In an industry where the only constant seems to be change, there’s one thing that remains stable year after year: the growth of Travel Leaders Network.
To get a picture of where the consortium stands in early 2025, Open Jaw recently spent some one-on-one time with the company’s vice-president for Canada, Christine James. An industry veteran with 25 years at TLN, James lives and breathes the business.
The TLN juggernaut now numbers 6,000 agency members across North America, including 500 in Canada. Last year alone, 41 members were added north of the border. And the attrition rate is extremely low, James told Open Jaw. “Member retention is at an all-time high.”
Sales are climbing, too: after $164M in cruise sales in ’23, TL Canada racked up a whopping $213 million in 2025 – a 30% increase.
“I was astounded by the percentage of our overall business that cruising has become,” James said. “I truly believe it has exponential growth potential in Canada.”
ITC (packages) were up as well, by a more modest 10%. And, overall, not a single sector saw a decline in sales.
Supported by a significant team in the US, Travel Leaders has a slim staff of seven in Canada, including James and business solutions managers in Western and Eastern Canada.
One of these is the newest member of the team: Caroline Belgrave, the new BSM for Western Canada (BC to Manitoba), replacing the late Sue Urie. Belgrave has been in the industry 18 years, including the past 4 as senior trainer at TLN.
“Given her in-depth knowledge of our product, Caroline was the perfect choice for the role,” said James.
And I can vouch for that. I had the pleasure of travelling with Belgrave earlier this month during a Visit California trade show in San Diego. Her zest for life is contagious and her enthusiasm for her new role is tangible.
As far as corporate travel, James confirmed that while TLN is definitely leisure-focused, a few members do have a book of corporate business. She also said the corporate side has bounced back post-pandemic faster than predicted.
Along with her other duties, James is responsible for relationships with certain Canadian partners such as ACV, Sunwing, the Globus family and G Adventures.
With such a broad portfolio, how does James relax? Travel, not surprisingly, is her passion and she says she’ll tack a few days onto a business trip for some R’n’R – which she did in Japan last year – and enjoys an annual girls’ getaway on, say, a European river cruise or a private yacht.
So how does James think 2025 will shake down?
“We will probably continue the same trend. We are on target with our growth plans for the year and have already welcomed six new members.”
The consortium’s one-stop booking engine SNAP (Simple Navigation Advisor Platform), currently featuring hotel and car for Canadian members, will beta test air, marrying Sabre content with Travel Leaders’ 20+ preferred airline contracts.
“Our preferreds tell me we are their biggest and fastest-growing account,” James proudly told Open Jaw. And with its current momentum, it will be no surprise if that remains the case in 2025.
