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Happy Holidays
from
Touchstone Travel |
LET US GET YOU OUT OF TOWN
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Mickey set to make
house calls.
Families booking a Walt
Disney Parks and Resorts
vacation between now and
Dec. 23 will get a
personal call from
Mickey Mouse announcing
the good news on
Christmas Day. Parents
can plan their trips and
have Mickey Mouse call
their house and give the
“magical surprise” to
their kids.
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They can
also select the greeting
that Mickey gives
their
families either “Merry
Christmas” or “Happy
Holidays.”
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WE
CAN GET YOU OUT OF TOWN
THIS WEEKEND
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$297.00*
San Marino Plaza
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Toronto To
Puerto Vallarta.
One Week All
Inclusive |
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INN THE NEWS
The Royal Playa del
Carmen |
Mexico’s first online
check-in service for
guests at The Royal
hotels in Cancun,
Playa
del Carmen
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Real
Resorts has announced it
will be providing
Mexico’s first online
check-in service to
guests staying in The
Royal hotels in Cancun
and Playa del Carmen.
Clients can check in
directly from the
comfort of their home or
office 48 hours prior to
arrival. Guests may
preview pictures of
reserved suite category
by means of a virtual
map offering 360 tours
of each suite category.
Royal Service guests may
select and assign their
own suite during the
online check-in process.
Mexico’s first online
check-in service also
allows guests to
pre-advise the hotel of
any special requests or
special occasion
notifications. This
service is available
free and is applicable
to bookings made via
your favourite tour
operator. |
Catamount Trail - the longest
cross-country ski trail in
North America |
Massachusetts to Quebec
Cross-Country Ski Trail is
Completed after 25 Years
- Nearly 25 years after three
friends laid the groundwork t,
the 483-kilometre Catamount
Trail - a backcountry ski trail
extending from Massachusetts to
Canada - is complete.
Volunteers
cleared and marked the final
7.25-kilometre leg running
through the Green Mountain
National Forest in southern
Vermont in October.
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The trail, which starts on
the Massachusetts border in Readsboro, runs through the
Green Mountains, traversing a
variety of terrain, from the
groomed trails of cross- country
ski centres to remote mountain
passes.
The trail ends at the Canadian
border, in North Troy, Vt., near
Highwater, Quebec. Marked by
blue signs with catamount
(cougar) paw prints, the trail
bills itself as the longest
backcountry ski trail in North
America. But it's divided into
31 sections, 10 to 21 kilometres
long, so you can choose a short
leg, ski all day, or plan a
weeklong excursion stopping at
lodges along the way. |
TOUCHSTONE TRAVEL NEWS
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Transat supports four
sustainable tourism projects in
Canada and Cuba
- A.T. Inc. is supporting four
sustainable tourism projects,
including one launched by World
Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada)
to improve protection of
ecosystems in Cuba by promoting
the adoption of a sustainable
tourism policy. |
Transat is also supporting an
important green-accreditation project by the
Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, which is
located in the Thousand Islands region of
Ontario. Transat has also selected two other
projects to support along the St. Lawrence
River in Quebec. The company is supporting
the Seigneurie des Aulnaies, an
interpretation centre on the seigniorial
system located in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies
and a first-class tourism site in the Côte-du-Sud
region.
December 1,
2007,
the Government of Canada will reduce the
CAN$80 application fees for the NEXUS and
the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) programs to
CAN$50, which will coincide with the current
cost of these application fees in the United
States at US$50.
Travel
websites
are among the worst for online customer
service, according to new research from
Transversal. The travel industry came in
worst along with telecoms, insurance,
consumer electronics, grocers and utilities
in a survey of 10 sectors.
Although travel websites have
improved their ability to respond to
holidaymakers' basic questions in the last
year, 60% of questions remain unanswered.
Travel websites that offer email customer
service options took an average of 58 hours
to respond, which is only eight hours better
than corresponding research carried out in
2006. |
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SAIL AWAY
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Cunard takes delivery of
Queen Victoria.
One
hundred years ago this
year Cunard Line
introduced its first
true ‘Floating Palaces‘,
express transatlantic
liners with sumptuous
interiors designed to
resemble grand country
houses, with food and
service standards to
match.
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What Cunard started in
terms of impeccable
service and luxurious
surroundings just a
century ago, it now
brings to perfection
with Queen Victoria.
Queen Victoria is due to
leave the shipyard on
November 30 and sail to
Southampton. The vessel
will depart on its
Maiden Voyage on December
11. |
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DEALS ON WHEELS
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Enterprise Rent-A-Car
again ranks highest in
customer satisfaction
among airport rental car
companies which included
both leisure and
business travelers.
For
the fourth year in a row
and the eighth time in
the past nine years,
Enterprise - the largest
rental car company in
North America - ranked
highest, Enterprise
received the highest
rating in five of the
six factors measured:
pick-up process, rental
car, shuttle bus/van
service, return process
and costs and fees. |
*Some restrictions may apply.
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