Ahead of its upcoming fall series of cross-country tradeshow events, Granite Travel Trade Fall Expos has released results of a travel advisor survey it conducted sampling both client trends and agent education interests for the 2025-26 season.
Conducted in August, the survey showed Europe as the clear front-runner as a destination with 75% of the vote, followed by Asia a distant second (27.2%).
When it comes to learning more about destinations, agents’ choices were Portugal (69.3%), followed by Thailand (46.5%), Japan (53%), Peru (38%) and Canada (26%).
The Sun/Caribbean destinations remain strong with 68% of clients expressing interest in the Sun/ All-Inclusive Market.
Eco-conscious travel is growing, but not yet mainstream and is mostly driven by younger clients with 37.6% of advisors saying there’s “not much demand,” and 26% reporting it’s growing among younger travellers.
Culture, cruising, and adventure dominated client requests: more than half of agents receive requests for cultural immersion/local trips (58.9%), cruise (ocean/river) (55.9%) and adventure/active (51.5%), while just over 50% of respondents said clients are seeking unique/cultural experiences and 40% avoiding crowds/over-tourism.
Additionally, clients are booking further out, three to six months or more; almost half of bookings are placed six-plus months in advance (45.0%) while just 39% are booked three to six months in advance.
When it comes to using technology while researching, half of advisors saying their clients still prefer direct, personalized service (50.5%), and 45% use social media as an inspiration, while 27.2% are using AI trip tools.
Expos
The Granite Expos run in October and November as follows:
- Winnipeg: Oct. 20
- Red Deer,: Oct. 21
- Kelowna, BC: Oct. 22
- Surrey, BC: Oct. 23
- Ottawa: Nov. 3
- Kingston, Ont.: Nov. 4
- Vaughan, Ont.: Nov. 5
- Hamilton, Ont.: Nov. 6
Each Expo is focused on training and networking, with face-to-face interaction with agents and products. In each city, a presentation series featuring 15-minute segments by suppliers will be followed by a trade show, dinner, and prize giveaways.
The first 50 agents who arrive at each of the Expos will receive a complementary $20 MasterCard, courtesy of Princess Hotels and Resorts. Registration will open one month prior to each show. Attendance and parking are free. Agents can register HERE.
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