Nexion Canada has 5 years under its belt here, with presence in 9 provinces and a membership that currently tops 350. “We’ve experienced phenomenal growth over the last five years, more than tripling in size since 2015,” says Nexion Canada President, Mike Foster. So what’s next for the host agency?
In a new interview with Sphere, marking Nexion Canada’s fifth anniversary, Foster says that while he can’t give away too many details Nexion Canada is getting ready to launch some new technology offerings –“more to come!” says Foster.
In the meantime Nexion Canada is focusing on upcoming educational events for its members and looking forward to CoNexion, the group’s annual member conference this September on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas.
Mike Foster, Nexion Canada President
Beyond that, Nexion Canada is in its second year of offering its Virtual Campus and Independent Learning programs to new-to-the-industry members, and is now putting its ‘new-to-us’ members through Boot Camp, an intense three-day course to help them learn the ropes of Nexion Canada.
Here are more details from the interview…
Sphere: Congratulations on Nexion Canada’s fifth anniversary. The organization has established a solid base and awareness here in a short amount of time. What’s the goal for the next few years?
Foster: “While we are always targeting growth, the bigger part of our strategy is about service and helping our members be successful. Nexion Canada strongly believes in the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and some of our best members have come to us via other members.
“Quality over quantity is our goal, and to meet that, it all comes down to the level of service we provide. That’s what is driving our goals over the next several years. We’re putting a lot of resources into tools and education that will help our members become more successful and sell more travel.
“Five years from now, we want to keep doing exactly what we are doing: providing the best quality, service and experience for independent Canadian travel agents.”
Sphere: What is Nexion Canada’s value proposition for agents?
Foster: “We offer a unique value proposition: Nexion Canada is a proud Canadian company, and we understand the national market and the needs of our travel agents.
“We are also part of Travel Leaders Group, which is one of the world’s largest travel agency companies. Because of that relationship, Nexion Canada members can take advantage of benefits like our supplier relationships and negotiated rates, technology solutions, marketing programs, and educational opportunities.
“We are also a relatively smaller company with a support team that gets to know our members well and understands their goals and needs and in turn helps them to reach their individual objectives through the personal attention and service.
“Members get the best of both worlds: a uniquely Canadian small-business experience enhanced by the global reach, size and innovative programs and systems of Travel Leaders Group.”
Sphere: What do agents love most about Nexion Canada?
Foster: “Members tell me that they love Nexion Canada’s team, who offer support and troubleshooting to members daily. They love our top-tier commissions. And they also really appreciate that they can choose between any GDS system or Nexion Canada’s exclusive booking engine. Our NexionTown social networking community gives our agents an opportunity to engage with like-minded agents and provides access to a plethora of resources, focus groups and mentoring opportunities.”
