Tour Operators
TravelBrands Releases One-Stop-Shop US Brochure
TravelBrands has released its annual USA brochure designed to showcase multiple US destinations and trip options for any type of traveller. Available in December, this up-to-date brochure highlights all components of a vacation in the US. “For many travellers, it is difficult to know where to begin in planning a vacation. Our brochure is a useful tool for all things travel in the US,” says Frank DeMarinis, president and CEO, TravelBrands. “Whether it is flights, hotels, car rentals, attractions or tours, this annual brochure is the ultimate one-stop-shop for travel...
Exodus Unveils Expert Agent Certification Course
Exodus Travels has launched a new Exodus Expert Program, the adventure tour operator’s first-ever online agent training platform designed for agents to earn knowledge and certifications such as Cycling, Hiking or Exodus Expert. The Exodus Expert Program provides agents with the training tools and resources needed to grow their business and explore the world of Exodus Travels. They will learn about the diverse range of adventure holidays and be recognized for their expertise. “The program allows agents the ability to learn at their own pace with bite-sized training modules and...
Celebrating Travel Together
Okay, here's your trivia question for today … both Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings have been around for 100 years … can you name another? Well, if you said Collette you'd be spot on and in 2018, the Rhode Island-headquartered tour company will be pulling out all the stops as it celebrates its a hundred years in the tour operating business. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's a long, long time. Yet as Ron Lonsdale, director of strategic partnerships – Canada for Collette, sees it, the company's longevity is due to the quality of its leadership team and the fact...
Taking The Initiative
Transat may be facing fierce competition on several fronts but the company is fighting back with a series of initiatives to boost efficiency, simplify operations and reduce costs, reports Montreal editor, Mike Dunbar in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. According to company CEO Jean-Marc Eustache, Transat moves some 4.5 million passengers a year, including almost one million Europeans; it boasts revenues in the $3 billion range; flies to some 60 destinations, evenly divided between Europe and the South and employees a team 5,000 strong located in Canada, the UK,...
Great Escapes
As Marco Sorbara, executive director, Europe for Globus Family of Brands, explains it, in the tour operating business, it's always about figuring out what's next and then how to continue to be innovative. In fact, Sorbara told a group in Toronto last week that he's spent the last couple of years doing just that and one of the more recent innovations is Globus' new Escapes program that showcases winter trips to Europe that operate from November to March. So far, Sorbara says, the response to the program has been great, but that shouldn't be surprising as Escapes features the same...
BSAP Helps Winners Stand Out From The Crowd
This month, Baxter Travel Media launches its fourth season of the successful Baxter Student Ambassador Program. It's the only travel and tourism student mentoring program of its kind in Canada, offering learning and networking opportunities for aspiring travel industry professionals. Every year, one winner from each participating school is chosen based on a combination of academic success, industry or community involvement, leadership skills, and a skill-testing webinar presentation. We recently caught up with three former BSAP winners, Aminah Hausermann, Vanessa Teran, and Julie...
Transat Winners
Transat has announced the winners of the last edition of its Surprise Dates contest, held on Nov. 14, the anniversary date of its inaugural flight 30 years ago. For the Ontario-Atlantic region, Emily Vail of CAA Travel in Guelph, Ont. will spend a week at the Meliá Las Dunas resort in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. And the Western Canada winner, Nicole Deibert of AMA Travel in Red Deer, Alta. will fly off to the Meliá Peninsula Varadero in Cuba. For the Quebec-Ottawa region, Véronique Thouin of Club Voyages Repentigny wins a holiday package for two, including Air Transat flights in...
NĀRAT Hosting Ultimate Kenya Fam
NĀRAT is hosting an April 13-22, 2018 fam to Kenya. Participating agents will learn and discover destination selling highlights of Kenya's legendary Maasai Mara, home of the Big 5 and the famous Masai Tribes. In addition to other well-known locations, agents will be introduced to Amboseli National Park in the vicinity of Mt. Kilimanjaro, regarded as the best place in the world to view free ranging African elephants, and Nakuru National Park, renown in addition to its rhinoceros, as Africa's Ornithological Paradise for its plethora of African bird species including its sea...