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What a year! Tour operators share their standout moments from 2024

TORONTO — Record bookings, new tours and destinations, successful fams and sold-out conferences — tour operators have plenty to be proud of in 2024.

With the pandemic fully behind them, tour operators approached the year with gusto, intent on offering new and creative travel options for Canadians – and relying on travel advisors to spread the word. Together, 2024 was a massive success on all fronts, building on the post-pandemic momentum that has led many tour operators to reach, if not surpass, pre-Covid numbers.

With 2025 just around the corner, we asked several top tour operators to reflect on this past year and how travel agents played a role in their success.


AAT KINGS GROUP

Ben Hall, CEO

Standout moments: “In 2024, Inspiring Journeys had standout moments with the launch of its new offerings, including Tasting Tasmania and Flinders IslandSouth Australia Murray Cruise & Wine, and Kimberley Gorges & Gibb River Road. Additionally, our brands – AAT Kings and Inspiring Journeys – both excelled in delivering exceptional service, reflected in a year-over-year increase in our service metrics.”

Shoutout to agents: “Travel advisors play an integral role in the success of AAT Kings Group. We were thrilled to host both our local and international advisors recently on a Tasmania fam trip to not only thank them for their support but also showcase firsthand our outstanding experiences and the many benefits of group touring.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “As the leading tour operator in Australia and New Zealand, we cannot wait to welcome more guests in 2025 and show them incredible immersive experiences that highlight all that our region has to offer, from Indigenous cultures to breathtaking nature and unique wildlife.”

 


AFRICAN TRAVEL, INC.

Sherwin Banda, President

Standout moments: “We now have a full suite of offerings that advisors can sell or promote to their clients, which is truly exciting. As we conclude the year with the rollout of our Concierge Collection, we continue to focus predominantly on Luxury FITs. Although we’ve had some small group departures, many advisors have expressed the need for an escorted offering from us. Also this year, we hosted over 100 travel advisors on educational trips as we continue to invest in our partnership with travel advisors. We also introduced exciting advisor incentives throughout the year; on top of our standard 15% commission, advisors earned $100 per client in 2024, and $300 per couple for our Concierge Collection. And we continuously enhance our tools and resources for advisors, who now have access to a wide range of brochures, including our tailor-made Classic Collection and the new Concierge Collection.”

Shoutout to agents: “At African Travel, Inc., 92% of our business comes from travel advisors. These relationships are the most cherished and protected source of our business, and we are committed to them every day. This commitment is why we invest in educational experiences. As part of our successful educational program, we invite advisors to travel with a companion of their choice. We believe that sharing these experiences with loved ones is more meaningful than just travelling with fellow advisors. This approach allows them to sell those experiences based on their own lived encounters in various destinations.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “I am particularly excited about our new Concierge Collection gaining momentum and expanding beyond 2025. I am also thrilled to see the growing interest in Africa, as people are looking for alternative travel destinations. We are also really excited about the opportunity to offer Canadian dollar pricing starting in 2025. We know that Canadian travellers would prefer this option, and we are glad to make it available across all of our programs moving forward into 2025.”

 


CIE TOURS

Rosanne Zusman, Chief Commercial Officer

Standout moments: “Rather than a single standout moment, 2024 was filled with countless remarkable ones as we helped over 35,000 guests enjoy unforgettable adventures – often the trip of a lifetime. These moments of joy and discovery define our success and inspire us to continually raise the bar. Additionally, we were proud to advance our commitment to responsible tourism by becoming a signatory to the Glasgow Declaration and establishing a Sustainability Action Fund.”

Shoutout to agents: “Travel agents remain our most valuable business partners. Their deep understanding of our value proposition and their continuous feedback on our product have been instrumental in connecting us with the right travelers. We greatly value their loyalty and the trust they place in recommending CIE Tours to their clients, knowing we share the same commitment to excellence and guest satisfaction.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “In 2025, we’re looking forward to increasing our outreach in Canada to connect with even more industry partners and travelers. At the same time, we’ll continue delivering excellence in travel, building on our 95% customer satisfaction rating. We’re especially excited to help our guests create unforgettable memories as they explore our new destinations, Spain and Sicily, alongside their perennial favorites. For travel advisors, we’re eager to see how the tools and resources in our new Travel Agent Portal enhance their productivity and efficiency.”

COLLETTE

Sam LaFrance, Public Relations Specialist

Standout moments: “2024 was the biggest year in Collette’s 107-year history. We’re very excited about the continued growth of our small-group Explorations tours. The product line has seen a spike in popularity in recent years. All of that is even more exciting when considering that it all happened during Jaclyn Leibl-Cote’s first year as CEO.”

Shoutout to agents: “Advisors play a massive role in Collette’s success every year, and 2024 was no different. Because of this, we’re always looking out for them. This year, we launched several initiatives to reward advisors, including EnCompass launchCollette ConnectionAdvisor Rewards Program, and our Gift Card Incentive, all of which served as ways for us to say thank you to advisors.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “2025 is shaping up to be a great year for Collette. We’re excited toa dd 15 new tours to our catalogue, with new destinations in Quebec, South Korea, Albania and more.”

 


EXODUS TRAVELS

Sasha Andrews, Director of Industry Sales, North America

Standout moments: “2024 was a milestone year for us as we celebrated our 50th anniversary with our first-ever Mega FAM event. We had the privilege of hosting 50 travel agents from the UK, Canada, and the USA on four concurrent itineraries in Morocco, all culminating in a grand gala celebration in Marrakech. As part of this incredible event, the Exodus Travels Foundation made a £5,000 donation on behalf of our Mega FAM attendees to support solar panel and irrigation projects in Morocco through our partners at Baraka Community Projects. It was a smashing success, combining celebration with meaningful impact.”

Shoutout to agents: “Travel agents have always been a cornerstone of our success in North America, and 2024 was no exception. We were thrilled to strengthen our partnerships with agents through dedicated support and by establishing exciting new collaborations. Their expertise and passion were pivotal in helping us reach new milestones, and we can’t wait to continue building on this momentum together in 2025.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “We’re eager to connect with our agent partners face-to-face in 2025. The year ahead is packed with exciting developments: a fabulous lineup of new trips, innovative marketing tools, and cutting-edge technology to enhance our partnerships. And, of course, more FAM trips to deepen our relationships and share unforgettable experiences.”

 


G ADVENTURES

David Green, VP Customer & Sales Operations and Managing Director for Canada

Standout moments: “2024 was a banner year for us. We held our second annual GX World Community Tourism Summit in India where we brought together hundreds of travel industry professionals, travellers and thought leaders to celebrate the power of community within the travel industry. We also launched two new travel styles this year: Geluxe and Solo-ish, both of which have been incredibly successful. And we can’t forget our massively successful ‘You Belong With G’ advisor incentive, where we brought more than 15 of Canada’s top-selling agents to see Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Toronto last month!”

Shoutout to agents: “Agents are the backbone of our business and we could not do what we do without them. We had our biggest year ever with our agency partners, thanks to their hard work and passion. We continued to grow our popular ‘In The Loop’ monthly webinar series that provides agents with both education and the chance to win big. We also launched our first ‘Evening with G and Friends’ events in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary where we honoured and celebrated our top achievers, and are looking forward to doing the same in 2025.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “We have ambitious plans for 2025. For one, GX 2025 will be held in Jordan and will be our biggest and most impactful World Tourism Community Summit to date. We’re also just about to kick off our annual four-month-long G-Normous agent incentive where agents will compete to win up to $40k in prizes. It all starts on Jan. 1, so stay tuned and check our Agents of Change Facebook page for all the details. We are also incredibly excited about several new itineraries and community projects that we will unveil next year, which will be great examples of our commitment to using travel as a force for good globally.” 

 


GLOBUS FAMILY OF BRANDS

Steve Born, Chief Marketing Officer

Standout moments: “From classic tours to undiscovered journeys, we have 12 unique touring styles designed very thoughtfully and intentionally to deliver more ‘wow’ in the world with no planning, no hassles – just ease. And that’s a unique offering for our travel advisor partners. To celebrate, we unveiled some great Globus marketing materials, including a new series of videos to help showcase the benefits of touring the globe with Globus. We also announced that we’re extending our tour styles even further with the introduction of 50 Small Group Discovery tours across the globe. These all-new tours were built from the ground-up, specifically for small groups, with unique accommodations, exclusive excursions and special access throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, South America and the South Pacific. And we also unveiled a new trade brand and promise for travel advisors this year with our “We’ve Got U” campaign. Part of that push included unveiling an entirely new travel advisor portal, dedicated trade-facing Facebook page and GFOB University / training program.”

Shoutout to agents: “Simply put, travel advisors are the reason for our success this year.  In 2024, they drove Avalon to a record year and helped river cruisers understand that there is a difference between the traditional and an elevated cruise experience through Avalon.  And for touring, they have embraced our new style, Small Group Discovery tours, and are bringing new customers into the category.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “Italy is going to be big for us – and for travellers – in 2025. In the year of the Jubilee, we’ve got 33 Italy itineraries and nine travel styles – from independent city tours and off-season Escapes to Small Group Discovery and Undiscovered tours. We’re also excited to place an even bigger spotlight on ‘tour-ific’ destinations across the globe, those, epic and hard-to-navigate places that are perfect for touring. From Japan to Croatia, Armenia to Scandinavia and Peru to SE Asia, the world is full of places that are best seen and experienced on a Globus tour.”  

 


GOWAY

Mitchell Fawcett, VP Marketing

Standout moments: “This was a huge year for us as we became The New GowayWe launched our first rebrand in our 54-year history, a new million-dollar website, a new reservations systems and enhanced incentive and education programs for travel advisors.”

Shoutout to agents: “Travel advisors are the key to Goway’s success, and they helped make 2024 a record-breaking sales year for Goway. We also had a major increase in advisors who qualified for our Passport to a Free Fam program, and reached the milestone of 8,000 advisors enrolled in the GowayPro Travel Academy. Advisors are not just helping us win on the FIT front – we’ve also had our biggest year ever in Goway GroupsOnly, moving over 600 tailor-made groups.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “It will be our 55th anniversary! Our 50th plans were interrupted by Covid so we are going big. You can look forward to elite agent fams, a four-city roadshow in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, New York and Los Angeles. In the New Year you can also expect an exciting announcement about our Micro Film Festival.”

 


INTREPID

Christian Wolters, President of Canada and Genreal Manager, North America Marketing

Standout moments: “We had our biggest sales month in our history just last month, and in the summer we launched our biggest-ever global marketing campaign, ‘Only Intrepid,’ with the brand coming to live in some of the world’s biggest stages like Madison Square Garden. In 2024, we also made the pledge to match all public contributions to our nonprofit arm, The Intrepid Foundation, which donates to local organizations in the destinations our travellers visit. And here in Toronto, a real highlight for me was seeing a group of our local team members rally together to ‘dip for dollars.’ We polar plunged into the freezing waters of Lake Ontario all to raise money for Water First, an organization that supports Indigenous communities as they secure clean water for future generations.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “The team is truly ambitious and we’re eager to grow into the world’s first $1 billion adventure travel company within five years. As we look ahead to the future, we’re more excited than ever about the journey we’re on. With an ambitious vision for the years to come and a strong, passionate team driving us forward, there’s no limit to what we can achieve together.”

 


SUNWING VACATIONS GROUP

Samantha Taylor, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer and Andrew Dawson, President

Standout moments: “We’ve had many standout moments over this past year, thanks to our incredible team at Sunwing Vacations and the continued partnership of our valued travel advisors. We’ve had many notable events and launches, from the launch of WestJet Vacations Québec in May to the introduction of Sunwing’s Flynancial Advisor campaign celebrating advisors from coast to coast (the real flynancial advisors) who are at the heart of Sunwing’s value proposition, and the successful launch of our 2024-2025 winter season, plus an incredibly successful Black Friday. All of these moments were made possible in large part due to the unwavering dedication and contributions of the travel advisor community.” (Taylor)

Shoutout to agents: “Travel advisors contribute immensely to our success every single day. They are often the first point of contact with our mutual customers, providing invaluable guidance on the destinations and resorts we offer – it is this firsthand knowledge and experience that helps customers make an informed decision on which Sunwing vacation to book. We are incredibly grateful for their continued partnership and dedication to making clients’ vacation dreams come true.” (Taylor)

“In addition, we’ve been listening to travel advisors on areas we can hone in on more and are proud of accomplishments in each of these areas. Firstly, Groups, where we’ve focused on enhancing service and collaboration, and investing in more automation, along with Customer Relations, where we’ve similarly invested over the past year based on feedback from advisors and further enhanced our customer service offering, including adding more automation where possible, for a more streamlined experience for advisors and our mutual clients.” (Dawson)

Looking ahead to 2025: “We are looking forward to making 2025 our best year yet, growing our relationship with the travel advisor community to bring even more accessible vacations to more Canadians from coast to coast. We are also excited to continue growing in Québec. This is an incredibly important market for Sunwing Vacations and one where we have a longstanding presence, and we know that travel advisors are key to helping us further extend our reach within the province.” (Taylor)

 


TRANSAT

Marie-Eve Vaillières, Senior Advisor, PR and Content

Standout moments: “One of our key commercial actions in 2024 was to restructure our Canadian tour operator activities. As part of these changes, Renée Boisvert has transitioned from Vice President, Products to Vice President Tour Operator, Products & Sales, while Julie Sareault is now our Commercial Director for all of Canada. With this new leadership, we’ve set the stage for continued growth and a sharper focus on serving our partners and customers. 

Shoutout to agents: “Travel agents were once again instrumental to our success and performance in 2024, as they have been for the past 37 years. In these challenging economic times, travel agents acted as beacons of trust, guiding travellers with their unparalleled expertise and ensuring confidence in every booking. Whether it was a long-awaited annual getaway to the South, a special anniversary celebration or a heartfelt family reunion, they made sure our passengers felt secure and excited about their journeys with us.”

Looking ahead to 2025: “Air Transat recently announced a new nonstop Montreal-Valencia route for next summer (with easy connecting flights from several Canadian gateways), making us the only airline in the Americas to connect travellers to this incredible destination. This brings our total number of nonstop European destinations from Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City to a whopping 26. That’s because we’ve seen steadily growing interest in Europe travel. Our packages and tours are thriving as travellers of all ages increasingly look for curated, transformative, thoughtful experiences that offer great value for money. This expansion, along with the breadth of our winter and summer 2025 transatlantic and South networks, highlights our trailblazing expertise. With increased frequencies on key routes like Toronto-Amsterdam, Toronto-Montego Bay, and Toronto-Varadero, 2025 is shaping up to be just as exciting, building on our 2024 launches of Marrakesh and Lima.”






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