TORONTO — Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) brought its high-energy annual conference to the Toronto area this past weekend, with new features this year including the TDC Travel Showcase, Spotlight Stages and a Lunch & Learn.

The theme for the 2024 edition, ‘Ignite Your Inner Athlete’, reflected this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, and provided an ideal tie-in for many of the presentations.

TDC’s Donna Glover, Dianne Jackson, Joseph Adamo and Karine Gagnon with (centre) Peggy Mcknight from Marlin Travel Cambridge

Keynote speaker Michael Vickers kicked off the conference with a look at Gold Medal Selling and how travel advisors can tap into their distinctive value, using five customer values. Jean-François Ménard, keynote speaker and mental coach to Olympic champions, shared his presentation, Train your Brain like an Olympian, and also a copy of his book.

“Like Olympic athletes, TDC travel professionals are highly trained. They know a wealth of information about products, destinations and so on. And like top-level athletes, they have to know how to perform when it counts, when their customers are in front of them or on the other end of the phone,” said TDC’s General Manager, Karine Gagnon.

Karine Gagnon flies the TDC flag

“WE’VE RESHUFFLED THE CARDS FOR OUR TRADITIONAL TRADE SHOW”

Canada’s largest entirely Canadian-owned network of travel professionals, TDC welcomed its English Canada members from franchised and affiliated agencies, corporate agencies, and from its agent@home program to the Sept. 21 – 22 conference, held at the Sheraton Toronto Airport and Conference Center. The conference for TDC network members from Quebec took place Sept. 14 – 15 in St-Hyacinthe.

Some 250 participants took part in the Toronto event, including agency owners and managers and more, 60 preferred partners (including newcomers Explora Journeys, Ponant and Worldia), several speakers and the TDC leadership management team.

“It’s important to present a strong agenda, with as many moments as possible when all participants are together, to help maintain this powerful commitment that our members have to TDC, I would even dare to say almost this attachment,” said Marc Pelletier, TDC’s Senior Director, Marketing, Communications, and Events.

“Training is the essential backbone on which an organization must build,” he added.

TDC Travel Showcase

Looking to maximize networking opportunities as well as learning opportunities, TDC this year introduced the TDC Travel Showcase, the Spotlight Stages, and the Lunch & Learn.

“We’ve reshuffled the cards for our traditional trade show, an important meeting place for travel professionals and partners,” said Pelletier. “We wanted to increase the quality of exchanges between our preferred partners and travel professionals, by giving them more time. That’s how we came up with the Spotlight Stages, with 20-minute presentations during the Travel Showcase, and our Lunch & Learn, where partners welcome members to their table for a convivial lunchtime chat.”

There was also a luxury travel panel developed in collaboration with Virtuoso and moderated by James Allen, with luxury specialist agency owners and advisors. There was even a TDC TikTok Challenge presented by G Adventures and hosted by G Adventures’ social media specialist Michelle Dloomy.

 TDC LEADERS FORUM

Just ahead of the weekend’s events, on Sept. 20 owners and managers of Marlin Travel and TravelPlus franchised agencies, as well as affiliate members were invited to the TDC Leaders Forum, a high-level brainstorming session also attended by the entire TDC leadership team and featuring two more keynote sessions.

“One of the main advantages of belonging to a network like ours is that TDC multiplies opportunities for reflection and networking among its owners and branch managers,” said Dianne Jackson, TDC’s Director of Franchise and Affiliate Members for English Canada.

Meanwhile the members of TDCLab, a think tank made up of a dozen agency owners, took the opportunity to hold their third meeting of the year, this time in person. “At TDC, the values of openness and dialogue are in our DNA. This forum for exchange between TDC’s leadership team and our owners is one of the perfect embodiments of that. We all sit down at the same table to think together and find common solutions to situations that impact the industry; these owners, all competitors in life, get together to think, find solutions, and share them with their peers. For me, that’s what the TDC network is all about,” said Jackson.

Luxury travel specialists take part in a panel discussion

SATURDAY NIGHT PARTY

One of the biggest highlights of TDC’s annual conference are the Saturday night festivities, presented by Transat.

“Yes, we’re here to work, but the pleasure of celebrating together and letting loose is essential to recharge our batteries,” said Gagnon.

She added: “It’s very precious for a network to be able to count on the loyalty of its members.”

This year four long-time TDC members were celebrated for their many years in business and with TDC. Receiving applause and cheers from their colleagues and the TDC leadership team were: Mary LaRocque from Marlin Travel Peterborough, ON celebrating 20 years with TDC; Peggy McKnight from Marlin Travel Cambridge, ON, marking 25 years; Karen Taylor from Marlin Travel Belleville, ON, with 35 years; and John Fraser, from Marlin Travel Victoria, marking 40 years.