TORONTO — As Air Canada Vacations marks its 50th anniversary, the tour operator is celebrating the milestone by recognizing the travel advisor community that has been integral to its growth.
In a penned letter, Nino Montagnese, Vice President of Air Canada Vacations, reflects on the company’s journey, its innovations and its continued commitment to advisors and their clients, while expressing heartfelt gratitude for their partnership over the decades.
Here is the letter in full:
Dear Travel Professionals,
I wanted to take a moment to personally reach out and thank you for being a part of our journey. Not just today, but every day leading up to this milestone moment, celebrating Air Canada Vacations’ 50th anniversary year.
Our well-travelled history was made possible thanks to you. The experiences, connections and opportunities we’ve created together are what allowed us to dream bigger and deliver on our promise to Canadians of “making dreams travel.”
With you, our loyal travel partners, at our side, we have grown to become a leader in the leisure travel industry, offering Canadians a variety of expertly curated vacation packages and travel experiences to over 180 destinations worldwide – including Mexico and the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and Asia – with flights on board Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge and the ability to earn and redeem Aeroplan points by being a part of Canada’s most trusted loyalty travel program.
Together, we have navigated a rapidly changing global landscape with unprecedented challenges and exciting opportunities. From adapting to travel trends, delivering on consumer expectations, embracing technological advancements and even managing through a pandemic, we underscored the need for resilience, adaptability and innovation to get us there, building trust and loyalty even during uncertain times.
We embraced innovation with the integration of an enhanced website and self-service tools for travel agents, launched Air Canada Vacations’ first-ever Travellers’ Top Picks awards celebrating Canadians most-loved destinations, and made important inroads towards sustainability with the launch of our digital brochure along with giving customers the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint through Air Canada’s collaboration with Chooose – all while offering travellers the flexibility to book with peace of mind through our Carefree and Careflex travel protection plans.
And together, we will continue on our journey, prioritizing what matters most to Canadian travellers with a diversified portfolio offering travel packages to over 64 sun destinations worldwide, including new additions such as Cartagena, Colombia; Miches, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Palm Springs and Napa Valley in California.
We’re also introducing exciting new tours to Palma de Mallorca, Budapest, Catania, Costa Rica and Belize, all while expanding on our selection of guided tour options in English and French. This year, we also introduced new long stay travel options allowing travellers to ‘live like a local’ in places like Portugal, Spain, Thailand and Indonesia.
We’re also proud to partner with the world’s most renowned cruise lines and river cruises, expanding our offering to now include Virgin Voyages, CroisiEurope and, coming soon, Avalon Waterways and Seabourn Cruise Line.
And new this year, Canadians dreaming of exploring Australia and New Zealand at their own pace can enjoy the freedom of the open road with premium motorhome and campervan experiences. And by popular demand, we continue to create special event vacations through our fitness retreats, wellness cruises and Chillout Pride celebrations – always building our travel experiences with accessibility and inclusivity in mind. And that’s just the beginning.
Thank you for your partnership, trust and support. We can’t wait to see where we’ll travel together next,
Nino Montagnese
Vice President, Air Canada Vacations
