Students can take advantage of holiday travel deals

Kassina Ryder
Business Reporter

Locations in the United States have been the most popular travel destinations since the dollar reached its high, said Nuno Alves, an advertising coordinator for Flight Centre, a travel agency in Toronto.
“Destinations we’ve been advertising are Florida, Orlando… that kind of Miami area,” he said. “California has also been pretty popular, just because it’s been so much cheaper to fly there.”
Cruises are also becoming more popular with students because they are cheaper than booking a hotel.
“Royal Caribbean has cruises that are more student-based,” Alves said. “It’s not the older clientele.”
The high dollar is also good news for students wanting to travel within Canada.
Tourism management coordinator Anna Kulinski predicts that because less American tourists are coming to Canada, the cost of domestic travel will decrease.
“I think what you will see is lower hotel rates,” she said. “You will have less Americans driving in.”
Kulinski said students planning a trip outside of Canada should book through a travel agent.
Whether heading south, taking a cruise or travelling internationally, “a travel agent will give you a better rate,” she said. “Travel agents have access to consolidator rates that are not available to consumers on an online basis.”
Trips within Canada can be booked online without a travel agent, she added. “For online domestic or transporter airfare you can research online and most people book online. Travel agents have to charge service fees, online doesn’t cost you anything.”
Alves stressed the importance of having a valid passport before beginning a journey. “I would always say travel with a passport no matter what,” he said. “Countries do change their regulations, sometimes literally overnight, so get a passport.”
Peter Martens, marketing manager for Eastern Canada’s Flight Centre, agreed.
“Even if they are flying to the United States they’ll require one,” he said. “I would always advise getting a passport for any kind of international travel.”
Students should apply for passports as early as they can. It can take around two weeks to process an application done in a Passport Canada office, and the website warns about the possibility of long lineups. Applying by mail can take around six weeks.
Ensuring applications have been filled out properly is key to avoiding delays.