Two Decades, 30 Super Agents and One Winning Team

The Air Canada-United Airlines Race has brought 30 ‘super agent’ travel advisors together to Porto, Portugal for its special 20th edition, as participants selected from companies and agencies with strong Air Canada/US Airlines bookings, are gathering in this storied northern region on an 8-day FAM trip that concludes on Oct. 22.

Last night the gala and awards ceremony took place at the historic Calem Port Wine Cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, founded in 1859 representing one of the most visited Port wine cellars in the region. In attendance were tourism officials representing the region and tourism offices who congratulated all in attendance. Inês Almeida Garrett, Director for Visit Portugal in Canada, received a special shout-out from Filipe Silva, Board Member and Director at Visit Portugal, about his team in Canada. “It’s a one woman show and the office does a fantastic job.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Air Canada Race, which celebrates two decades of rewarding and inspiring travel professionals. “The Race” is a bit like a scavenger hunt: six teams of travel agents and trade media follow clues and complete tasks designed to highlight the destination, its culture and its landmarks.

The winning team was selected based on completing the tasks accurately and on time. To qualify for the race, travel agents must successfully complete a comprehensive online training program.

Ana Paula de Souza, Director of Sales Canada & Global Accounts for Air Canada, recognized the efforts made by everyone in the room. “I think we all won,” she said in her opening remarks.

Edna Ray, Senior Manager, Regional Sales at Air Canada who oversees the program and was around when the first Air Canada Race began 20 years ago when it was staged in Richmond and Whistler, B.C. shared with Press Today that this year’s race was truly relevant and a moment to celebrate. “In an age where technology is so prevalent, nothing can replace the human experience,” she said of the ideas being incubated and exchanges between these advisors and the host partners.

“We all won this together,” reiterated Edith Rushton, a travel advisor with Expedia Cruises, who was one of this year’s Race winners.

For the race, Travel Press Today was embedded with Team 3, The Porto Rosa Racers, a.k.a. Magnifico 6, com who were the winners. The team comprised of team captain Kofo Owolabi of KOAR Travel, a Nexion-Canada affiliate based in Dundas, Ontario; Edith Rushton of Expedia Cruises in Langley B.C., Amina Akkari Chouikha, Group Voyages VP in Montreal, Quebec, Nancy Philbin, Gant Travel Management in Chicago, Illinois and Garry Brown at Maritz Holdings in Atlanta, Georgia.

The grand prize includes two round-trip tickets with accommodations.

Watch for more coverage in a future edition.