Latest news with #AmraDurakovic
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Corrective to May 12 story on Statcan-Travel
In a May 12 story about Canadians travelling to the U.S., The Canadian Press misspelled the last name of Amra Durakovic. It also erroneously referred to Flight Central Travel Group. In fact, it is Flight Centre Travel Group. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2024. The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Yahoo
Canadian travel to Cuba on a double-digit downturn in early 2025
Cuba saw a double-digit drop in the number of Canadians visiting the island nation this past winter, raising questions about what's behind the slide. Data from Cuba's national statistical agency reveals that the number of Canadians travelling there was at least 30 per cent below last year's numbers in January, February and March. Yet the downward shift goes beyond visitors from Canada, with Cuba also reporting a decreasing number of tourist visits from Russia, Spain and Italy, among other countries. The director of the Cuban Tourism Board in Toronto was out of the country this week and not available for comment. But the country's national tourism minister has recently hinted at the "complex" challenges Cuba is facing. Several domestic airlines and travel operators confirm they are seeing less travel to the Caribbean country that drew more than one million Canadian visitors annually in the years before the pandemic. "The reported decline in Canadian travel to Cuba aligns with feedback we're hearing from both customers and our travel experts," Amra Durakovic, head of communications for Flight Centre Canada, told CBC News via email. Cuba watchers say the country's accumulating economic and social challenges — on full display for tourists who venture away from resorts, and also in media reports — may be contributing to the decline in tourism. "The reality is that the country has changed significantly for the worse since the early 1990s, when Canadians began visiting the island in large numbers," said Ricardo Torres Pérez, a Cuban economist who pays close attention to the tourism statistics published by the state. Problems on display A prominent and recurring problem for Cuba has been its unreliable power grid and the effect that's having on the country and the lives of its people. For months, Cuba has seen repeated widespread power failures, including on back-to-back occasions last fall when the island was hit by successive hurricanes. There was also a major outage in December, and yet another in March. Andrés Pertierra, a Cuba analyst who previously lived and studied in Havana, was in Cuba for two of those major outages last year. He recalls the pictures shown on the news of darkened streets, juxtaposed against images of the lights working at hotels. "How do you provide an image of a carefree lifestyle, a quick, fun trip, when you have that?" Pertierra asked. Flight Centre's Durakovic says travellers are paying attention to the very public problems Cuba's been having, including the periodic power outages and limited availability of some essential goods and services, which he says "can understandably play a role in travel decisions." Since July 2023, Ottawa has warned Canadians to "exercise a high degree of caution" if travelling to Cuba. The full travel advisory points to shortages of food, medicine and fuel, as well as ongoing challenges with the power grid. LISTEN | Cuba, power outages and challenges for Havana: Torres Pérez said these problems are tied to Cuba's ongoing economic crisis. "The crisis has affected the quality of services, the state of infrastructure and has led to frequent blackouts," he said, noting there are also issues around keeping cities clean with "solid waste accumulating in the streets." Both Torres Pérez and Pertierra also say that amid these struggles, Cuba is seeing more problems with crime than it used to. "While one could argue that the island remains relatively safe compared to other Latin American countries, crime is on the rise — including incidents of pickpocketing," said Torres Pérez. 'I love the place' But the lure of Cuba's sunny weather and sandy beaches is strong, and for some Canadians, it's a place they'll continue to visit. Quebec resident Michel Dubois last visited Cuba in December and says he'll be returning there twice this year. "I love the place, that's it," said Dubois, a retired TV cameraman and editor, who worked for both CBC and Radio-Canada during his career. "I love the people." Dubois says he's made friends after making repeat trips to Cuba, and helps supply them with hard-to-come by necessities, like flashlights, when he visits. Sharon Pedley, of Brampton, Ont., intends to do the same, when she returns to Cuba later this year. She and her husband will pack an extra suitcase full of necessities — like over-the-counter medication — to bring for Cuban friends they've met through their prior visits. "You'll find a lot of the tourists that I know of, they'll do the same," said Pedley. The support that Pedley, Dubois and other like-minded tourists provide in this manner may benefit individual Cubans, but these visitors also provide the country with a critical source of foreign currency. Pertierra, the Cuba analyst, notes that as tourism wanes, "that will mean less foreign currency," which is critical for the country to have in order to import needed goods and supplies. A turn to China? This past week, Reuters reported that Cuba is looking to China as a possible source of new tourists. In March, the official Cuban Granma newspaper lauded the growing number of Chinese tourists heading to Cuba in recent years — from more than 8,000 visitors in 2022, to a reported 26,760 in 2024. But those numbers are far lower than the more than 500,000 Canadians who travelled to Cuba in the first three months of 2025 — and that's at a level 30 per cent below last year. Canadian travel providers point to continued interest from consumers, despite what the Cuban statistics suggest. "Although there has been a slight softening in bookings for the early part of 2025 compared to the previous year, we are also seeing signs of stabilization in the last month," Marie-Christine Pouliot, manager of public relations for Air Transat, said via email. Air Canada, meanwhile, told CBC News that "Cuba has been performing very steadily for us." Torres Pérez says Canada has long been Cuba's single-largest tourism market. Asked how it could potentially act to drive up those numbers, he suggested efforts could be made to improve the quality of service and ensure the hospitality sector has the supplies it needs to serve visitors.
CBC
04-05-2025
- CBC
Canadian travel to Cuba on a double-digit downturn in early 2025
Cuba saw a double-digit drop in the number of Canadians visiting the island nation this past winter, raising questions about what's behind the slide. Data from Cuba's national statistical agency reveals that the number of Canadians travelling there was at least 30 per cent below last year's numbers in January, February and March. Yet the downward shift goes beyond visitors from Canada, with Cuba also reporting a decreasing number of tourist visits from Russia, Spain and Italy, among other countries. The director of the Cuban Tourism Board in Toronto was out of the country this week and not available for comment. But the country's national tourism minister has recently hinted at the "complex" challenges Cuba is facing. Several domestic airlines and travel operators confirm they are seeing less travel to the Caribbean country that drew more than one million Canadian visitors annually in the years before the pandemic. "The reported decline in Canadian travel to Cuba aligns with feedback we're hearing from both customers and our travel experts," Amra Durakovic, head of communications for Flight Centre Canada, told CBC News via email. Cuba watchers say the country's accumulating economic and social challenges — on full display for tourists who venture away from resorts, and also in media reports — may be contributing to the decline in tourism. "The reality is that the country has changed significantly for the worse since the early 1990s, when Canadians began visiting the island in large numbers," said Ricardo Torres Pérez, a Cuban economist who pays close attention to the tourism statistics published by the state. Problems on display A prominent and recurring problem for Cuba has been its unreliable power grid and the effect that's having on the country and the lives of its people. For months, Cuba has seen repeated widespread power failures, including on back-to-back occasions last fall when the island was hit by successive hurricanes. There was also a major outage in December, and yet another in March. Andrés Pertierra, a Cuba analyst who previously lived and studied in Havana, was in Cuba for two of those major outages last year. He recalls the pictures shown on the news of darkened streets, juxtaposed against images of the lights working at hotels. "How do you provide an image of a carefree lifestyle, a quick, fun trip, when you have that?" Pertierra asked. Flight Centre's Durakovic says travellers are paying attention to the very public problems Cuba's been having, including the periodic power outages and limited availability of some essential goods and services, which he says "can understandably play a role in travel decisions." Since July 2023, Ottawa has warned Canadians to "exercise a high degree of caution" if travelling to Cuba. The full travel advisory points to shortages of food, medicine and fuel, as well as ongoing challenges with the power grid. Torres Pérez said these problems are tied to Cuba's ongoing economic crisis. "The crisis has affected the quality of services, the state of infrastructure and has led to frequent blackouts," he said, noting there are also issues around keeping cities clean with "solid waste accumulating in the streets." Both Torres Pérez and Pertierra also say that amid these struggles, Cuba is seeing more problems with crime than it used to. "While one could argue that the island remains relatively safe compared to other Latin American countries, crime is on the rise — including incidents of pickpocketing," said Torres Pérez. 'I love the place' But the lure of Cuba's sunny weather and sandy beaches is strong, and for some Canadians, it's a place they'll continue to visit. Quebec resident Michel Dubois last visited Cuba in December and says he'll be returning there twice this year. "I love the place, that's it," said Dubois, a retired TV cameraman and editor, who worked for both CBC and Radio-Canada during his career. "I love the people." Dubois says he's made friends after making repeat trips to Cuba, and helps supply them with hard-to-come by necessities, like flashlights, when he visits. Sharon Pedley, of Brampton, Ont., intends to do the same, when she returns to Cuba later this year. She and her husband will pack an extra suitcase full of necessities — like over-the-counter medication — to bring for Cuban friends they've met through their prior visits. "You'll find a lot of the tourists that I know of, they'll do the same," said Pedley. The support that Pedley, Dubois and other like-minded tourists provide in this manner may benefit individual Cubans, but these visitors also provide the country with a critical source of foreign currency. Pertierra, the Cuba analyst, notes that as tourism wanes, "that will mean less foreign currency," which is critical for the country to have in order to import needed goods and supplies. A turn to China? This past week, Reuters reported that Cuba is looking to China as a possible source of new tourists. In March, the official Cuban Granma newspaper lauded the growing number of Chinese tourists heading to Cuba in recent years — from more than 8,000 visitors in 2022, to a reported 26,760 in 2024. But those numbers are far lower than the more than 500,000 Canadians who travelled to Cuba in the first three months of 2025 — and that's at a level 30 per cent below last year. Canadian travel providers point to continued interest from consumers, despite what the Cuban statistics suggest. "Although there has been a slight softening in bookings for the early part of 2025 compared to the previous year, we are also seeing signs of stabilization in the last month," Marie-Christine Pouliot, manager of public relations for Air Transat, said via email. Air Canada, meanwhile, told CBC News that "Cuba has been performing very steadily for us." Torres Pérez says Canada has long been Cuba's single-largest tourism market. Asked how it could potentially act to drive up those numbers, he suggested efforts could be made to improve the quality of service and ensure the hospitality sector has the supplies it needs to serve visitors.
CBC
22-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Halifax airport gets summer flights to Amsterdam as demand for European travel grows
WestJet will offer direct flights between Halifax and Amsterdam this summer as the travel industry in Canada sees an increasing demand for European destinations. Halifax Stanfield International Airport said this week that the service to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will operate up to six times a week, beginning May 29. Amsterdam is the fifth direct flight to Europe WestJet is offering out of Halifax this summer. The other destinations are Dublin, Edinburgh, London-Gatwick and Paris. Seasonal direct flights to Frankfurt, Zurich and Reykjavik are also available from Halifax. Flights to London-Heathrow and Saint-Pierre are available year-round. Amra Durakovic, a spokesperson for Flight Centre, said Friday she is seeing more demand from Canadians to travel to Europe. Durakovic said there are many factors driving the demand, but she said the Trump administration's tariff announcements and the weaker Canadian dollar are part of it. 'Not surprising Canadians are shifting their focus' "I've spent a lot of this past month on our shop floors talking to our Flight Centre customers," she said. "The overall sentiment to me suggests there's a lot of caution amidst all this uncertainty with the U.S., so it's not surprising Canadians are shifting their focus to other destinations." While Amsterdam has its own attractions, Durakovic noted that its proximity to other European destinations is another selling point. She said Denmark, France, Spain and the U.K. are also trending upwards as destinations for Canadian travellers. Durakovic said 64 per cent of respondents prioritized cost when choosing their travel destination in a recent survey conducted by Flight Centre. "With more frequent flights between Canada and Europe, it just makes sense, it makes it easier, it's more accessible and — depending on where you're going in Europe — you can make your dollar stretch," she said. More tourism for N.S. this summer? Anyone wanting to travel to Europe this summer should book soon, Durakovic said. For people choosing to travel within Canada, she said the East Coast is becoming a more popular destination. "So maybe for all those locals in Halifax, they might want to leave because we might have too many Canadians visiting you guys," she said.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Travel agents say Canadians are cancelling U.S. trips amid tariff threats
Canadian travel agents say they're seeing more people cancel their U.S. trips and go vacationing elsewhere amid an upswing in patriotism due to U.S. tariff threats. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose crushing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports, as well as mused about using "economic force" to absorb Canada as a 51st state. On Monday, he signed orders imposing 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from Canada and elsewhere, set to begin March 12. Broader tariffs on the majority of other Canadian goods are on pause for at least 30 days, until the beginning of March. The threats of a trade war have led to an upswing in Canadian pride, with sports fans booing the U.S. national anthem and polls suggesting Canadian patriotism is on the rise. Now, Canadian travel agents say they're seeing more customers cancel their U.S. trips and book vacations elsewhere, in what could prove to be an impactful way of voting with their wallets."We certainly saw it during the first Trump presidency, with Canadians mostly anecdotally saying that they were planning on avoiding the U.S.," said McKenzie McMillan, a travel consultant with the Vancouver-based Travel Group. "But this time definitely feels different," he added. "This has been a much more tangible reaction from clients who are actually outright cancelling trips and rearranging their plans. This is something that we haven't seen before to this extent." McMillan says that in many U.S. destinations — like Palm Springs, Orlando and Phoenix — Canada was the number one source of international travellers. "A lot of those Sun Belt destinations are going to be hit really hard by Canadians choosing to either stay home or go elsewhere," he said. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose punishing tariffs on Canada, and mused about making the country a U.S. state, which has prompted an uptick in Canadian patriotism. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press) According to the U.S. Travel Association, which advocates for the American travel industry, a 10 per cent dip in inbound travel from Canada could translate to $2.1 billion US in lost spending and jeopardize 14,000 American jobs. "Canada is the top source of international visitors to the United States, with 20.4 million visits in 2024, generating $20.5 billion in spending and supporting 140,000 American jobs," the association said in a statement. Both B.C. Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have urged Canadians to rethink their U.S. travel plans in light of the tariff threats. Amra Durakovic from Flight Centre says if travel does slow down between the U.S. and Canada, it will impact many different industries. "Canadians are taking a stand in solidarity," she said. "They're showing Americans — or rather, the U.S. administration — where they're going to spend their tourism dollars." Amra Durakovic with Flight Centre says they're seeing more people heading to Canada's East Coast, Mexico, Portugal and Antigua in recent weeks. (CBC) Durakovic said her company was seeing an uptick in people heading to Canada's East Coast, Mexico, Portugal and Antigua in recent weeks. But both her and McMillan say it might be too early to get exact figures on how many people are cancelling their U.S. trips. Neither Statistics Canada nor the U.S. Bureau of Transportation have yet released the last two weeks of travel data between the two countries. But Durakovic says for many of her customers, the sentiment of "anywhere but the U.S." is strong, and she urged people thinking of rebooking their trip to think about paying for gratuities in advance to avoid currency fluctuations.
