World Tourism

AUSTIN — A woman from Austin, Texas definitely deserves a refund from the passport office. Chelsey Ramos’ passport photo is making the rounds on the Internet, and with good reason: a passport office snafu turned the image of her face from a normal passport pic into something that makes her …

SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Sabre Corp. on Tuesday said it is cutting 9% of its global workforce to lower costs. It also reported a second-quarter loss of $6.5 million, compared with a profit the year before. Sabre, a provider of technology services to the travel industry, had 10,000 employees at the …

ORLANDO — Walt Disney World has gone mobile, launching its new mobile check-in feature earlier this week. According to The Disney Blog, the My Disney Experience app now allows guests to check-in ahead of time and head straight to their rooms. With only a few clicks, guests can check in …

ORLANDO — Tourico Holidays, which recently opened a new office in Toronto, has announced the launch of Olympus X, a proprietary platform designed to help travel distribution clients improve inventory accuracy, identify hotel deals with the highest profit margins, and increase sales. The first-of-its-kind interactive dashboard also provides detailed monthly …

TORONTO — What would a home have to look like in order to be considered the most popular listing on Airbnb? You’d think it would have to have deep-soaking tubs, a chef’s kitchen, definitely a pool and maybe even a wine cellar. But in reality, the most-viewed listing on the …

TORONTO — The loonie broke above .80c US Monday for the first time in more than a year amid a weakened U.S. dollar and further signs of a strengthening Canadian economy. After steadily rising for weeks, the Canadian dollar crested above the threshold in morning trading and was bobbing around …

PARIS — A sperm whale appears to have beached on an embankment in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Or maybe not. A Belgian artists’ collective installed a very real-looking, life-size whale sculpture Friday alongside the Seine River, eliciting surprise and concern from tourists and Parisians alike. Bart …

FORT LAUDERDALE — Meat falling from the sky is weird, even by Florida standards. But that’s what happened at 4 a.m. Saturday when a 15-pound bag of frozen pork landed on the Deerfield Beach home of Travis Adair and his family. Adair said Thursday that the package hit his roof …

BOSTON — Delta Edge Wallet, new from Delta Air Lines, gives travel agency and corporate customers a point system to manage complimentary tickets, upgrades and vouchers. A recent addition to the Delta Professional travel management portals, Delta Edge Wallet provides the ability to search and request available complimentary ticket and …

ORLANDO — For Canadians only, Universal Orlando Resort is offering a three-park vacation package starting at US$99 per adult, per night. This five-night package includes hotel accommodations at a nearby Universal Partner Hotel, five-day access to Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and ‘Universal’s Volcano Bay, early park admission …