In this week’s retail round-up, Direct Travel agents are “pulling off the impossible,” while TRAVELSAVERS and Virtuoso are welcoming new team members; plus, a couple of countries have specialist news.

Direct Travel

Four Canadian independent travel advisors from Direct Travel (banner photo) have been named to the prestigious Condé Nast Travel Specialists list. And each has been featured at least once before.

The list, which features some of the world’s best travel advisors and niche tour operators, recognizes top travel pros for their experience, expertise, resourcefulness, and customer care.  As Condé Nast expresses it: “They’ll pull off the impossible and spare you the logistics.”

“The fact that these Direct Travel advisors have been repeatedly showcased on the list is a tribute to the consistently superior service they provide,” says Joelle Goldman, VP Host Services and Luxury Hotel Program at Direct Travel.  “They are clearly at the top of their game and we are tremendously proud of their achievements.”

The Canadian Direct Travel advisors are: White-Rock, BC-based Ariane Henry (making her fourth appearance on the list); sisters Lisa and Nancy Zupancic of Toronto (in their third year); and Katherine Velan of Montreal (now celebrating her second year).

Said Velan, “When I was little, my Dad subscribed to the Condé Nast Magazine, and I decided I wanted to become a writer and travel the world. I never became a writer, but became the best travel agent I could – and lucky for me they noticed!”

According to the Zupancic sisters, “This recognition allows us to think we are on the right track with our care and inventing explorations for our clients.  What is clear is we do not work in a vacuum and having wonderful clients and exceptional suppliers is the key.”

TRAVELSAVERS CANADA

TRAVELSAVERS Canada has expanded its business analyst team with the recent appointment of Daphne Sword as Director, Business Development. Sword brings a wealth of agency expertise to her new TRAVELSAVERS role, including having served as Managing Director for Red Label Vacations. She will support existing affiliates in Ontario as a business analyst.

In other news, the consortium began a new round of Dine and Discover events, with a March 20 gathering in Montreal.

Virtuoso

Seasoned executive Lori Kresse has been named VP, Hotels & Resorts at Virtuoso. Kresse will oversee the network’s longstanding property program, Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts, and the team that services Virtuoso’s preferred partners within this category. Her primary objective is to enhance and elevate the Hotel program by effectively responding to evolving market dynamics, increasing the value for partners and members, alike, while also securing a leading competitive advantage. She will spearhead efforts to diversify revenue streams, while also crafting innovative services and benefits for Virtuoso members and preferred partners.

Kresse joins Virtuoso with two decades of extensive leadership, brand and marketing experience. Most recently, she served as Sr. VP of Client Service and Integrated Marketing at Spherical – a prestigious New York agency – where she was responsible for driving revenue results for hotel and hospitality clients including Aman, EDITION Hotels, Maybourne Hotel Group, Proper Hotels and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.

Education

• The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (CIDOT) has teamed up with TravPRO Mobile for its new travel advisor learning, rewards, and sales platform. The Cayman Islands Specialist Program soft launched in Canada in early 2024 and offers an all-in-one platform designed to educate travel advisors about selling the Cayman Islands as a luxury lifestyle destination and seamlessly guide them from learning to promoting to selling. Available at caymanspecialist.com, or via app, the site is also the new home for Cayman Rewards, where advisors can enter their bookings and earn monthly rewards. Once the four foundational modules are successfully completed, advisors receive a diploma as a certified Cayman Islands Specialist, as well as exclusive access to the rewards program and sales companion.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Touting “a remarkably and incredibly beautiful country that has been quietly becoming one of the most varied and exotic playgrounds for leisure travellers in Europe,” Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Tourism is inviting agents to take its specialist program to learn what BiH has to offer while becoming a BiH Specialist. Successful agents must take the 17-module training course offered through the Bosnia and Herzegovina Online Travel Agent Academy (OTTA) HERE.