December 17
- Delta Air Lines First Scheduled Flight
An historic first flight established direct international air
service to
Canadian Rockies International Airport
(YXC) at Cranbrook, British Columbia on Wednesday, December 17,
2008.
Delta Air Lines Flight
4543 from Salt Lake City (SLC) touched down on time at 1:08 pm
and was welcomed by over 250 residents assembled on the apron,
cheering and waving Canadian flags.
Dignitaries aboard the flight
joined the official welcome and
Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce
function inside the terminal for the welcome toast and short
presentations by Cranbrook Mayor Scott Manjak and Tourism BC
Vice-President, Don Foxgord. Mr. Foxgord conveyed best wishes
from Tourism British Columbia
and the Minister of Tourism, Honourable Bill Bennett.
A special presentation of a cheque for $186,000 was made by the
Southern Interior Development Initiative
Trust to the Fly YXC Alliance, as a contribution
to the revenue guarantee fund committed by the Alliance to Delta
Air Lines to secure the service. Sparwood Mayor David Wilks
represented SIDIT and Andy Cohen, General Manager of Kimberley
and Fernie Alpine Resorts, accepted on behalf of the Fly YXC
Alliance.
Canadian Rockies International Airport joins Vancouver
International as one of only two airports in the Province of
British Columbia with direct service by Delta Air Lines. YXC is
literally surrounded by stunning mountain scenery, ski & golf
resorts, hot springs, parks and friendly communities, which
provided the impetus for the primarily leisure-oriented service.
Cranbrook has now become the
smallest city serviced by the world’s largest airline!
(L-R) Don
Foxgord, VP Partnership Marketing - Tourism BC; Chris Dadson,
President - Kootenay Rockies Tourism and Mike Smith, Chair - Kootenay
Rockies Tourism and Tourism BC Director.
On board the historic first flight were
representatives of the City of Cranbrook, Tourism British
Columbia, Kootenay Rockies Tourism, regional resorts and the
media.
Delta Air Lines services 500 destinations
in 105 countries around the world, with over 100 million
passengers carried annually. Over 11 million passengers fly
through the Delta hub at Salt Lake City. Delta completed its
merger with Northwest Airlines just one month before the first
flight to YXC, becoming the largest airline in the world as a
result.
Service to Canadian Rockies International
is three times weekly on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays on a
52 passenger CRJ 200 series jet aircraft.
TOP 'TIPS' FOR FINDING
GREAT AIR DEALS
"Use It or Lose It"
Whether booking on Delta.com, another
website, or through a Travel Agent here are some great tips to
help you find the best deals.
1:Be flexible. The lowest fares are often for midweek
travel. Delta is offering great rates between Salt Lake City (SLC)
and the Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC, Cranbrook)
on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Best days tend to be
Wed/Sat. Be sure to run your searches +/- 3 days to see all the
options.
2:Shop around. Compare prices to determine who offers the
price and itinerary that best suits your needs. Wherever it
makes sense to do so, please book Delta for your U.S. visits:
'Use It or Lose It'. This service is a first step
towards more choice in air travel for Kootenay Rockies residents
and guests – use it now, or risk losing the opportunity for 5-10
years in the future. When comparing with travel to/from other
airports, remember to include drive time and fuel cost,
overnights, parking fees, meal costs, lost wage-earning time…and
stress (especially during snowy times and late/early drives).
It might all add up to peace of mind and convenience in flying
from home.
3.
Include Travel Agents in your research. They have
access to much more information through their reservation
systems than we can access online. Did you know that if you are
booking yourself online, there is one seat sale ticket left on a
plane, and you need two, you will pay the higher rate for both
tickets without even knowing what happened? Travel agents can
purchase the best available fares for each segment of your
journey and for every member of your group. This can result in
significant savings.
4.
Keep current. The airline industry is constantly changing.
So are rates and routes. Destinations that had poor connections
a month ago have opened up significantly for us. Case in
point: Orlando travel used to require an overnight in either
Salt Lake City or Atlanta. Now you can get there in less than
7.5 hours. Travel agents track services constantly.
5.
Plan ahead. Don't rely on last-minute deals if you MUST get
somewhere. Eleventh-hour sales are becoming increasingly scarce
and restrictions around them are sometimes overwhelming. That
said, Delta does offer weekly specials out of Salt Lake City,
which can be combined to your ticket to/from Cranbrook. Sign up
for notices on Delta.com and be sure to read the terms and
conditions.
6:Go off-peak. It’s always cheaper to travel during the
off-peak season. Lodging and activity rates tend to be
lower…and so do crowds. Pay attention to U.S. holidays and major
events that attract thousands of travellers from all over the
continent; things like U.S. Spring Break, major sports playoffs
and Mardi Gras. Remember, the plane from Cranbrook might not be
full, but the one from SLC to your destination might be.
7: Fly
on the holiday. If you're flying during major holiday times,
booking on the holiday itself is often less expensive than
travelling a day or two before or after. It’s still pricier than
non-holiday times, but you may save a bit.
8:Be smart about sales. Keep an eye on airfare sales, but
remember that the 'sale' prices are not always the best fares
available. Travel agents have all the information. They can
save you money…and frustration.
And two tips from Delta staff at YXC:
9:
Check in 2 hours prior to flight time. Really. Desk agents
have a lot of computer entries to make to process your
international flight. A little known secret: the REGISTRATION
SYSTEM SHUTS DOWN 30 MINUTES PRIOR to departure. If you get
there 25 minutes before flight time – or 55 minutes before, but
there’s a line-up ahead of you - you will not be able to fly.
10:
Ask your hotel guests to enter your property contact information when they
book their flight. Local desk agents are happy to call you if there are
flight changes, but they can’t do that if no contact information
is included in the booking. It’s always a good idea to do this
in case of emergencies.
SEAT SALE EXTENDED!!
Book your winter getaway on
Delta.com
before January 15 and save!
Or invite your U.S. friends and family to join you for a
Kootenay Rockies Getaway.
There’s no excuse anymore.
Great rates and availability to/from LA, San Francisco, Palm
Springs, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Vegas and more. Lots of trips
priced at $400-$500 CDN round trip, taxes/fees included.
Book now for getaways through to April 5.
The price goes up every time someone ELSE buys a ticket.
GET YOURS TODAY!
CANADA'S WEST
MARKETPLACE
Whooping it
up in Calgary!
The 21stCanada’s West
Marketplace was held in Calgary November 26 & 27th.
Each year this trade show brings together more than 400 BC and
Alberta tourism suppliers with some of the industry’s key tour
company decision makers. Shannon Harrison and Kathy
Cooper both attended from Kootenay Rockies Tourism and met
with tourism buyers from across the world over two days of
scheduled appointments and social networking events. Shannon
and Kathy had busy schedules with over 60 scheduled appointments
between them.
This trade show has proven to be an
effective forum for tourism businesses to promote their range of
products to tour operators. Our region was well represented
as 25 of our regional partners were also in attendance on behalf
of Kootenay Rockies tourism businesses.
Shannon breaks away from
appointments to have a little fun!
Canada’s West will be held in Victoria, BC next year and
as we move closer to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we
are optimistic that buyers and sellers alike will benefit from
the strong relationships built through this event.
2010 TORCH RELAY
Apply to Become a
Torchbearer
Want to become a
'torchbearer' with the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay?
It's easy to apply on-line here.
Each torchbearer is required to
carry/run/walk with the Olympic Torch for approximate 300 metres.
The 2010 Olympic Torch Relaywill connect Canadians in every province and territory,
throughout a 45,000-kilometre journey, over approximately 100
days, and will involve 12,000 torchbearers. The journey of the
flame will culminate at BC Place on February 12, 2010 with the
lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, signaling the start of the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
For more details on
the Paralympic Torch Relay, click
here!
BEST ADVENTURE COMPANIES
ON EARTH
Sacred Rides Mountain Bike
Holidays
Photo
provided by Sacred Rides
Fernie-basedSacred Rides Mountain Bike Holidays has just been named
one of National Geographic Adventure's 2009
'Best Adventure Companies on Earth'.
The rigorously researched awards rank companies according to
five criteria: Quality of Service, Sustainability, Spirit of
Adventure, Education, Client Experience. Full
results will be released in January 2009.
"We're incredibly pleased and extremely proud of this
recognition," says company president Mike Brcic.
"We've been offering trips in British Columbia for over 13
years, and have introduced a spate of new trips around the globe
in the past few years. The one constant among all of our trips
is a commitment to excellence and a commitment to responsible
tourism... not to forget some very happy mountain bikers."
Since 1996, Sacred Rides have offered community-based mountain
bike holidays in British Columbia, Peru and Chile. Their
holidays use local guides and suppliers, contribute a percentage
of tour costs toward local development projects, and allow
participants to interact with the communities where they ride.
For the past five years, they have also run skills camps for
women, led by their top-ranked coaches, some of whom are former
national champions.
SKI THE POWDER HIGHWAY
New Website to be Unveiled by Snowsport Partners in January
The ‘new’
PowderHighway.com is a database-driven website, used to promote
the region’s entire winter product to the destination visitor,
media and the travel trade. By
mid-winter the site will be live with
regional content. Snowsport
Partners will have an opportunity to update
their images and videos daily, to showcase their current snow
conditions, special events and package promotions. Plus,
Powder Highway and other resort/winter media stories will also be
featured throughout the season.
Future plans include
building on these attributes
and adding more incentives for the destination visitor (from our
long-haul and international markets) by enhancing the ‘media
and travel trade’ sections of the site. Under the ‘Package’
section of the website, international visitors will be able to
search for ‘Powder Highway’ customized fly/drive ski packages
from their preferred departure point and book direct. Video and
picture blogs will be offered. And monthly newsletters,
highlighting specific Snowsport events and activities will be
sent to interested visitors, the media and the travel trade.
The
website will be promoted on various ‘social networking’
websites, as well as online ski/winter adventure magazines.
With continued support from the region’s
Snowsport Partners, we will continue to enhance
PowderHighway.com.
ATTRACTING & RETAINING
SKILLED EMPLOYEES
National
Tourism Sector Compensation Study
The human resource
needs within the tourism and hospitality industry continue to
grow and remaining competitive in the
industry is more important than ever. Having access to relevant
compensation information helps you, as an employer, make wise
compensation decisions that affect your employee recruitment and
retention efforts.
Therefore,
go2 - The
resource for people in Tourism, invite you to
participate in the 2008 National Tourism Sector Compensation
Study. The information collected through this survey
will not only help employers better
understand the labour market, but will also assist in efforts to
have the federal government consider industry’s compensation
data when establishing prevailing wage rates.
TO PARTICIPATE, simply visit
HayGroup.com/surveys/tourism_survey
today and fill out the online questionnaire. Please complete the
survey by February 15, 2009. And remember, the
information you provide is strictly confidential.
In return for your participation in this survey, you will
receive a FREE copy of the survey report when they are
available in April 2009.
Questions? Call John Leschyson, go2's
Director Industry Human Resource Development at 604-633-9787
ext. 225 or email
JLeschyson@go2hr.ca
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