G Adventures Wellness, Air Canada Vacations, Trafalgar Asia And More JimBits

One of the world's best-known adventure travel company's is getting into the wellness business.

Toronto-based G Adventures has become the largest adventure travel company to launch a collection of tours dedicated to wellness and adventure. The small group tour operator's new 'Wellness' travel style features a program of trips in 10 destinations, all designed to help travellers slow down, find their balance and reconnect with the world, as well as with themselves.

With more than 80 departures planned in 2019, in destinations including Nepal, Costa Rica, Iceland, Patagonia, Tuscany and Peru, the new Wellness trips range from seven to 13 days in duration, and balance must-see highlights with a slower pace of travel.

Regular yoga sessions, intention-setting and healthy food choices are all offered on the new program of tours, allowing travellers to return home feeling more balanced. Each destination has been selected for its unique wellness aspect, and travellers will participate in local rituals such as a purification bath in Bali, a prayer ceremony with monks in Nepal and an ashram stay in India.

Simon Ma, G Adventures' Wellness Brand Manager, said now is the opportune time to launch into the Wellness space as more people look to combine the healthy lifestyles they have cultivated at home with their explorations abroad.

"The wellness industry has skyrocketed in recent years," he said. "According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness industry is now worth $3.7 trillion USD globally, with consumers seeking new ways to alleviate stress, reduce illness and boost wellbeing.

For more information, please visit https://www.gadventures.com/travel-styles/wellness/.

Air Canada Vacations continues its #ACVDreamMakers cross-country tour with its Regional Sun product launch events during late September and October.

Committed to working with you and for you, Air Canada Vacations unveiled its new vision to an additional 700 travel agents nationally. The 2018-19 regional road shows took place in Kingston, Stoney Creek, London, Sudbury, Moncton, St. John's, Newfoundland, Ottawa, Kelowna, Quebec City, and Edmonton between Sept/ 18 and Oct. 24, 2018. "The voice of the trade was key in our decision to bring more regional events this year. You asked and we heard you!" said Dana Gain, Senior Director of Sales, Groups & Partnerships.

Canada Vacations reminds travel agents that its exclusive Buy One, Get One at 50 per cent offer continues until Oct. 21. The BOGO promotion is valid on February to April 2019 departures to Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America. Applicable to new bookings with non-stop flights in Economy Class on select Flight and Hotel packages and departure dates, the offer is valid on minimum seven-night stays.

The promotion is combinable with Air Canada Vacations' early booking bonus. Until October 31st, book and pay your clients' reservation and get $300 savings per couple on all Caribbean and Mexico packages departing Nov. 1, 2018 through April 30, 2019.

Avalon Waterways announced that Elizabeth Gilbert, acclaimed author of the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling EAT PRAY LOVE, will christen the Avalon Envision on the Danube River in 2019.

Of her godmother duties, Ms. Gilbert said, "As somebody who is almost pathologically obsessed with travel and adventure, what could be more fun than being named the godmother of beautiful riverboat? I'm honoured and delighted to be part of this lovely endeavour."

Ms. Gilbert will christen the Avalon Envision in an international ceremony that will take place on April 7, 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.

"From EAT PRAY LOVE to BIG MAGIC, as an author, Ms. Gilbert has invited her readers to envision something different; a hint of a life or journey outside their comfort zone," said Pam Hoffee, managing director of Avalon Waterways. "An inspired choice as godmother of the Avalon Envision, she has helped us embrace curiosity each day in search of extraordinary. This is something we ask our travelers to do on their journeys across the world with Avalon."

After the christening ceremony, the 443-foot, 166-passenger Avalon Envision will join an all Suite Ship fleet to sail the Danube River throughout 2019.

"With the addition of the Avalon Envision, there's only one point-of-view on an Avalon Waterways cruise - the suite view," said Hoffee. "For the first time, our entire fleet in Europe and Southeast Asia is comprised completely of Suite Ships, each featuring our signature Panorama Suites with the industry's only Open-Air Balcony and an inviting bed facing the ever-changing scenery on two full decks of every ship. Even seasoned travelers have never seen - or experienced - the world like this."

Not sure when to book your clients for a Christmas trip? A study by KAYAK finds that for domestic flights, the best time to book for Christmas is November 13. For international travel, plan to book Christmas time travel by November 1.

Where are folks heading this holiday season? The KAYAK study found that Dublin witnessed a 48 per cent increase in searches this holiday season compared to last year, with KAYAK data revealing January to have the lowest flight and hotel prices for the holiday season. Book six weeks in advance to get the cheapest airfare. KAYAK data reveals that Cartagena is still top of mind for Canadians with search increases up 48 per cent compared to the 2017 holiday season.

Belize, Punta Cana and Curaçao have all seen increases in searches this year and are affordable holiday destinations for Canadians looking for warmer weather, KAYAK officials said.

Trafalgar, the global leader in guided vacations, is excited to connect clients to the very essence of Asia like no other, with the launch of their new 2019/2020 Asia program*. Offering 27 handcrafted trips, including 10 new trips for 2019, to 44 cities across Japan, India, Nepal, China and South East Asia, clients will truly immerse themselves in the diversity of the real Asia and connect to 'The Good Life.'

"We are very excited to launch our immersive and in-depth Trafalgar 2019 Asia program," says Wolf Paunic, president of Trafalgar and Costsaver Canada. "With over 27 handcrafted trips, we know our loyal Canadian travel agents will connect clients with the soul of Asia like never explored before."

From Tokyo to Mumbai and everywhere in-between, clients will connect to the very essence of Asia with real joy. By experiencing the scents of local spices in Siem Reap, soul-stirring experience of the Great Wall of China, stretching 21,196 kilometers from east to west or receiving handwritten 'Waka' poems of gratitude, gifted to them by their host as they are welcomed for a 'kaiseki' lunch at their Japanese ryokan home the possibilities are endless for clients to become a local and be a part of the story.

Clients can discover Trafalgar's 2019/2020 Asia program including the following NEW trips and highlights: Trafalgar.com/en-ca/destinations/asia

Sunwing Travel Group is honoured to be recognized as one of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies by Growth 500 (formally known as PROFIT 500) for a 14th consecutive year. Published in Maclean's magazine, on Growth500.ca and CanadianBusiness.com, Growth 500 ranks Canadian businesses by five year revenue growth. Sunwing Travel Group is the only vertically integrated travel company on the list.

company operates a leisure charter airline with a modern fleet of 40 planes including two new Boeing 737 MAX 8, a luxury charter service with access to private jets, two major North American tour operators, two renowned travel retailers, a hotel division with a portfolio exceeding 15,500 rooms, a vacation club and a destination management company.

"We are honoured to receive this accolade once again," said Stephen Hunter, President and CEO of Sunwing Travel Group. "Much of our growth can be attributed to the innovation of our products and services, the value we've been able to create for our customers through vertical integration and the entrepreneurial, forward thinking nature of our employees."

In 2018, the airline expanded their fleet with the introduction of new environmentally-friendly Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The tour operator continues to increase its capacity offering Canadians access to over 45 of the most popular vacation destinations from 33 airports located across the country and the widest selection of TripAdvisor® top-rated resorts. The hotel division continues to expand with the addition of the Planet Hollywood lifestyle hotel brand and Mystique Resorts boutique brand into a product portfolio that will represent 45 properties across ten countries by the end of the year. The award-winning destination management company, NexusTours, has grown exponentially in the past several years to provide over 4,000 experiences for vacationers across our destinations.

With over 18,000 employees internationally, the company has received many accolades including a position on Forbes Best Employers list in 2017, a place on the Financial Post's FP500 list, Awards of Excellence from TripAdvisor® and consecutive wins of the Consumer's Choice Award for top leisure airline in key regions across the country.

For more information, visit www.sunwingtravelgroup.com.

Travel agents and tour operators around the world can now discover the trove of exciting adventures awaiting their clients in Tampa Bay as they plan their next Sunshine State getaway.

Visit Tampa Bay has launched its first online training module to introduce travel professionals to the hip, urban heart of Florida's Gulf coast. The training is now live at Online Travel Training or Visit Tampa Bay websites. The training comes in English and Spanish.

"Tampa Bay is at the forefront of U.S. destinations seeing strong growth in international travel," said Santiago C. Corrada, President & CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. "We have recently added nonstop flights from Germany on Lufthansa and Switzerland on Edelweiss. With new flights from London via Norwegian Air starting this month and flights from Amsterdam beginning in 2019 aboard Delta, now is the time for travel professionals all over the world to discover the kind of authentic adventures their clients will treasure here in the hip, urban heart of Florida's Gulf coast."

UK-based OTT Inc., the most respected source in online travel training, hosts the training, which includes units highlighting Tampa Bay's unique blend of culture, history, attractions, and fun. More than 190,000 travel professionals used OTT modules to keep current on destinations around the world.