Puppies, perfume and possibilities: an inside look at TravelPress Live’s immersive activations

It’s safe to say that TravelPress Live was anything but a traditional trade show.

Instead of boring booths with pipes and drapes, the festival show floor was filled with engaging displays that brought the experience to life like Porter Airline’s replica of the new Montreal Metropolitan Airport, Collette’s vibrant and colourful perfume bar and Riverside Luxury Cruises’ vista lounge area that was designed to replicate cruising along Europe’s most scenic rivers.

“TravelPress Live was the most exciting, inventive and engaging trade show I have ever been to and a delight to exhibit at,” shared Carolyn Menard, TBO’s Canadian Business Development Manager. “I am already looking forward to next year!”

“TravelPress Live has been the best venue for suppliers, networking, and interaction. Food has been over the top, drinks, entertainment. Where do you get a campfire in the heart of the city? So many unique things: ice cream, soccer with Portugal, just the quality of people, advisors, suppliers, everything here has been absolutely stunning. You guys have totally outdone yourselves,” added Pat Probert of Bob Family Travel. 

In addition to a day filled with masterclass speakers and panel discussions, Day 2 of TravelPress Live at Evergreen Brick Works featured the festival show floor with over 50 suppliers and 20 exciting activations. 

Interesting elements included travelbrands’ escape room, Visit Portugal’s viewing party complete with soccer stands to cheer on the match, CIE Tours’ puppy petting lounge, and so much more.  

“How often do you get to cuddle with puppies, make your own custom perfume, try to solve an escape room, make s’mores at a real fire, attend a World Cup watch party, go golfing and so much more at one conference? Well done TravelPress Live and congratulations on your inaugural event! It was a hit!” noted Laurie Keith of Boutique Travel Services. 

“This event was unlike any other travel event I’ve been to,” added Jessica Drozdowski of Paradise Planning Travel. “The venue was unique and a refreshing change from what travel events typically tend to be like. It was so well done I wouldn’t have ever guessed it was the first one ever. I absolutely would recommend this event to everyone in the industry and will be a returning attendee! The suppliers were wonderful to chat with and the overall vibe was great. The puppy area was my absolute favourite. The escape room was interesting and quite fun. The opening party was quite the jungle party and I think I speak for everyone when I say it really wowed us.”

The day kicked off with insights from Jennifer Hendry of Signal49 Research – formerly the Conference Board of Canada – who shared that Canadians are on the move, frequently heading farther afield on their vacations.

Hendry noted there has been a “clear shift” towards “overseas destinations,” with travel to the United States declining in the past couple of years. The drop in travel to the United States was blamed on “geopolitical” factors and an unfavourable currency exchange.

Nevertheless, the United States remains a “huge destination” for Canadians. Among European countries hosting more Canadians are Cyprus, Norway and Finland, while Asian destinations benefitting from increased Canadian visitations include Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Travel to Latin America is up slightly, while Mexico has seen an 11% jump, Hendry reported.

“Canadians are changing where they’re going but they’re still seeking out sun destinations,” she added.

Hendry reported that six in 10 Canadians are at least somewhat interested in cruise vacations. She also said that a solid 70% of Canadians are planning leisure travel this summer. As well, spending time with friends and family is an important driver in choosing a vacation, she continued.

The second masterclass session on Designing for Accessibility-Conscious Travellers featured Tanya Rabe of Right Foot Adventures, an award-winning travel agency that specializes in accessible travel for people with mobility challenges. Rabe is an accessible travel advocate and above-knee amputee who lives with Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

Rabe shared that travel agents shouldn’t be afraid to be vocal when putting together trips for  travellers who have accessibility issues and routinely encounter challenges, even in hotels that say they have rooms that can take care of their special needs. “What matters is how you [travel agents] can help them travel comfortably,” she said, adding that advisors can call a hotel directly to discuss clients’ needs ahead of arrival. “Accessibility is not a need. It’s a requirement.”

Rabe said because a hotel states that it has accessible rooms doesn’t mean those rooms are suited for individual travellers. For instance, a bathroom grab bar may be improperly positioned for a particular client, she noted. Agents preparing a trip for clients with accessibility issues should ask hotel staff to take and send pictures of those rooms and not rely on stock photos, she added. “If they tell you they can’t take photos of them, ask if they have a cell phone,” she continued. 

These travellers may need a power lift or ramp while on an itinerary and motorcoach tours may stop at restaurants that don’t have accessible entrances, she warned. There are areas of progress for travellers with disabilities, said Rabe, citing a room in Edmonton’s airport devoted to assisting those with disabilities and Air Inuit’s efforts to accommodate them.

Then, Adam Reid, a two-time “Entertainer Of The Year” Nominee, bilingual keynote speaker, and the founder of REIDframed Studios, a global digital media company that has generated more than 5 billion views across platforms, delivered a moving keynote address about embracing change and finding opportunities within it. 

“Deep down I think travel is about connection. People want to connect with new people, they want to feel connected to places they’ve never been before. They want to feel connected to a culture they’ve never experienced firsthand. They want to connect with family members or friends,” he shared. “People will continue to want to have new experiences. People will always want to continue building and strengthening their connections. They will want to learn, they will want to grow, to be changed by the experiences that only you can provide.”

Amidst all the action, Visit Portugal held a private viewing party for the Portugal VS DR Congo match, where after an exciting opening lead, the end score wound up being a draw at 1:1.

Packing the house at the same time was the Women Who Lead: Mentorship, Community, and Building Your Circle panel with Carolyn Ray, CEO and Editor JourneyWoman; Karen Hardie, General Manager, Canada for Virtuoso; Nathalie Tanious, Chief Executive Officer at TravelBrands; Maureen Barnes-Smith, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Canada Unique Vacations (Canada) Inc. and Zeina Gedeon, CEO, Trevello.

While women account for the lion’s share of tourism and hospitality workers, a disappointingly small percentage of them make it to the top of their workplaces, TravelPress Live delegates learned. Notably, Ray pointed out that around 64% of travellers are women and they account for most of those working in the tourism trade. However, less than 20% of tourism company CEOs are female.

Hardie, who oversees Virtuoso Canada, credited her father with much of her success, adding he told her to “go beyond the glass ceiling.” But panelists added that that glass ceiling still exists, with Hardie stating, “I think we still have a long way to go.”

Meanwhile, Gedeon said “women have to work harder than men” to be more credible and Barnes-Smith of Sandals added that women who are outspoken are often viewed as “emotional,” which isn’t the case with men. Barnes-Smith shared that she’s also encountered people who were skeptical of her workplace skills as a female Jamaican but added, “I’ve never accepted mediocrity.”

Gedeon urged women not to become discouraged by where they are in the workplace. “We can be very successful in everything we put our minds to but you have to want it,” she said.

Nathalie Tanious of TravelBrands said it is important to have a strong team. “At the end of the day, you’re only as good or as strong as the people around you.”

Another informative main stage panel was the State of the Industry: Advisor Perspective, which featured Anita Emilio, Executive Vice-President and General Manager, Retail Division Canada Flight Centre Travel Group; Gabi Hradsky, Owner, Day Dream Vacations; Jennifer Gaskell, Owner and Travel Advisor at Pink Palm Travel and Mark Stubbert, Vice President, Member Relations, Ensemble discussing their success, opportunities and strategies.

Emilio and Stubbert emphasized the importance of charging service fees, Gaskell highlighted the advantages of using AI tools for business efficiency and strategic planning, and Hradsky shared how she uses social media as a tool to gain more clients.

In spite of the many challenges facing the industry today, all the panelists had a positive outlook for the future.

“We’ve seen double digit growth year-over-year, we see more new advisors coming into the industry. The underlying thing we’re sharing is that advisors make a positive difference in this world – I mean you change people’s lives. They experience this world and it never leaves them. Your car is going to rest and your clothes are fading and all those things, but you’re always going to have those memories,” Stubbert said. “So embrace who you are, know your value, and be confident about your value and embrace technology, and I think the future is extremely bright.”

The final panel discussion of the day was called How to Sell More with Tour Operators Right Now and featured insights on trends, selling tips, dealing with overtourism and how these companies are ensuring the profit benefits local communities. Speakers included Jenni Berg, Director, Strategic Accounts, TTC Tour Brands; Karla Wang, General Manager of Global Insights, Intrepid Travel; Krista Rothfuchs, Business Development Manager: Ontario, Manitoba & Central USA, Exodus Adventure Travels and Michael Sette, Business Development Manager at travelbrands.

While Italy remains popular, Berg highlighted that Portugal is coming in hot. The tour operator is also seeing a lot of demand for Japan and African destinations. The speakers noted that advisors can take advantage of group bookings for higher commissions. Rothfuchs revealed that advisors can earn more commission by booking more than just the tour as they offer airfare, pre and post tours, and transfers that are all commissionable. Sette noted that longer stays are popular and it’s not only snowbirds and seniors. With many companies allow remote work, younger travellers are seeking to get away for longer periods of time.

“To sum up where travellers’ heads are at in Canada, there’s very much a demand and desire to travel, but it’s really about travelling with intention. What we’ve been seeing over the past couple few years and we continue to see is that travellers and consumers are valuing those meaningful experiences over material possessions and travel hits that need on the head. So when it comes to selling into travellers it’s about highlighting the value rather than competing on price,” Wang noted. “How do travellers define value? It’s about providing them with itineraries that provide those meaningful experiences. We’re seeing a trend towards small groups and it’s really about selling trips that consumers can see are worth the money.”

Meanwhile, Wang pointed out that they’ve also seen a lot of demand for travel closer to home and for more off-the-beaten-path immersive trips like walking-based tours.

“We like to get our travellers out of big cities. We like to get them in the surrounding areas where the real countries starts,” Rothfuchs shared. “One of the things we do when we’re looking for accommodations for our travellers, is we look for local-owned accommodations.”

The final masterclass speaker was Sophie Marai, Vice President, Client Strategy Environics Analytics whose session was called The AI‑Enabled Travel Journey: Navigating Tech Preferences to Optimize, Market and Scale, who shared that AI can serve travellers well in a number of ways. 

“AI can help you understand purchase opportunities,” she said, which can be useful for those planning travel. Marai also said AI can “build confidence in the travel that’s booked.” 

Among segments of the population that Marai identified as significant AI users were “young urbanites,” who she described as, “incredibly tech-advanced” and “who love to spend money.” Young urbanites use AI to find luxury hotels. 

While AI is seen as controversial by some, Marai said it’s “not going away,” adding that 45% of Canadians now use it in transactions.

Marai also told her audience that there really was a “shift” last year in Canadian travel patterns, with more of us opting for domestic spending. ‘We became more patriotic,” she declared.

Although TravelPress Live is wrapped up, the celebrations aren’t over yet. Tonight is the Agents’ Choice Awards Presentation & Gala, where favourites in 48 categories will be unveiled at the Carlu.