This week: ACTA opens summit registrations; TTAND is tops with Travel Leaders; appointments at Trevello and Flight Centre Canada; Canada; Amex GBT is plugged in; and Collette adds to its training program…
ACTA
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors has opened registration for its fall regional summits. Designed to bring together professional travel advisors, agency entrepreneurs and destinations, along with industry partners from across the travel sector in Canada, the events will take place Sept. 9 in Toronto (Pearson Convention Centre), Sept. 15 in Montreal (Montreal Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel), and Sept. 29 (Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel)
Under the theme ‘Bold Leadership. Smart Innovation. Extraordinary Destinations.’ ACTA’s major domestic events of the year will include engaging keynotes, practical business insights, impactful breakfast boardrooms, a tradeshow featuring more than 100 travel supplier partners, and networking opportunities.
Advisors who register before June 1 will be entered for a chance to win a $250 Visa gift card, with one winner selected for each Summit location. Registration is complimentary for ACTA members. Non-members are welcome to attend and are kindly asked to contribute to ACTA’s advocacy fund. For information and to register, go to www.actaevents.ca.
TTAND/Travel Leaders Network
The Travel Agent Next Door was awarded two of the highest honors by Travel Leaders Network at the TLN recent annual conference (banner photo). TTAND received the Host Agency Member of the Year as well as the prestigious Chairman’s Pinnacle.
The former recognizes an agency for its exceptional sales, services, and partnership support of Travel Leaders Network and its preferred suppliers, while the Pinnacle award recognizes the agency for achieving high sales, remarkable growth, and providing the strongest support for Travel Leaders Network and its preferred suppliers.
“The Travel Agent Next Door exemplifies what happens when a top-performing agency takes their own considerable resources and partners with Travel Leaders Network for even greater success,” said Lindsay Pearlman, President, TLN. “Earning both the Canadian Host Agency of the Year and the Chairman’s Pinnacle Award is a testament to their remarkable growth, support for our preferred partners and the exceptional support they give to both their travel agents and their clients.”
Amex GBT
American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is partnering with Plug and Play as the company looks to accelerate access to emerging technology and new ideas shaping the future of business travel.
As an anchor member of Plug and Play’s Travel & Hospitality accelerator program for 2026, Amex GBT will work with startups and scale-ups while exploring pilot opportunities across its global business.
Plug and Play is the world’s largest startup accelerator and open innovation platform, with a network of more than 100,000 startups across more than 60 countries. Its Travel & Hospitality programme includes partners such as WestJet, Flight Centre, Edmonton International Airport, PortsToronto, Accor and Star Alliance.
The program connects established travel organizations with emerging companies focused on areas such as digital transformation, automation and hospitality technology.
“Startups bring fresh perspectives, bold ideas, and the agility to challenge how we think,” said Erica Antony, VP, Complete & Select Solutions at Amex GBT. “By collaborating with emerging innovators, we gain access to breakthrough technologies and diverse thinking that push us to innovate faster – while helping these startups grow.”
The company said the partnership will help strengthen its innovation pipeline and create opportunities to test new technologies and solutions across its global operations.
APPOINTMENTS
Trevello
Trevello has appointed Renata Grant as Director, Advisor Growth & Success, a newly created role focused on expanding the support, resources, and development opportunities available to travel advisors at every stage of their careers.
A former travel advisor and business leader, Grant brings both frontline industry experience and strategic insight to the position. Her firsthand understanding of the advisor journey will help shape programming that is practical, relevant, and results-driven.
In her new role, Grant will work closely with advisors across every stage of business development. For those entering the industry, she will lead structured onboarding and early-stage support designed to build confidence and establish strong foundations. She will also oversee ongoing training and education to help advisors across the network remain current, competitive, and positioned for growth.
“Renata’s passion for helping advisors succeed stood out immediately,” said Zeina Gedeon, CEO, Trevello. “Her experience, leadership style, and understanding of the advisor journey align perfectly with Trevello’s advisor-first culture and our commitment to helping advisors build successful, sustainable businesses. This role is a direct expression of that commitment.”
Flight Centre Canada
David Gallie has been appointed Country Product Leader at Flight Centre Canada, a newly created role within the company’s evolving global product structure.
Gallie brings nearly 30 years of experience across the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) business, with leadership roles spanning retail, wholesale, product contracting, product marketing, and supplier partnerships. He began his career with the company in the late 1990s as the first Retail Area Leader in Canada and is a Flight Centre Hall of Fame and National Leaders Award of Excellence recipient. Most recently, he served on the senior leadership team at Envoyage Canada.
In the new role, Gallie will oversee the brand’s product strategy in Canada – driving product performance, market intelligence, and consultant enablement. He joins the Canadian executive leadership team, reporting to Executive VP and GM Anita Emilio and Global Product Leader and Monique Van Gelder.
“This role reflects our commitment to strengthening our product offering locally,” said Emilio. “David knows this market, knows our suppliers, and knows what our advisors need to succeed – that’s exactly who we need leading product in Canada.”
EDUCATION
Collette
Collette has released the latest installment of Collette University 201, designed to help travel advisors confidently position and sell its award-winning Small Group Explorations tours. The module, available now, provides an in-depth look at what differentiates Explorations and how advisors can match the right clients to these immersive journeys.
First introduced in 2008, Small Group Explorations was created to meet the needs of the modern traveler seeking deeper cultural connection, meaningful local experiences, and a more intentional travel pace. Today, Collette continues to lead the small group space, with Explorations tours capped at 24 travellers and intentionally designed to make the most of small group travel, opening the door to authentic, behind-the-scenes experiences you just can’t do with a larger group.”
“This expanded learning opportunity is really about giving advisors the context and confidence to recommend Explorations to the travellers who are the best fit,” said Jaclyn Leibl‑Cote, President and CEO of Collette. “When you understand the traveller’s mindset and what experience may fit them best, it leads to happier clients and stronger repeat business.”
The Explorations training module is now live on Collette University. For more information about Explorations tours or to access the training module, visit Collette’s Travel Advisor Portal.
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