Soaring profits herald the return of corporate travel, says Flight Centre. Also, this week, TDC advisors take a star turn, and The Travel Agent Next Door was recognized for its educational initiatives.
The Travel Agent Next Door
The Travel Agent Next Door has been named the 2023 recipient of The Travel Institute’s annual Educational Excellence Award for the travel industry. Established in 2022, the award from the non-profit education organization recognizes organizations and individuals that demonstrate a significant, ongoing commitment to quality education for travel advisors and that make a substantial, meaningful investment to ensure delivery of education to the ultimate benefit of travellers and the industry.
“Congratulations to Rhonda and the entire training team at The Travel Agent Next Door; they have developed a winning program that supports their business, agents, suppliers, and very importantly, travellers,” stated Diane Petras, CTIE, president of The Travel Institute, strategic travel education partner to TTAND. “I applaud TTAND’s emphasis on ensuring qualified advisors to meet the ever-evolving needs of our industry; it’s truly a privilege to recognize and celebrate their success,” Petras remarked, citing TTAND’s comprehensive approach for agent education at various career stages, measurable objectives, and a holistic focus on business needs as well as agent well-being as key factors in the decision.
The award was presented to Rhonda Stanley, VP, talent development for TTAND, during TTAND’s annual VIP Supplier Event in Toronto Nov. 9. Stanley has long been vocal about the value of agent education and credits it as a key factor in TTAND’s growth since launching in 2014.
Calls for nominations for the award take place each January with judging based on utilization of quality educational content/programming, ongoing investment, and overall impact. Additionally:
• Any contributor to education in the travel industry is eligible.
• A person or organization may be nominated and/or receive the award more than once.
• A nominator may be asked by The Travel Institute’s award committee to provide additional relevant information about the person or organization nominated.
• Recipients will be selected based on educational program content, structure, format and delivery.
Flight Centre
Flight Centre Travel Group reports that the company had its second strongest start to a year ever with AUS$6 billion in Q1 Total Transaction Value (TTV). Corporate TTV also posted record numbers.
“We’ve experienced unprecedented success in the first quarter (July-Sept. 2023) of FY24 at the Flight Centre Travel Group, with an incredible increase in profits compared to the same period last year,” said Chris Lynes, Managing Director of Canada, FCTG. “This growth is undeniable proof of our resilience, vision, and dominant position within the Canadian corporate travel sector, particularly among startups and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“No surprise here; Canada’s vibrant and dynamic business ecosystem consistently ranks among the world’s best markets for SMEs, a fact that has contributed to our soaring profits. And with new data from Morgan Stanley confirming the continued growth of the corporate travel sector, we have every reason to be confident in our future in Canada.
“Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary remain the top destinations for domestic corporate travellers, while international travel has seen an uptick in popularity for US destinations like Las Vegas, Chicago, and New York City. Indeed, our nation’s business borders are growing ever wider.
“We’re off to an impressive start this first quarter of FY24, and the outlook for the remainder of the financial year is even more promising.”
Transat Distribution Canada
Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) has launched a Canada-wide marketing campaign starring its “key assets” – its network of franchised and corporate agencies.
The first versions of the campaign, highlighting the strength of the human relationship, have been visible on various websites, on Google, and on YouTube. Over the coming months, the campaign will continue to evolve, with new visual variations, says TDC.
“At TDC, our travel professionals are one of our greatest strengths, one of our fundamental assets. That’s why we’re once again putting the spotlight on them, as we did in 2020, but this time with a brand-new campaign,” says Karine Gagnon, GM of Transat Distribution Canada. “In recent years, these true professionals have demonstrated, time and again and in a multitude of ways, the importance of their added value, and above all how their customers’ experience becomes incomparable when dealing with them.”
Marc Pelletier, Sr. Director, Marketing, Communications and Events at TDC, adds, “We developed a new creative platform to showcase the travel advisor profession across Canada, highlighting our branded agencies – notably Marlin Travel in English Canada and Club Voyages in Quebec. In addition, a different version of the campaign (produced in collaboration with WestJet Vacations) was created for Western Canada.”
“Visually, in a few words and borrowing the symbolism of the stars, a visual language widely used in the travel industry, we present our five-star travel professionals: those who share their experiences, who give their advice, who save time and money, who personalize experiences, who are available when the customer needs them, and who, ultimately, offer them peace of mind.”
He continues: “This campaign is just the first step towards our goal of highlighting the travel professional, TDC’s unique value proposition and this creative platform opens the door to a host of possibilities because we have a lot to say on the subject. We also want to encourage all industry players to join us in this movement to enhance the value of travel professionals; the whole sector will come out stronger as a result.