, Brian Scroggs faces federal charges

Source: Springfield News-Leader

Springfield resident Brian Scroggs has been sued by the states of Arkansas and Missouri in previous years for his business practices relating to timeshares.

Now the 52-year-old faces a series of federal charges for alleged timeshare fraud and failing to pay $333,000 in federal employment taxes.

A federal grand jury recently indicted Scroggs, who owned several businesses relating to the timeshare exit industry and getting customers out of their contracts. His businesses failed to deliver, according to court records, despite hosting seminars and making guarantees.

WestJet Encore averts pilot strike with tentative deal

Source: CBC News

WestJet Encore and its pilots reached a deal Thursday after two weeks of negotiations, steering clear of a potential strike this week.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the 358 pilots at the regional carrier, issued a 72-hour strike notice Wednesday evening that could have seen a work stoppage as early as this weekend.

Canada Just Misses Top Ten in Latest Travel/Tourism Ranking

Source: OpenJaw

The 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index gives top spot to the United States, followed by Spain and Japan. Canada came in at number 11, receiving relatively low scores in the categories of tourism infrastructure, openness to travel and tourism, cultural resources and price competitiveness.

Plan your visit

Source: Parks Canada

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Canadian Resort & Travel Association

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