Prizes, popcorn and a plethora of information.
Travel advisors from around the Greater Toronto area packed a movie theatre in west-end Toronto on 18FEB for Air Canada Vacations’ “Dream Bigger, See the World” seminar, which briefed agents on all that’s new as Air Canada Vacations celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Erminia Gallina, Director of Sales, began the evening by thanking agents for what they went through on the weekend in Toronto with winter weather cancellations and the Delta crash at YYZ.
Gallina said Air Canada Vacations can send advisors’ clients to more than 180 destinations across the globe.
“We really do sell the world,” she said.
Gallina said Air Canada Vacations has more than 200 itineraries in Europe this year, including self-guided, partly- and fully-guided trips. For clients who want to mix things up, Air Canada Vacations also has multi-country tours, including island hopping in Greece. They also recently introduced premium tours, which include such perks as private transfers and unique experiences.
ACV also offers more than 100 cruise itineraries, as well as ski packages to top winter destinations such as St. Moritz and Zermatt. Andorra was recently added to their European ski program, Erminia said.
Dianne Pedroso of Air Canada Vacations put up a slide showing how much less expensive an Air Canada Vacations trip to Europe can be compared to a competitor. Their slide showed a nine-day trip from Canada to Italy costing $4,849 on a competitor’s website but just $3,239 for Air Canada Vacations for a trip with similar experiences and attractions. Not only that, their competitor requires a 60% deposit at the time of booking, while Air Canada Vacations only requires a $250 deposit per person.
Pedroso said Air Canada Vacations top three sellers for this year in Europe are “Portugal North to South,” which now has a premium component, “Best of Greece,” and “Discover Italy.” The top three new tours are “Paris and Beyond: Iconic Destinations,” “Sorrento and Ischia: A Tale of Two Coasts,” and “Amsterdam and More.”
Other great options with Air Canada Vacations include North Africa, Turkey, Brazil, Israel, Costa Rica, Chile and Belize.
Air Canada Vacations’ Andrea Arkell said the company has 15 cruise partners on a list that now includes Virgin Voyages and Croisi Europe.
She also said the company will soon be offering advisors family trips to great destinations such as Brazil, Naples and Colombia.
Advisors also heard from the evening’s sponsors; Tourism Ireland, Tourism Australia, Celebrity Cruises, Arabian Adventures and Trip Oppo.
Tourism Ireland
Sandra Moffatt of Tourism Ireland said Canadians can fly directly to Dublin from YYZ, YUL and YVR.
“People often talk about visiting Ireland someday, but we want to encourage them to visit now,” she said. “Air Canada Vacations programs for Ireland are quite spectacular.”
Moffatt noted that Ireland was the first country in the world to have voters approve the legalization of same-sex marriage, and said there are many PRIDE and related events across Ireland this year. She also said advisors can win free tickets to see the Riverdance show in Toronto next month and that Tourism Ireland will have a series of events for agents across the country. On a timely note, Moffatt also explained that it’s believed that Canada’s beloved sport of hockey likely developed from the Irish game of hurling.
Celebrity Cruises
Brenda Yeomans of Celebrity Cruises touted the line’s new ships, including Celebrity Xcel, which is set to debut in November with seven new, on-board experiences. One of the new features is The Bazaar, which will feature local food and festivals. Xcel will be in the Caribbean in the winter and in the Mediterranean in summer. Celebrity Solstice is undergoing a major renovation now and will take a 110-night Grand Voyage around the globe in 2026.
The big news from Celebrity was its recent announcement that it’s getting into river cruising. Yeomans said they’ll launch two, 180-pax ships in 2027, four in 2028 and another four in 2029.
Yeomans told Open Jaw that advisors are used to booking cruises directly with the company, but said they’re missing out on awesome deals by not booking a Celebrity cruise through Air Canada Vacations. “Air fares can be high these days, but the Air Canada Vacations cruise packages are amazing,” she said.
Tourism Australia
Lora Hamre, who represents Tourism Australia for VoX International, noted that the Canadian dollar is about 10% higher than the Australian dollar, which means it’s a great time for Canadians to visit.
“Air Canada Vacations has amazing, amazing rates for Australia,” she said. Hamre said Australia is a “bucket-list” destination that’s safe and secure and offers unique attractions, 60 wine regions, cuisine from around the world, spectacular beaches and wildlife found nowhere else on the planet.
Two great programs that agents should know about are the Signature Experiences of Australia and also Culural Attractions of Australia, which includes fabulous museums such as the Museum of Old and New (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania. She also noted that advisors who become Australia specialists through AussieSpecialist.com typically see 35% higher booking values.
Arabian Adventures
Sebastiano Campisi of Arabian Adventures said the company, a DMC that’s owned by Emirates Group, offers tremendous tours of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, the Maldives and more. Stopovers in Dubai are quite popular, as are extended visits to see the wonders of Dubai (Burj Khalifa, the old city, Dubai Mall, world-class hotels) and Abu Dhabi (the Louvre Abu Dhabi, islands surrounded by turquoise water with dolphins, and, soon, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.)
The deserts outside of Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer excellent cultural and nature visits, including riding with camels and romantic, al fresco dining. The Maldives are easily reached from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, he said. Air Canada Vacations will soon launch a nine-day, eight-night itinerary that features three nights in Dubai and five in the Maldives, Campisi said.
Trip Oppo
Angela Chen of Trip Oppo said her company specializes in small-group (around 20 pax) tours of iconic Asian destinations, including Vietnam, China, Singapore (a new Air Canada destination from YVR last year) and Thailand. Chen said Japan tours are a hot ticket right now, and that Trip Oppo offers several options, including Japan only and a Japan-Korea combo holiday.
“Our tours are great for first-timers, repeat customers, culture lovers, couples, friends and families.”
