CNW - Just in time for the Holidays - VIA Rail Canada would like to make your holiday gift decision-making easier this year. Don't know what to get the person who has everything or is just too hard to buy for? With the gift of travel you'll have them singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas," no matter what the season.
VIA gift cards
VIA Gift Cards are the ideal gift. Available at all VIA
stations in $25, $50 and $100 denominations, as well as a flex
value card, which is also re-loadable. The convenience and
flexibility of gift cards make them a welcomed gift. Give them
to family or friends and introduce them to a Canadian travel
experience that could include pristine alpine forests, a
luxurious trip to the ocean, a romantic getaway or simply an
opportunity for that university student to come home for the
weekend - laundry in tow of course!
Just in time for the winter ski season, the gift cards can also
be used to purchase tickets on a new seasonal departure between
Edmonton and Jasper. This ultimate ski experience includes
at-your-seat meal service, an on board VIA concierge (for
information on Jasper-area activities) and a Marmot Basin
Ambassador (lift tickets, ski rentals and lessons arranged on
board). Gift cards can be used at any time and are subject to
the same discounts applicable to cash purchases.
"There are as many reasons for buying VIA gift cards as there
are for travelling by train. For example, many students do not
have a credit card. When they are studying in another city,
their parents can encourage them to come home more often by
giving them a card," says VIA's Chief Customer Officer Steve
Del Bosco. "And for businesses they make a perfect gift for
employees as an incentive bonus for meritorious service during
the year."
For more details about VIA's Gift Card, visit
www.viarail.ca/giftcard
. VIA has also partnered with the AIR MILES Reward Program to
enable their collectors to redeem reward miles for VIA gift
cards. Collectors simply contact AIR MILES to exchange their
reward miles for a VIA gift card.
Holiday season travel
Christmas is coming, and seats are going fast. For those
planning on travelling over the holiday period who have yet to
book their trip, VIA suggests that you purchase your tickets as
soon as possible to take advantage of the best fares available.
Discount fares are still available on many departures during
the holiday period, which runs from Dec. 15 to Jan. 5.
"Traditionally, this is our busiest time of the year," adds Del
Bosco. "During this holiday period, everybody at VIA will work
together to ensure our customers' holiday travel plans run
smoothly."
With its reservation lines already very busy and winter weather
beginning to make itself felt in earnest, VIA expects some
popular train departures will be sold out quickly: VIA will be
monitoring ticket sales carefully so it can assign and cycle
passenger cars to meet demand. Customers should leave plenty of
time prior to their train departure, as ticket line-ups are
longer than normal.
Customers can visit VIA's secure website at viarail.ca to book
a trip anywhere in the VIA system.
Train tickets are also available at VIA stations across Canada,
including self-service ticketing kiosks located at major
stations in central Canada.
Passengers can also book their tickets by calling
1-888-VIA-RAIL (1-888-842-7245), TTY 1800 268-9503 (hearing
impaired), visit VIA's website
www.viarail.ca
or contact their travel agent.
Visit snowcross races in Sault
Snowcross racing returns to Searchmont Resort this weekend.
Hundreds of the worlds best snowmobile racing teams will
descend upon Sault Ste. Marie for the annual Stud Boy World Cup
Snowcross Races.
The CSRA National Championship Snowcross race will serve as a
qualifier for the 2007 Winter X-Games in Aspen, Colorado. For
more information, visit
www.searchmont.com/content/general/news.html