TORONTO — After last year’s ‘Rebound’ delivered a record recovery, TDC travel advisors were more than ready to ‘Ride the Wave: Surf the Tides of Success’ at the 2023 Annual Conference.

Over 230 attendees took part in the high-energy event, held at the Sheraton Toronto Airport and Conference Center Sept. 16 – 17.

Joe Adamo, President, TDC and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Tranat, and Transat’s Commercial Director, Nicole Bursey

That figure included 150 travel advisors and owners, from TDC’s franchised, affiliated corporate branches and Agent@Home program, plus dozens of supplier partners including Princess Cruises, Cunard, Paul Gauguin and Seabourn, all new partners. The well-attended conference included a fun luau-themed festive event on Saturday night, sponsored by Transat.

TDC’s supplier partners “are among our strongest allies in enabling TDC to support its members by offering optimal conditions to maximize their profitability, particularly through enhanced commissions. Their year-to-year presence at our annual conference is clear evidence of our loyal relationship with many of them,” said TDC’s General Manager, Karine Gagnon.

TDC is Canada’s largest network of travel professionals and entirely Canadian-owned.

Performance strategist Geraldine Ree

“EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS IS SKYROCKETING”

TDC’s General Manager, Karine Gagnon, told Travelweek that the mood heading into this year’s conference is markedly buoyant. “Business is up across the board, everybody’s business is skyrocketing,” said Gagnon.

Travelweek’s pre-conference interview with Gagnon touched on everything from travel’s surging recovery, to travel trends, to LuxeXperts and TDC’s value proposition and new offerings for its members.

“It’s no secret that prices are up – but that also makes bookings more lucrative for travel agents,” she noted. “People want to travel and they’re still looking for higher-end product.”

That dovetails well with LuxeXperts, TDC’s luxury-focused division. Launched in 2021 during the pandemic, LuxeXperts will now take its rightful spot as a key component in TDC’s consumer-facing messaging. “LuxeXperts is a very strong brand, and now we need to bring this brand to life,” says Marc Pelletier, TDC’s new Senior Director of Marketing, Communications, and Events. A new LuxeXperts site is in development, plus new travel agent tools.

LuxeXperts was added to the high-profile Virtuoso network in 2022. “LuxeXperts is a fundamental pillar that paved the way to Virtuoso,” said Gagnon. Between 250 and 300 TDC advisors are now part of LuxeXperts.

High spirits and lots of fun at TDC’s Luau Night

“TDC IS ALWAYS LOOKING TO GROW”

TDC overall now counts some 250+ agencies in its network. “It’s been steady,” Gagnon told Travelweek, when asked about membership numbers. “We’ve had a few owners retire, but we’ve also had a few Marlin Travel members add new locations.”

TDC is “always looking to grow,” she added. That includes Agent@Home, TDC’s outside agent program relaunched in 2016. “We’re definitely looking to grow Agent@Home … and not just looking, but it’s happening. We tend to go for agencies with a minimum book of business. We’ve also been helping existing Agent@Home advisors grow their sales.”

For 2023, TDC volumes year to date are just under those of 2019. But when you break cruise bookings out of the mix, “those are up 30, 40, 50%,” said Gagnon.

Across all travel styles and destinations, Baby Boomers are fuelling a big part of the bookings. According to Gagnon, Transat’s market share in the 55+ age group is even higher now than in 2019.

Making connections on the trade show floor

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS & THE NEW ‘TDC LAB’

Gagnon told Travelweek that the stellar lineup of presenters at this year’s conference was TDC’s biggest and best ever.

Speakers included Isabelle Fontaine, who helped attendees understand the subject of psychology of influence, and honed in on the art of conversation with the goal of finding winning solutions for everyone involved.

Another keynote, business coach and travel industry strategist Geraldine Ree, focused on the best strategies and tips to stop managing time and start owning time.

Bernard Côté, Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Social Media at Transat, offered agents tips on creating attractive and high-performing content for online platforms.

And Katarina Haddad and Jean-François Thibault from Axellite Leadership discussed intelligent and conscious energy management, touching on everything from productivity to burnout.

Just before the conference, owners and directors of franchised and affiliated agencies Marlin Travel, and TravelPlus, along with the entire TDC management team, were invited to the TDC Leaders Forum for what Gagnon called a high-level brainstorming session. Human resource management took centre stage, under the supervision of Annie Boilard, President of Réseau d’Annie RH, a firm specialized in training, organizational development and executive coaching.

New members of the TDC team were out in full force, including Pelletier, and Dianne Jackson, newly appointed as Director of Franchised and Affiliated Agencies for provinces outside Québec. Pelletier and Jackson have joined Anthony Mormina and Colette Girard, both promoted to new roles, respectively as Senior Director of Sales and Operations and Director of Franchised and Affiliated Members in Québec. Meanwhile Gina Mallamo has also joined TDC in the role of Chief Business Support and Development Officer for Québec.

New initiatives announced at this weekend’s conference included a relaunching of the FAC-MAC members’ council, in a 2.0 format. It will be called the ‘TDC Lab’ and is positioned as something of a think tank, a space of open discussion between the TDC leadership team and owners that are interested in joining the conversation. TDC is aiming at a group of 8-10 owners for TDC Lab, and topics will range from potential new programs and additions to existing programs, to hot topics like AI and corporate social responsibility.

TDC is also set to launch a new campaign in October, highlighting the value of the travel professional. The campaign will feature a fun twist on the star rating, already top of mind for consumers when they think travel. TDC says the campaign will underscore the value of having an all-star experience when dealing with a real professional.