The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors (ACTA) kicked off its fall Summit series with a full day session in Toronto Thursday, with more than 700 attendees on hand to get the latest industry trends and association news, engage in professional development, connect with peers and industry executives, and meet key suppliers at an extensive trade show, which included the largest delegation ever from Brand USA.
Held at the Toronto Congress Centre near Pearson airport, further events will also be held later this month in Vancouver and Montreal.
ACTA president Wendy Paradis told the 500 travel agents present that despite the distraction and “havoc” being caused by the possible Air Canada pilots strike next week, the retail travel industry was in a good place, having nearly matched pre-pandemic levels in 2023, largely due to higher prices. Moreover, business travel is at last picking up again.
2024, she observed, is no longer the “new normal,” but the “normal normal,” – which also means that agents are having to work a little harder to get business, no longer able to depend on the post-pandemic surge of travellers.
“We need to hustle and be smart and nimble, and proactive,” she said
As for 2025, she continued, “The future is definitely bright. There’s robust demand and vibrant growth.”
Paradis said that current data now shows Millennials to be most the fervent travellers, taking top spot from boomers, and cited several surging travel trends including luxury, eco/sustainable, and cruising.
She also revealed that massive growth in independent advisors is changing the landscape of retail travel so dramatically that ACTA will release a comprehensive report on the situation in October.
Agents are also making better wages today than in 2019, she happily stated.
Among the day’s other highlights were keynote addresses on accessibility in travel from Kerianne Wilson, Air Canada’s Director of Customer Accessibility, who hailed “the start of a revolution” in the travel industry to meet the needs of disabled travellers – a massive market that includes 10 million Canadians.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Waver of Manulife noted that the “COVID bubble of buying insurance” seems to have burst and urged agents of the need to push the product.
Visit Portugal teased agents with a presentation on the Azores, which will host 150 agents at ACTA’s international conference in November; and Casey Canevari of event co-sponsor Brand USA highlighted the importance of the Canadian market with 20 million Canadians visiting the US last year, making up a whopping 31% of the international visitors.
Other activities on the day included a keynote on the world of expedition cruising with industry expert David Tanguay, panel discussions, educational breakout sessions, the trade show, awards ceremony (winners below), and post-event networking cocktail party.
And, of course, a motivational speaker – Ryan McIlroy – who offered plenty of pearls of wisdom, not least the notion that travel is more than just a trip, but an experience.
“Stop marketing for bookings,” he advised. “Market for making memories.”
ACTA Award Winners 2024
Celebrating excellence and innovation, and outstanding achievements and remarkable contributions in the Canadian Travel Industry, ACTA announced the following award winners for 2024:
- Leisure Travel Advisor Award Winner: Mary De Almeida CTC (Mississauga, ON)
- Corporate Travel Advisor Award Winner: Adam Taylor (Bedford, NS)
- Tomorrow’s Leader Award Winner: Allison Long (Calgary, AB)
- Ches Chard Education Award Winner: Joanne Gellatly CTC (Toronto, ON)
- Gerald Hiefetz Advocacy Award Winner: Louise Gardiner CTC, CTM (Kitchener, ON)
- CTC/CTM Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Lynda Tomilin CTC (Barrie, ON)
Remaining ACTA Summits include:
19 – ACTA Western Canada Travel Industry Summit – River Rock Casino Resort, 8811 River Rd, Richmond, BC
- 25 – ACTA Québec Travel Industry Summit– Plaza Antique, 6086 rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal
More info at https://actaevents.ca/summit-agenda/
(Stay tuned for more ACTA coverage in future issues of Travel Industry Today).