Canada awarded "approved destination status" from China
Air Canada announced Canada has been awarded Approved Destination Status from China, which will facilitate the launch of daily services by the carrier from Toronto and Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai (Reuters, 03-Dec-2009). The carrier plans to operate daily services in the peak four-month Summer travel period and four times weekly services for the rest of the year.
Air Canada: "We've been waiting for this for ten years. The potential for this is really tremendous because of the size of the Chinese market. We're still seeing green shots emerge and I would...say this is more potential green shoots, because we need to go out and earn this traffic. We are the new kid on the block and our aim is to make Canada the new, hot destination for Chinese tourists," Duncan Dee, COO. Source: Reuters, 03-Dec-2009.