RETAIL ROUND-UP: ACV, TRAVEL LEADERS, TTAND, AND REDTAG.CA

Travel Leaders Network executives, including Roger Block (2nd from left) and Canadian VP Christine James

ACV marked a milestone for its @Home program, Travel Leaders Network reported record growth in Canada, Redtag.ca celebrated 20 years in Jamaica, and Travel Agent Next Door set its sights on pre-travel health.

Air Canada Vacations

Air Canada Vacations is marking the one-year anniversary of its ACV@Home Program, a milestone it says underscores the program’s rapid success and commitment to supporting independent travel advisors.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the tour company will hold is second annual Simply the Best Awards on March 5 to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of independent travel advisors within the program.

Additionally, ACV is expanding the ACV@Home team, launching on-the-road initiatives across Canada, and will unveil Phase 2.0 of the ACV Masterclass, featuring Passport to Benefits, an exclusive program designed to provide independent travel advisors with more tools and resources to enhance their expertise and grow their businesses.

Further three new Niche@Home accounts have joined the portfolio, including Transat@Home, Fareconnect, and GOTravel, alongside founding members TravelOnly, TTAND, FCI, Nexion, Centre Holidays, and Trevello.

Travel Leaders Network

Travel Leaders Network reports that its membership grew in Canada at a record pace during 2023 with the consortium adding 42 new agencies, representing over CAD$28 million in preferred supplier sales.

TLN also says it recorded a record number of leads from Agent Profiler last year, delivering over 250,000 leads to their members in North America.

“Travel advisors are undergoing a renaissance and are seeking out new partnerships for their businesses,” said Roger E. Block, President of Travel Leaders Network. “The number of new agencies who have sought out TLN shows that our future is bright. Our programs and services are vast… and all signs point to 2024 being just as successful of a year as 2023.”

TTAND

The Travel Agent Next Door has partnered with Safetravels Health as its official pre-travel health consultation and immunization supplier.

“We are the only host travel agency in Canada with this type of agreement,” said TTAND CEO, Flemming Friisdahl. “This partnership provides another service that our agent partners can offer their clients.”

SafeTravels Health is a Canadian marketplace for travelers and travel immunization clinics. Travelers can search for the closest travel clinic based on their postcode and receive in-person or virtual travel consultations for prescriptions or vaccinations to protect them from travel-related diseases such as yellow fever, typhoid, travelers’ diarrhea, and others.

“Our 1,300-plus TTAND agents can now highlight the importance of pre-travel health and immunization consultations during each trip planning conversation with the help of the SafeTravelsHealth.com platform to ensure travelers are referred to virtual or in-person pre-travel health appointments,” said Friisdahl. “We want to ensure that our agents, customers are travel-ready!”

TTAND has a custom URL on its agent websites that directs the client to the Safetravels website where they can book pre-departure vaccination and medical consultation.  The TTAND agents get a referral fee.

Redtag.ca

From Feb. 10 to 16, redtag.ca kicked off 20th anniversary celebrations with ‘Jammin’ In Jamaica,’ a unique event that brought together 40 Canadians in Montego Bay for a week of sun, sea, and fun.

Along with the Jamaica Tourist Board, Canada Jetlines, Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa, and KiSS 92.5’s The Roz & Mocha Show, 20 trips for two were given away and the winners were whisked away for a jam-packed trip to Jamaica.

“Jammin’ in Jamaica epitomized a momentous milestone for redtag.ca as we kicked off our 20th anniversary celebration in vibrant Jamaica,” said Nathalie Tanious, President & CEO at H.I.S.-Red Label Vacations Inc., parent company of redtag.ca. “This event… showcased our strong collaborative spirit with wonderful partners who share our mission.”

Sam Youssef, Senior VP of Marketing and Partnerships at H.I.S.-Red Label Vacations Inc., parent company of redtag.ca. more events coming up soon to mark the company’s anniversary.

“We’re honoured that the redtag.ca team selected Jamaica as their destination of choice to kick off their 20th anniversary year,” said Angella Bennett, Regional Director, Canada, Jamaica Tourist Board. “We look forward to continuing our valued partnership with redtag.ca for many years to come…”