TTC Tour Brands ‘Swisstainable’ Global FAM Trip Kicks Off in Switzerland
Hello from Switzerland! PressToday is on location joining a group of travel advisors from Canada, the US, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines on a specially designed one-of-a-kind TTC Tour Brands FAM trip.
From riding on the iconic Glacier Express train to admiring views of the Matterhorn, the seven-day customized journey is designed to give agents a feel for some of the TTC’s core offerings including Trafalgar, Costsaver, Luxury Gold and Insight Vacations.
“TTC Tour Brands and Switzerland Tourism are excited to operate this exclusive Swisstainable FAM trip for our travel partners,” Kelly Stahl, Director of Sales, North America for TTC Tour Brands tells PressToday. “Sustainable travel is the future of travel and everyone needs to play their part to ensure that we are making a positive impact on everywhere we visit. The Travel Corporation is proud to be a leader in this field. And we are making a larger impact by sharing our sustainably-focused trips with travel partners and guests around the world.”
A total of 39 global participants, including five representatives from TTC Tour Brands and media like PressToday, are taking part in the immersive trip, which officially kicked off on July 22.
Joining the group at The Swiss Museum of Transport yesterday (July 23) was Pascal Prinz, the Director Global Accounts & Emerging Markets at Switzerland Tourism, who most recently served as the Director Canada for Switzerland Tourism.
“Travel advisors play a crucial role in promoting sustainable travel when guests ask for travel ideas,” Prinz tells PressToday. “We are convinced that this global study trip will further help us to position Switzerland as one of the most sustainable travel destinations in the world. We would like to encourage travellers to stay longer, delve deeper, and visit our country year-round.”
In partnership with Switzerland Tourism, the “Swisstainable” trip, a term merging ‘Swiss’ and ‘Sustainable,’ will not only showcase the highlights of the destination but also sustainable businesses and experiences like the solar powered Cabrio cable car to the summit of Mount Stanserhorn.
“Swisstainable was launched in 2021 as a new approach to sustainable travel. We have made progress and 2,078 Swiss service providers have already joined the programme since then,” he says. “Sustainable travel is not a niche anymore. Accelerated by the pandemic, people want authenticity. They want to travel, but in a way that’s respectful when it comes to nature and the local population. Therefore, we’re proud of the global partnership with TTC Tour Brands and to offer guests from around the world great travel options in Switzerland.”
Among the Canadian agents on location is Radha Yip-Chuck of Titan Tours, based in Toronto, who says that getting to experience what sets the different TTC Tour Brands apart will help her “sell with more confidence and knowledge.”
“It’s a beautiful country and we get the chance to be here for an entire week with an amazing group of travel advisors. I love the idea of the tourist board being part of it. I’ve experienced a Trafalgar trip personally but I’ve never experienced Insight Vacations so I’m looking forward to seeing the mixture of the different brands on the itinerary,” she adds. “I love the optional tour experiences offered for clients to go off-the-beaten path and to experience sustainability.”
Dubbing the trip a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience, Megan Baugh of Baconko Travels in Edmonton, AB, says she’s most excited about embarking on the Glacier Express.
“It is always easier to sell countries that have strong tourist boards,” she says. “Then you add in the sustainability, which relates not only to the company and to the destination, but to everything that we do, really.”
The global incentive FAM trip will wrap up with a gala event on July 27, where Gavin Tollman, the CEO & President of TTC Tour Brands and representatives from Switzerland Tourism will be in attendance.
