TORONTO — Hoping to become an annual event on the travel industry calendar, the European Travel Commission Canada (ETC) and the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) teamed up for the first time to celebrate all things Europe at The Symes event venue in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood.
With the theme ‘Plan Different, Travel Different, Be Different’, ETC and CATO treated top suppliers, travel advisors and trade media to a lively European fete with Spanish flamenco dancers, Irish musicians and a German Christmas Market last week.
Participating destinations included Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Flanders-Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and France and tour operators G Adventures, TravelBrands, The Travel Corporation, Intrepid Travel, Collette, Railbookers, Globus, Transat, Goway and Royal Irish Tours.
The evening presentation alongside trade show, cocktails and dinner, had ETC chair Sandra Moffat sharing key notables about Canadian travellers such as their realization they can stay longer in Europe, the growth in the 18-34 demographic and continued interest in cultural and historical activities, with 52% of Canadians returning to Europe because of these two travel lures.
Emphasizing collaboration and sustainability as well as providing destination updates, ETC and CATO are hopeful to encourage travel to Europe in the off-season, with ETC seeing numbers which indicate to fully recover 2019 numbers ahead of target by the end of next year. Currently international arrivals are 3.2 per cent below 2019, with the increases in 2023 fueled by American and European tourists.
“In the spirit of cooperation and working together, this a great opportunity for CATO members,” explained Brett Walker, chair of CATO and general manager, International Operations for Collette. “We’re ardent competitors, but there are issues we need to work together on and this [event] is something different.”
CATO has been evolving its role to members, using data research to highlight its place in the industry: the organization’s first economic impact assessment report in 2021 revealed a notable impact: $6 billion in revenues, $187 million in paid taxes and 3.1 million travellers. “The data was impressive, it showed us that we matter, that we matter to our employees, that we matter to the government and that we generate revenue. And that our members are 73% women,” said Walker.
The tour operator organization is currently working on its next economic impact assessment with BDO. Walker noted that although the U.S. is 10 times bigger than Canada, CATO members produced one-third of the passengers and revenues of their American counterparts.
Moffat, who is also the country manager, Canada for Tourism Ireland, expanded on details on the evening’s themes during her presentation. “We’re here to team up with top travel advisors, educate them on the amazing things happening in our destinations and creating more immersive experience in the destination.” Moffat emphasized the importance of working with important stakeholders like CATO, uniting the whole supply chain and sending a joint message.
“Collaborating together – tour operators and member destinations – that people can travel outside of key seasons and experience off-season fun.”
There’s always going to be cultural events and different festivals happening across Europe, explained Moffat, and lesser-known inspiration like Halloween celebrations, which originated in Ireland over 2000 years ago, or going to Belgium for its Christmas markets.
The benefit for advisors is being able to suggest many destinations that are in close proximity for clients. “The lift we have from Canada is really strong, and we don’t have to worry about the electronic visa waiver which is being pushed to 2025, “said Moffat.
