TICO WANTS YOUR INPUT
The Travel Industry Council of Ontario is once again reaching out to the industry for feedback. As part of its ongoing registrant engagement campaign, TICO will be holding a series of roundtable discussions across the province to gain insight from travel agents on its current consumer awareness campaign and ways to increase consumer understanding as to the benefits of booking with Ontario travel agents.
In the past, the input received from participants at TICO’s roundtables has had significant impact on the way TICO has promoted the industry and agents to the public in mainstream media. Participants have also gained increased insight into the mandate and objectives of TICO and the ways in which they can engage with TICO and leverage available resources.
TICO’s current consumer awareness campaign features a television commercial called “Wild suitcases.” The campaign represents an expansion of TICO’s message to the traveling public in that it promotes the “knowledge, integrity and professionalism” of Ontario travel agents in addition to promoting the consumer protection benefits of booking with Ontario travel agencies. “Our current campaign has created a lot of interest among the public and the industry,” says TICO CEO Michael Pepper. It was largely crafted with the aid of input from our previous roundtable sessions and improving and expanding on the campaign is just one of the topics we would like to discuss with the industry at the upcoming roundtables.”
While the number of roundtable sessions has been increased significantly from last year, the participation at each session remains limited. TICO will be holding sessions around the province but each will only accommodate a maximum of 15 participants and all of the sessions will be booked on a first-come-first-served basis. Meals and refreshments will be provided during the sessions.
Any TICO registrant or travel agent working for a TICO registrant can register to attend one of the sessions. Registration can be done online by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling 1-888-451-8426, ext. 233 or 905-624-6241, ext. 233.
The schedule of roundtable sessions, all from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., is as follows: Sudbury, Oct. 30, Radisson Hotel; London, Nov. 6, Delta London Armouries; Ottawa, Nov. 7, Novotel; Kingston, Nov. 13, Residence Inn by Marriott Kingston Water’s Edge; Toronto/ Mississauga, Nov. 14, TICO offices (2700 Matheson Blvd. E., Suite 402, West Tower Mississauga); Toronto/ Mississauga, Nov. 19, TICO offices, Mississauga; St. Catharines, Nov. 21, Holiday Inn & Suites Parkway Conference; Ajax/Oshawa, Nov. 27, Hilton Garden Inn Ajax.
