TORONTO — As if its upcoming 10th anniversary wasn’t cause enough for celebration, The Travel Agent Next Door is also riding high on projected sales of $400 million – or even more – for 2023.

Highlighting that $400 million+ figure at last night’s VIP Supplier event, an annual get-together on the TTAND calendar, CEO and founder Flemming Friisdahl expressed delight and amazement: “That’s heading towards half a billion dollars. That’s our goal,” he said to cheers from TTAND’s supplier partners.

It’s all the more incredible considering TTAND started out in 2014 with 60 agents, three staff and $7 million in annual sales. The host agency took a hit during the pandemic, just like everyone else, but sales came roaring back in 2022, with a $265 million total, generated by 1,100 travel advisors.

Those numbers made TTAND, by its own calculations, the largest host agency in Canada with the highest sales volume. Those sales made TTAND an award winner with TL Network last year, winning top agency for 2022.

Now the 2023 projections are the icing on the cake for TTAND, in a phenomenal recovery year for the travel industry. Friisdahl summed it up: “It’s the largest sales volume of any host agency in Canada.”

Michael Friisdahl, Flemming’s brother and a travel industry veteran in his own right, as well as past CEO of MLSE (and current executive chairman of Signature Aviation), said that what the TTAND team has achieved in 10 years is “unbelievable.”

Rhonda Stanley, TTAND’s VP Talent Development (centre) accepts the 2023 Educational Excellence Award on behalf of TTAND, awarded by The Travel Institute’s President, Diane Petras (left) and Sr. Dir. Education, Guida Botelho (right)

MORE NEW AGENTS IN THE TTAND PIPELINE

The number of TTAND agents now tops 1,250, with support from 63 TTAND staff members, including 37 in Canada and 26 in India. “Why two teams? It helps keep costs down, and allows us to allocate more money for things like marketing and training,” said Friisdahl.

Flemming Friisdahl and Michael Friisdahl

That 1,250+ total includes 109 agents who joined TTAND in the past 18 months. In addition, there are 886 more people in the pipeline. “Some people say the retail travel industry is dying. I don’t think so,” said Friisdahl.

Training the newcomers is one of many tasks for Rhonda Stanley, who heads up the New Agent Program at The Travel Agent Next Door as VP, Talent Development.

Stanley was honoured last night by surprise guests Diane Petras, President, The Travel Institute and Senior Director Education, Guida Botelho, who presented Stanley and the TTAND team with the 2023 Educational Excellence Award. “Everything you do contributes to the excellence of The Travel Agent Next Door,” Petras told Stanley to applause.

TTAND’s VP, Travel Agent Experience, Penny Martin, shared survey results from TTAND agents showing a 94% satisfied or very satisfied rate among respondents. TTAND agents gave the host agency high marks for communication and transparency, innovation “and a support team that rocks.”

MORE AGENTS IN QUEBEC

Along with support from TTAND staff, TTAND advisors also avail themselves of a long list of IT benefits, said Friisdahl. “We’re number one for ICs in Canada, and we have the best customizable sites for ICs, the best digital and print marketing for ICs, the best tools for ICs,” he said.

TTAND’s membership across Canada now includes 20 agents in Quebec, buoyed by more French-language supports including the website. When TTAND’s new Marketing Director, Christine Ufniak, joined the host agency in early October, TTAND had just nine Quebec agents. “We’re really growing in Quebec,” said Ufniak during last night’s presentation. She urged suppliers to include French-language collateral when sending through promotions for TTAND agents.

Along with Quebec growth, TTAND is also prioritizing a new consumer cruise booking engine, a powerful lead generation program, the Z.I.P. program and continued IT development for 2024. There are also key new initiatives for Golf Town Travel, Flexiti, Today’s Destination Weddings & Honeymoons and more.

10TH ANNIVERSARY AND JORDAN CONFERENCE IN 2024

Also looking ahead to 2024, TTAND’s 10th anniversary celebrations will kick off in March and run all year long.

Friisdahl announced the host destination for the 2024 conference – Jordan – during TTAND’s 2023 conference earlier this year in Cancun. Weeks later, TTAND announced that demand for spots on the 2024 conference in Jordan was so high, the event sold out in 47 seconds. The Jordan trip is in partnership with G Adventures, Jordan Tourism and Royal Jordanian Airlines.

So far more than 260 agents are confirmed for Conference, and more than 125 are on a wait list.

Friisdahl says the TTAND team is paying close attention to the war in the Middle East. “We hope for everyone’s sake that things calm down,” he said, adding, “we don’t want to pull the plug on it as we’re confident things will settle down. If it’s not safe, we won’t go. But I think it will be amazing. We believe we will be moving ahead with Conference.”

TTAND’s charitable partner throughout the year, but particularly at Conference, Pencils for Kids, was spotlighted at last night’s event with powerful words from founding member and President, Robin Mednick.

Friisdahl ended the evening with a message for TTAND’s supplier partners that has served the team well over the past decade. “I hope you notice that I haven’t swayed from what I said nine years ago: we’ll stick with you, we’ll support you, and we won’t bring on partners who compete with you,” he said.

Plus, of course, there’s the Win-Win-Win mantra that has been a driving force behind the company’s success for all these years. “Anything we do has to be a win for the agent partners, a win for the supplier partners, and a win for The Travel Agent Next Door,” he said. “If it’s not, we don’t do it. It’s that simple.”