This week: The Travel Agent Next Door was recognized by Air Canada; FCM Travel appointments; Good deeds from First in Travel (F1S); an Ontario travel agency closure; and a Fort Lauderdale incentive for travel advisors.
TTAND
The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND) has again been named to the highest level of the Air Canada Circle of Excellence Agency Reward and Recognition program – a global initiative designed to acknowledge the hard work of the travel trade industry. Through the program, Air Canada provides various travel benefits to honour and appreciate travel agencies and their teams for their support for the airline.
“We are thrilled to have achieved this level with Air Canada two years in a row. Our thanks go to all of our amazing travel agent partners who made this happen,” said Jeff Element, TTAND COO.
Air Canada’s Sr. Manager Regional Sales, Canada, Jamie Fox added his congratulations: “We are extremely thrilled to once again present The Travel Agent Next Door with Air Canada’s highest recognition of Platinum status within the Circle of Excellence program. Their hard work and loyalty place them at the top, as they are part of the 15% of all agencies that made Platinum this year. We are immensely grateful for such a wonderful partnership and deeply value the relationship we have with all their professional advisors.”
TICO
TICO reports that Temple & Temple Tours Inc., a travel agency located in Toronto, voluntarily terminated its registration under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 effective March 24. The company specialized in educational tours for student group travel. On Jan. 24, 2025, TICO issued an Immediate Temporary Suspension Order to suspend the registration of Temple & Temple Tours Inc. All future departures have been cancelled and any consumers affected by the closure of the agency are encouraged to contact TICO.
First in Service (F1S)
In recognition of the F1S advisors and partners who were impacted by the recent wildfires in Southern California, F1S Helps used its SUMM1T launch to raise nearly US$50,000 to support the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation (photo). The charitable endeavour, through the F1S Helps fund, was announced at the 2025 F1S SUMM1T in Cancun, Mexico.
First in Service CEO Fernando Gonzalez also announced that F1S veteran and Director of Airline Partnerships Suzanne Halama will oversee F1S Helps and spearhead its mission of combining travel with meaningful charitable efforts.
“Travel not only connects you to new places, but to new people and new experiences. One of the most important of these experiences is giving back,” said Gonzalez, CEO of First in Service. “In that tradition, we launched F1S Helps over a decade ago to create opportunities for our team, partners, and clients to make a difference. With (our) new (US charitable) status, we’ll take that tradition to a new level.”
In addition to the recent F1S SUMM1T fundraiser, F1S Helps partnered with Delta Vacations and Comunidad Connect last December to support one of its most-visited destinations: the Dominican Republic. Together, they participated in a beach clean-up project in Puerto Plata, focusing on one of the area’s most impoverished neighborhoods. The day left a profound impression on all involved.
FCM Travel
Flight Centre Travel Group’s large market travel business division, FCM Travel, has announced the appointment of Michelle Jolley as its new SVP of Global Marketing. Jolley will oversee and manage the company’s global marketing strategy, identifying key opportunities for growth across the FCM business, which spans over 90 countries throughout the world.
An accomplished executive with years of marketing experience, Jolley spent nearly 10 years working for Flight Centre Travel Group in South Africa in various corporate and leisure marketing positions. In 2019, she then relocated to Philadelphia to lead FCM’s marketing division in the United States and Canada. She most recently served as FCM’s VP of Marketing.
To coincide with the news of Jolley’s global appointment, FCM has also named Gina Ng as its new VP of Marketing for the Americas, where she will develop and execute the overall marketing strategy for the company in Canada and the US. Based in New York, Ng brings extensive travel industry and leadership experience to the role. Prior to joining FCM, she worked for the Singapore Tourism Board.
INCENTIVES
Visit Lauderdale is now offering a Lauderdale Loyalist incentive program exclusively for Canadian advisors. The special opportunity runs through May 20 and all travel industry professionals that complete the Loyalist program in that time frame will be eligible for a hotel prize in the Greater Fort Lauderdale region. Advisors can download the mobile apps from the App Store or Play Store, or register online HERE.
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