Travel advisors are “irreplaceable:” Ensemble Horizons 2026 kicks off in Las Vegas

Ensemble Horizons officially kicked off in Las Vegas last night with a performance by the Vegas Golden Knights cheerleaders, keynotes by Ensemble’s leadership team and partners, and a look at the impact travel advisors have on their clients and the travel industry at large.

“We are not just the people clients call when something goes wrong — that framing diminishes everything you do. It’s the combination of expertise and empathy that you bring to a client that’s unmatched,” shared Ensemble CEO Michael Johnson taking the stage at Resorts World. “The access to unique experiences and amenities that only someone in the know can offer, and yes, the support when something happens. It’s that 360-degree approach that makes advisors irreplaceable.”

Nearly 1,000 members and partners are on location from across Canada and the U.S. to take part in three days of learning, networking, one-on-one meetings and more. The conference will wrap up with a closing awards party on Wednesday night.

“The craft of the advisor has never been more important,” he said. “In a world of algorithms and automation, you are the person your clients trust most with their meaningful experiences.”

Citing research from Phocuswright, he noted that travel agency gross bookings are growing at twice the rate of the total market.

“Agencies are up 6 percent VS the market up 3 — at Ensemble we’re up 11 percent,” Johnson said. “When asked why travellers book with an advisor, the top answer was personal relationships. Your clients are with you because they trust you and in uncertain times, trust is the most valuable currency there is.”

In the past year alone, over 50 agencies have joined Ensemble and 70 per cent of members are now classified as promoters, meaning they’d recommend Ensemble to a peer.

“Our number one source of new members is referrals, not advertising, not cold calls,” he noted, attributing the growth to delivering real value to agencies’ bottom line.

Tracking the trends

As for key trends, Johnson pointed out the cruising continues to make a splash. CLIA reported 38 million cruise passengers in 2025, the fourth consecutive year of record volume, and anticipates that figure will grow 42 million by 2028. Notably, the average cruiser is only 46 years old.

“This is a growth engine fulled by younger and more adventurous travellers,” Johnson noted.

According to CLIA, 73 per cent of cruisers say advisors have a meaningful impact on their decision to cruise.

Alex Pinelo, chief sales officer for AmaWaterways, took the stage to highlight that the river cruise line will have 50 ships by 2032, and that they’re up by double digits this year across Ensemble members.

Meanwhile, Seth Borko, head of research at Skift, pointed out that luxury travel will continue to be a mega trend. As for destinations, China is seen as a major growth market of opportunity, with visa-free travel from Canada and the UK resulting in a spike in visitation.

During a cruise panel with Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Wesley D’Silva, president, Regent Seven Seas Cruises shared that he sees new entrants into the luxury cruise industry as a positive thing, not a threat.

“I see it as an incredible opportunity. Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Aman at Sea, Orient Express, all of these historic land luxury brands coming into the cruise space I think is an incredible thing because all it’s doing is adding spotlight,” D’Silva said. “It’s bringing in more eyeballs to this industry and it’s converting non cruisers to cruisers.”

Making a difference for Make-A-Wish

Throughout the conference, Ensemble is on a mission to raise $150,000 for Make-A-Wish, with parent company Navigatr Group set to match those efforts, doubling the impact. Roughly 1/3 of the goal has already been raised throughout the year.

During the opening session, attendees heard from singer-songwriter Andrew Marshall, who turned to music after being diagnosed with leukemia at sixteen, and later became a semi-finalist on Season 20 of NBC’s The Voice, alongside a touching story of a mother and son who shared the positive impact that Make-A-Wish had on their lives.

Listening to members

One of the key ways that Ensemble understands the needs of its members is through an annual census, which led to the launch of their hotel-to-cruise port program.

“We are the only consortium that offers a free transfer from the hotel to the cruise port as part of our hotel amenity program,” he shared, adding that the idea came from agents in the survey. “It’s that kind of relationship between Ensemble and its members, the sharing of ideas and the belief that we can go further together, that makes this thing so special.”

From being the people who built the trip that their clients will be speaking about at dinner parties for the next 10 years to talking nervous cruises off the ledge, Johnson shared that the week is truly all about celebrating travel advisors and the work they do.

“You really are remarkable people doing remarkable things. I know recent events have been challenging — conflict, rising costs, uncertainty and the sad reality just this past weekend with Spirit Airlines, there’s real pressure on our industry. But you’re here. You show up every day. That tells me something about the people in this room,” he said.