TORONTO — Lake breezes, cold drinks and plenty of camaraderie and great conversation made for a perfect evening at Travelweek’s Summer Party, held last night atop 130 Queen Quay East.
At nine storeys up, and with the sun dipping below the skyline, the day’s scorching temperatures mellowed, and party guests mixed and mingled with the rooftop summer vibe in full effect.
You know industry colleagues are truly friends when they face down not just Toronto traffic, but also a heat wave, to join the fun. With a DJ matching the mood with high-energy 1980s party classics, and a busy bar and a delicious Mediterranean dinner catered by Montfort’s Bishara Arraf and his team, the night couldn’t have been better.
Travelweek’s Publisher Devin Kinasz welcomed everyone to the festivities.
“Thank you so much everyone for coming. You’ve been working with us for years, for decades even, and we truly value your partnership,” said Kinasz.
The Travelweek Group team (back row, from left to right): Jason Gouveia, Kathryn Folliott, Michelle Zimmer, Devin Kinasz, Annie Cicvaric, Gerry Kinasz, Sue Winiecki; Gary Lawrence and (front row) Eduard Gabai, Marie Mercado, Cindy Chen and Cindy Sosroutomo
ALL IN WITH AI
Travelweek’s AI initiatives were front and centre, and guests heard all about Travelweek’s many AI projects in partnership with TravelBrands.
Launched in February 2024, the initiatives aim to propel the travel industry into the dynamic realm of Artificial Intelligence.
Projects include a monthly (and free!) year-long webinar series for travel agents called ‘Unleashing AI’s Potential for Travel Agents’, sponsored by TravelBrands. The series takes participants step-by-step through how to set up and use all the best AI tools, and includes everything from generating 10 social media posts in 10 seconds, to writing email responses to client complaints, building custom GPTs, chatbots for sales leads, lifelike video avatars and much more. The next webinar is scheduled for Wed. July 10 at 1 p.m. EDT.
For those agents who want to learn more quickly or have a deskside resource, there’s also the ‘AI Manual for Travel Agents’, with step-by-step information and instructions on using all the AI tools most relevant to travel agents. Travelweek has also launched a suite of five new AI marketing products for supplier partners, showcased in the new media kit, ‘Travelweek AI Marketing Unleashed.’
“We are all-in with the world of AI,” said Kinasz, adding that the media kit has everything from AI marketing ideas to e-learning and more.
NEW TRAVELWEEK TEAM MEMBERS
Kinasz also took the opportunity to introduce the Travelweek team’s two newest members.
Gary Lawrence joined The Travelweek Group in fall 2023 as editor in chief of French-language industry news source Profession Voyages.
A seasoned and well-known journalist in the world of travel and tourism in Quebec, Gary has been working for 25+ years in media in general, and for news sources devoted to travel and tourism in particular.
Kinasz also introduced Travelweek’s newest BDM, Michelle Zimmer. Michelle has a solid background in the retail travel industry thanks to her work as a travel advisor, and has been with Travelweek for just over a year.
The Travelweek team would like to thank everyone for attending last night’s party. We’re already looking forward to next year’s rooftop event!
