Travel 4
TAILOR-MADE specialist Travel 4 has responded to a booming Canada market with a larger, redesigned programme for next year.
Independent short tours, sightseeing excursions, self-drive tours and city hotels have all been expanded. In addition, airport hotels have been introduced for clients who want to overnight after a long flight before picking up their rental vehicle.
The brochure has been increased by eight pages to 76 pages.
Product manager Allyson Smith said: “The increasing amount of soft-adventure product that we have introduced over the last three or four years has attracted a much younger market to Canada. Whereas it was once 45 years plus, it is now 35 upwards.
“We are strongly promoting all areas of British Columbia with new package options. Whistler, for instance, is a great outdoors option to combine with Vancouver. It is a young, vibrant place and ideal for soft adventure as well as winter sports. We have also introduced spa breaks in Whistler and Banff.”
Examples of Travel 4’s new product in western Canada include a five-day Mountains, Peaks and Glaciers independent coach tour between Vancouver and Banff from £558, a three-day spa break at Canadian Pacific Hotels’ Chateau Whistler for £276 and a 14-day Great Parks of the West self-drive from £698, all exclusive of flights.
Another newcomer expected to do well is a 15-day Vancouver round-trip Jeep Wilderness Tour covering both British Columbia and Alberta national parklands.
Alberta also gets more self-drive exposure with a new 14-day Western Wonders tour, and two-week Cowboy Experience self-drive. This includes canoe and river rafting trips, trail-riding and wildlife viewing, and is priced from £982, including some meals.
THE continuing strength of the Canadian dollar against the pound has encouraged leading UK specialist operators to increase both the capacity and choice in their latest programmes. Western Canada gets the lion’s share of the new product due to the continuing trend for more independent arrangements such as self-drive tours and activity and adventure pursuits.
Globespan
THE increasing popularity of western Canada has led Globespan to greatly expand its choice in the region for next summer with the launch of its 2000 programme.
Next year’s charter flight series, operated by Air Transat, will be increased by 20% – largely due to more capacity on western routes.
There are extra flights to Vancouver, the introduction of a service to Edmonton and greater use of larger Airbus A330 aircraft.
New product includes city breaks, more escorted and independent coach tours and flydrives.
Globespan chairman and managing director Tom Dalrymple said: “Our western Canada programme has been very successful so we decided to launch a range of inclusive holidays for next summer. We are seeing excellent traffic growth, and this isn’t just in the summer months. Toronto in particular is now a year-round destination and continues to be very popular for short breaks.”
The operator has just launched its first dedicated Canada Short Breaks brochure offering single and two-centre packages to Toronto and Niagara Falls and city breaks to Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Globespan is also featuring shortened versions of traditional coach tours in the Rockies, an Ontario golfing package and flydrives in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
Dalrymple said: “Our short breaks are attractive because we market them as inclusive packages linked to our low-cost charter flights.”
But he warned that due to fuel almost doubling in price over the past year, air fares were almost certain to rise in the New Year.
Vacation Canada
GLASGOW-BASED Vacation Canada has added more soft-adventure content, flydrives and escorted coach tours to its 2000 programme.
New flydrive itineraries include a two-week Mountains and Hot Springs route between Vancouver and Banff in the Rockies. It costs from £1,335 with car, flights and accommodation, and includes stays in several spa resorts.
Other newcomers are a 12-day Resorts and Parks of the East flydrive from £1,178 and a Newfoundland Adventure package of the same duration from £1,099. A highlight of an expanded coach tour section is a 10-day Rockies and The Inside Passage holiday that includes Calgary in Alberta, the Saskatchewan River Crossing, Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, and then on to Vancouver Island before arriving in Vancouver city. The lead price is £1,183.
Vacation Canada is also bringing out a separate spring/summer brochure of six-night packages incorporating Toronto and Niagara Falls with prices from £449 based on Canada 3000 charter flights.
Travelpack
TRAVELPACK has continued its rapid development of Canada product with a new range of escorted tours, rail journeys and self-drive packages.
Director of product Peter Allen said: “Once travellers have been to Canada they return again and again – and there is a need to keep the brochure fresh with new products and ideas to provide them with alternatives to the established favourites.”
The operator has introduced two budget escorted tours of nine nights based on two-star accommodation from £422 twinshare, exclusive of flights. One operates from Toronto to Montreal in the east and the other between Calgary and Vancouver.
Other newcomers include an Eastern Canada and the Maritimes tour – 15 nights from £791; and a nine-night Eastern Journey from Toronto from £379 with breakfasts, again excluding flights.
It has added a trans-Canada tour, the Canadian Trail, taking in Toronto, Jasper, Banff and Vancouver and including rail travel. It costs from £1,137 for 13 nights.
Completing Travelpack’s new western section is a 10-day Calgary-Vancouver tour taking in the Rockies and Vancouver Island – 10 days from £518; and a Glacier Discovery cruise and tour in British Columbia and Alaska – 23 nights from £2,417. All prices are exclusive of air fares.
In addition, the operator has introduced KLM and Northwest Airlines flights in order to increase the number of local UK departure points at the ex-London price level. It now offers 19 local airports from which clients can fly to Canada via Amsterdam and/or a US gateway.
There are four more escorted tour additions in Travelpack’s Connoisseur range, six new independent coach tours, and an Echo Valley Rail and Ranch itinerary. Travelpack has also produced three new rail tours in the west and 13 more self-drive itineraries.