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.ASSOCIATION NEWS
Last day for membership directory updates
OMCA
All OMCA members who have not already reviewed and updated their membership profile, please do so before 4pm EST today. After that time, the information that we have on file will be submitted to the publisher for the printing of the 2021 OMCA Membership Directory. If you have any questions, please contact stevie@omca.com.
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Upcoming OMCA Webinars
OMCA
Don’t miss out on the OMCA Summer Webinar Series, featuring new webinars each Thursday offering insight on important topics to help members navigate the new norm of the travel industry. The next webinar in the series is Safe Travels Stamp and Tourism Recovery. Join us on July 29th at 12:00pm as we hear from Maxine Morrell-West about the Safe Travels Stamp program from the WTTC and TIAO and how it will help as the tourism industry moves through recovery. Registration is required to attend.
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Update from OMCA President
OMCA
We welcomed the announcement about Canada opening its borders to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and to international visitors. We have been advocating alongside many tourism partners across Canada for a plan to reopening our borders and restarting our visitor economy. This announcement was shortly followed by the surprising news of the U.S. border closure being extended and the uncertainty on vaccine requirements and acceptance. We will continue our efforts to answer some of these outstanding questions, including “What vaccines (or a mix of vaccines) will the U.S. accept?” and will report back to the membership once details are announced. This week, I met with a senior official at Transport Canada to continue to advocate for them to place a COVID business lens on their policies by keeping cash-strapped businesses top of mind. I also had the opportunity this week to present to the Conservative Tourism Recovery Caucus. This presentation provided our association the opportunity to highlight our federal advocacy priorities to over 25 MPs and to encourage them to connect with their Provincial counterparts and advocate for support for our sector. The association continues to advocate for a tailored, sector-specific support program to replace the CEWS and CERS programs. Our members are the hardest hit businesses and will need continued support to fully recover. Thank you to all the members who have already registered for our OMCA Marketplace and for your continued support. Please feel free to connect with me directly should you have any questions.
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.INDUSTRY NEWS
When the shuttles stopped
PCMA
The sense that life came to a screeching halt in March 2020 is real to many of us, but for Susan Kushner, it’s a literal truth. That month, Kushner was prepping for her company’s retreat in northern California to celebrate what was to be their busiest year ever. Then came the pandemic. Her business — she is president and CFO of Kushner & Associates, which provides transportation management for meetings and conventions — evaporated.
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Who what when where why: The fine print on Canada's border re-opening
Travel Industry Today
It’s official — starting next month Canada will allow non-Canadian, non-essential travellers to return to this country for the first time since the pandemic began. The phased-in plan to lower border barriers erected to limit the spread of COVID-19 will enable U.S. citizens and permanent residents to arrive as of Aug.9 and international travellers on Sept. 7. Only those who are fully vaccinated will be welcome.
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Ottawa Visitor Incentive Program
Ottawa Tourism
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highly impacted the tourism industry, especially packaged travel operations. With vaccination rates on the rise, the tourism industry entering the first steps towards recovery and our destination opening up to domestic travel, Ottawa Tourism presents its Ottawa Visitor Incentive Program (Ottawa VIP).
We are more than ready to welcome packaged travel groups and FIT to our destination by offering operators $50.00 per room night*, when each room night at qualifying Travel Trade hotels is accompanied with a paid admission(s) at a qualifying Travel Trade attraction.
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Day passes helping hotels plug pandemic holes in revenue
Travel Weekly
As hotels and resorts continue to look for ways to lure leisure and local travelers amid the pandemic, day passes have gained new relevance.
Of course, the day pass concept long predates the COVID crisis. It traditionally offered people who weren't staying at a resort — locals, cruisers, travelers on a layover — daytime access to a hotel's amenities, such as its pool, fitness areas or beach club.
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TICO pledges to help end systemic racism
Travel Industry Today
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario has joined upwards of 500 organizations in signing the BlackNorth Initiative Pledge in support of helping to end anti-black systemic racism in the workplace and beyond. Led by the Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism, TICO says it is “committed to the removal of barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians and creating opportunities for underrepresented groups.”
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7 breathtaking drives in Ontario
Ultimate Ontario
Kevin Wagar writes, "Ontario is blessed with some of the most gorgeous drives in Canada. I have driven through Ontario from top to bottom on countless occasions. And I’m constantly left in awe over just how incredible some of the most beautiful drives in Ontario are.
The landscape in this province ranges from the dramatic rockiness of the Canadian Shield to the sparkling lakes of the Muskoka region, and even sub-tropical fern-filled landscapes in the region of Windsor-Essex."
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Rarin' to go: Survey says Canadians ready to travel
Travel industry Today
Excitement amongst Canadians to begin travelling again is up significantly, according to a new Flight Centre survey – and so much so that consumers are not waiting until the very last minute to book their trips, despite frequent changes and varying travel restrictions worldwide.
Flight Centre Travel Group conducted its survey of close to 2,000 people in June and noted a distinct shift in positive sentiment about travelling versus a similar survey conducted in November.
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Business travel reinvented — who gets to travel now?
Hospitality Net
The return of business travel has been debated ad nauseum, but there is agreement on this: changes in corporate programs, mandates and approvals will either slow — or accelerate — travel's return.
Which way will it be, and what will the new corporate travel world look like in 2022 and beyond?
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'Absurd and completely unnecessary': US keeps Canada border closed
Travel Industry Today
Canadians hoping to hop down to the U.S. again this summer will have to wait a little longer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security extending its COVID-19 travel restrictions on Canada for at least another 30 days. The decision comes despite the Canadian government’s decision to begin easing its own restrictions on fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents as of Aug. 9.
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Indigenous getaways and educational experiences in Ontario
Two Row Times
With Indigenous communities all across the province and COVID-19 restrictions being lifted more each week, now is a good time to plan some educational visits to see firsthand the people and traditions that tell their stories and appreciate the richness of Indigenous culture and heritage of this territory. Call ahead first to make sure these nine getaways are open when you’re ready to go!
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7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
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