Prior to the pandemic, travel and tourism (including its direct, indirect, and induced impacts) accounted for one in four of all new jobs created across the world, 10.6% of all jobs (334 million), and 10.4% of global GDP (US$9.2 trillion), said a new report released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). International visitor spending amounted to US$1.7 trillion in 2019 (6.8% of total exports, 27.4% of global services exports). WTTC’s latest annual research also shows that: the travel…
PortsToronto, owner and operator of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, announced that commercial airline service to/from the downtown airport will resume September 8, 2021. Porter Airlines will start up again on that day. Porter Airlines will phase in its scheduled service to/from Toronto, offering flights to/from Montreal, Ottawa, and Thunder Bay on September 8, with eight more destinations offered the week of September 13. Air Canada is expected to restart its Montreal service in September as well. “PortsToronto is pleased to confirm that Billy Bishop Airport will resume commercial airline operations on September 8,…
New data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) indicates that the global vaccination rollout and increased adoption of digital solutions for safe travel should lead to a rise in international mobility in the coming weeks and months. According to the newest edition of the Travel Restrictions Report from the United Nations specialized agency for tourism, as of June 1, 2021, 29 per cent of all destinations worldwide have their borders completely closed to international tourism. More than half of these…
Can you feel it? Events are more appreciated than ever. The global pandemic is finally being beaten back in Canada. We are so ready to get to our better, bigger life. Thanks in large part to Canadians valuing health procedures and the vast majority getting vaccinated, most areas of our lives are going forward with a new normal. As lock-down restrictions open up, event planning is returning from virtual rectangles to live, in-person events and a mix of both. As…
Recently, Black in Events Network hosted an online event with Kimberly Corbin, co-founder and managing partner for Meeting Shields, LLC, the largest 100 per cent woman and minority owned full-service protection and emergency management preparedness firm globally. Corbin also has 14 years of senior level experience in the hospitality and meetings industry. As we move into live, in-person events again, wherever you are in the world, what matters most is making sure you follow protocol and listen to whatever the…
As the events and meeting industry gradually moves back into in-person meetings (and the when really depends on the province and state and how fast people get vaccinated), event safety measures will become part of normal conversation and habit—as it should be. Even though vaccination rates are climbing, there are still variants to deal with, so event safety measures and protocols need to be kept in place and finessed as we move along into the new normal. Below are a…
Most companies are planning COVID-19 recovery for 2020, with one-third preparing for it in the next three months, according to a new report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). “The global business travel industry remains at a standstill but we are finally beginning to see some light at the end of this very long tunnel,” says GBTA CEO, Scott Solombrino. GBTA is a business travel and meetings trade organization with operations on six continents. It surveyed almost 1,600 member…
