ONBOARD CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE — The Travel Agent Next Door’s 2026 Conference ended on the high seas with cheers and praise, as TTAND’s founder and President, Flemming Friisdahl, thanked support staff, advisors and suppliers for their devotion to learning and participation – while also announcing the dates and venue for next year’s Conference, April 9-16, 2027 at the soon-to-be-opened Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana.
In the last hours of this year’s Conference, suppliers bestowed more awards on TTAND advisors with several walking away with multiple honours including Anna Abbandonato of Let’s Go Vacations from Stouffville, ON, Naqi Ahsan of Blank Canvas Getaways of Newmarket ON and Garth Layden of Elevation Travel and Tours of Innisfail, AB. TTAND thanked Celebrity Silhouette’s Captain and crew who assembled on stage to rousing cheers from advisors, with the captain presented with a plaque for the ship’s crew being the consummate hosts for the TTAND conference.
Travel Counsellors CEO Steve Byrne shared his heartfelt thanks for being able to attend Conference, meet TTAND advisors and continue to solidify the relationship between Travel Counsellors and TTAND. “There are three fundamentals to our partnership,” said Byrne. “We are bound together by doing right by our customers, we have outstanding advisors, and we need fantastic tech and support teams.”
The last order of business, of course, was the moustache. On stage in front of everyone, Friisdahl had the clippers ready and a small group, lead by highest bidder Shelley Cota of Shelley’s Sun and Sand Travel of Lacombe, AB, each had their turn to shave off the moustache. TTAND 2026 Conference participants happily opened their wallets: a whopping $124,545 will be donated to Pencils for Kids, with the funds put towards the construction of two new schools in two villages in Niger.
More cocktails and dancing followed, in Celebrity Silhouette’s sunset-lit Sky Lounge, as TTAND 2026 conference participants toasted to new friends and new inspiration.
TTAND founder and President, Flemming Friisdahl, and Travel Counsellors CEO Steve Byrne
TTAND & TRAVEL COUNSELLORS PLOT THE FUTURE
Beyond the speculation on Friisdahl’s moustache, the new equity partnership between TTAND and UK-based Travel Counsellors was on every advisor’s mind. As Byrne told Travelweek, Friisdahl is like his “brother from another mother.”
Like many courtships, Friisdahl and Byrne met through mutual acquaintances, a welcome relationship of leading similar organizations in the vast and evolving travel industry. Over a year of discussions led the travel veterans to realize how much their philosophies aligned. It also led to a consideration which Byrne described as “…what happens after Flemming and Steve? What’s the future for both of our organizations?” Byrne said he wanted to ensure their philosophies were aligned from the beginning “…since TTAND is Friisdahl’s baby and something he has built from scratch.”
First announced in December 2025, TTAND and Travel Counsellors entered into an equity partnership. Plans are in motion. “With this partnership, TTAND is able to go faster than we anticipated,” explained Friisdahl, to which Byrne added “…we can focus on building engagement, community and stay relevant with technology.”
For Friisdahl, he knew a partnership with a fellow Canadian agency wouldn’t have made sense, since it “would have messed up the whole organization. I’ve always been about eventually leaving TTAND in a better place.” The first major test will be TTAND’s adoption of Phenix, an FIT software program developed by Travel Counsellors and currently being adapted for TTAND advisors. “We hope to have it available in Q3,” said Friisdahl.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2025 was the best year ever for travel and tourism. In 2026 travel is poised to be the fastest growing sector, with a projected growth of 4.1% in 2026, an increase of 50%. Not only that, but currently one in three new jobs created globally is in tourism.
Garth Layden of Elevation Travel and Tours of Innisfail, AB
Byrne cited these stats as a major factor for Travel Counsellors’ interest in expansion, while also knowing that with this partnership the smart use of technology and the human touch to provide experiential preferences for clients is essential to scale up business and provide a depth of leadership for both organizations.
Travel Counsellors currently has over 2,000 advisors under its banner, and operates in Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With 30% of their sales generated outside of the UK, returning to Canada to partner with TTAND made sense, said Byrne.
Similar to TTAND, Travel Counsellors is actively adding new advisors but not interested in people who are only focused on making money. “We want to focus on individuals who are interested in (travel) being a full-time vocation,” explained Byrne.
As host of the largest travel conference in the UK, Byrne said he appreciated attending TTAND’s Conference 2026 and see the sharing of information among the TTAND community. “The goal is to move forward together. Legacy isn’t just about how much money you make.”
That’s a wrap on Travelweek Daily’s 2026 reports from onboard Celebrity Silhouette for the TTAND Conference. Click here for part 1 and here for part 2.
