TORONTO — As travel often does, a single trip when she was 16 years old would end up changing the course of Wendy Paradis’ life.

That summer spent visiting her grandparents in England marked Paradis’ first overseas trip and, consequently, her first time booking with a travel agent. It was this trip, which also included a visit to Paris for her 16th birthday, that would steer Paradis down a path towards a lifelong career in travel and her current role as President of ACTA (Association of Canadian Travel Agencies & Travel Advisors).

Paradis (right) with travel advisor Shailene Dudley on the 2023 European River Cruise Summit

“I was fascinated by the entire experience, and by the end of that trip I decided I wanted to work in the travel industry and, specifically, be a travel agent,” Paradis tells Travelweek.

Immediately after high school in the 1980s, Paradis started working part-time at Eaton’s Travel at the Toronto Eaton Centre while simultaneously earning her diploma in Travel Counselling at Centennial College. After graduating, she went on to study Business Administration and Political Science at Western Ontario while also working as a leisure travel consultant  in London, ON.

“When I graduated from Western, I knew that the travel industry was ‘my’ industry and I became part of the Eaton’s Travel Management Training program, back at the Toronto Eaton Centre,” Paradis recalls. “I just loved being a travel consultant, and I loved selling travel!”

Her career after graduating from university included several different roles, including Travel Manager for Eaton’s Travel in Markham, Manager of Marlin Travel at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Regional Director for Marlin Travel, and Vice President of Member Services at CAA South Central Ontario where she learned about sales, service, operations and profit margins across several industries. She says all this has been invaluable to her as President of ACTA, which she joined in 2016 and where she’s able to advocate for her once fellow advisors.

“I have so much respect for the important role travel agencies and travel advisors play in the travel industry, and for travellers. I was proud and honoured to take on the leadership position at ACTA, and here we are – seven years later!” says Paradis.

In this latest instalment of Travelweek’s 50th anniversary interview series, we go down memory lane with Paradis who tells us what she misses the most about being a travel advisor, and what she finds most rewarding in her advocacy work today.

What do you miss most about being a travel advisor?

“I loved being a travel agent – both leisure and corporate. I love travelling and believe travel enriches lives and brings people together. It was exciting helping clients build a great vacation whether that be a first trip to Florida for a young family or an African safari for more seasoned travellers. For business travellers I particularly enjoyed putting together international itineraries to unique destinations. When I was a travel agent, I thought I had one of the most interesting and rewarding careers of all my friends and family.”

.
In what ways was it easier to be a travel advisor back then versus today? And how was it harder?

“When I was a travel consultant throughout the 1980s and 1990s, I was often more knowledgeable about travel options then most of my clients. This was before clients spent hours surfing the Internet with an explosion of options and information. These days, there are often too many options and information! However, some things that haven’t changed over the years is the importance of supporting preferred suppliers, offering excellent customer service, and following a tight sales process. 

“How was it harder? Because of the lack of technology in the early days of my career, I spent a lot of overtime physically working in the office, handwriting airline tickets, insurance policies, etc. With the advancement of technology throughout my career, I was able to begin working more efficiently and today’s travel advisors have the opportunity to work faster, more efficiently and from anywhere in the world.”
.

What do you think you didn’t stay on as a travel advisor? 

“Although I loved being a travel advisor, I like to try new things and continuously grow professionally. For me, this meant trying different positions within the retail travel industry and sometimes slightly outside the travel industry. I gained advocacy experience working at both CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) and OTEC (Ontario Tourism Education Corporation). What interested me the most about joining ACTA seven years ago was the association’s commitment to education and professional development, and the privilege of advocating for a sector that has given me so much purpose and joy.”

Paradis (far left) with the ACTA team during the 2023 European River Cruise Summit

How do you think your previous experience as a travel advisor helps you in your advocacy work today?

“I understand the important work travel advisors do for travellers and the role we play in the travel industry. Although being a travel advisor can be very satisfying, it is also a very challenging career that is complex and requires significant problem solving. Being a travel advisor for many years myself and then experiencing many roles within travel agency services, I am authentically able to speak with passion, confidence and conviction when advocating on behalf of our industry. I also fully understand the ecosystem of the travel industry at large and appreciate how important it is that we all work together.”
.

Advocacy work can often feel like an uphill battle. What do you think is the most challenging – and most rewarding – part about your job?

Paradis (centre) with ACTA members on the 2023 European River Cruise Summit

“Yes, advocacy work can be challenging and at times very frustrating.  At ACTA, we are very results oriented, and strive to focus on issues that will have the greatest impact for travel agencies, travel advisors and independent travel advisors.  Our priorities are not always the same priorities of government or sometimes other travel industry stakeholders. Big, important change often takes time, sometimes years and it is definitely challenging to be patient at times. 

“The most rewarding part of our advocacy work is the opportunity to work together with our travel agency, travel advisor and independent travel advisor members to positively impact our industry. It is also very motivating and rewarding when the greater travel industry works together to solve an issue that is important to the entire industry.

“Beyond advocacy, working with our members and travel supplier partners on professional development opportunities is incredibly motivated and rewarding. This includes our ACTA Travel Industry Summits, educational webinars and certification programs. We are also thrilled with the interest in our experiential learning opportunities such as the ACTA-Avalon Waterway European River Cruise Summit that took place from Oct 21-28, 2023, as well as our other immersive destination experiences, including Dominican Republic and Alentejo, Portugal in 2023.”
.

Can you give us an example of something you lobbied/advocated for as ACTA President, and actually received?

“Over the past seven years of being ACTA President, it is no surprise that the greatest advocacy need was during the pandemic. This included working with our advocacy partners to secure financial support programs to help with the industry’s survival through our darkest days, and of course getting border restrictions eased as soon as possible. Very important to travel agencies and independent travel advisors was securing the support for Future Travel Vouchers versus refunds while we managed through the early period of the pandemic, as well as commission protection when we moved from Future Travel Vouchers to refunds.”
.

What do you think is the single-most pressing issue facing travel advisors today? And how is ACTA helping?

“Unfortunately, there are many issues. These include: 

• Pandemic Debt and resulting cash flow challenges
• Labour shortages: this was a significant issue in 2019 and is even more challenging in T2023
• Excessive government red tape and financial burden
• Travel agencies – travel suppliers relations, especially in times of travel disruption  
• Keeping up technology opportunities and overcoming challenges

“How are we helping? For advocacy issues, we have ongoing and structured advocacy efforts. As for labour shortages, ACTA is assertively promoting becoming a travel advisor as a career through social media, live information sessions and tools for our travel agency and independent travel advisor members to attract new entrants. We have also developed an entry level online training program to attract new travel agents called Travel Agent Essentials. This is available for those interested in exploring or joining our sector and for our members to use for new travel agent employees and independent travel advisors.”
.

How do you think the industry would be different without ACTA? Can you paint us a picture?

“It is important that a sector speaks with one strong voice; for travel agencies and travel advisors, ACTA brings these voices together. Our industry is an exciting and incredibly fast-paced business environment. Travel agency leaders, travel advisor employees and independent travel advisors are very busy offering incredible service to their clients and building for the future. I often say, ‘while our members do what they do best – serving their clientele – ACTA has their back.’ We proactively watch for key issues that may negatively impact our industry and continuously advocate for positive change. 

“Advocating for travel agencies and travel advisors is ACTA’s #1 priority. Overcoming the important challenges our sector faces often takes a significant amount time and organized advocacy efforts. Our members do not have the time to tackle all the challenges our sector faces with ACTA, their trade association.”
.

With everything that travel advisors and travel agencies are facing today, from lack of funding to artificial intelligence, are you optimistic about their future?

“My travel agency and travel advisor colleagues are passionate and incredibly resilient. Although the business environment will continue to evolve at a fast pace, I’m very optimistic for the future. It is important that we embrace technological advancements and use them to enhance our businesses wherever we can. However, the personal touch, knowledge and enthusiasm a professional travel advisor offers travellers will never go out of style.”
.

Watch for more interviews and memories marking Travelweek’s 50th anniversary all throughout 2023. Plus, try your luck with our contest, ‘It Happened This Week’, featuring a new headline (and a new chance to win!) every week from Travelweek’s 50 years of travel industry news coverage.