TORONTO — The travel industry has been through a storm of geopolitical headwinds. When a major player like TTC Tour Brands reports pick-up for the end of this year and into the next, it’s a bellwether for good things to come.

At The Travel Corporation’s Canadian HQ yesterday, as top host agencies and other retail partners mingled with the sales team, TTC Tour Brands’ Jodine Clement, Director of Sales, Canada, told Travelweek that after a positive start to the year sales from this market are now tracking in similar fashion for fall 2026 and into 2027.

“The Canadian market is strong,” said Clement.

Across the board the travel industry saw booking hesitancy in Q2 that lingered into Q3. Travellers concerned that military strikes in the Middle East could spark a larger conflict, not to mention economic belt-tightening, and worries about airports running out of jet fuel, led many vacationers to scale back their travel plans for the summer months. With September just days away, the industry is hoping to have turned this latest corner.

“The year started off really well. And now we’re starting to see things pick up again for 2027,” said Clement.

Along with the updates, yesterday’s event also offered a chance to connect face-to-face with TTC Tour Brands’ sales team in Canada, including Clement along with Brenda Bradley, Sales Manager, Southwestern and Northern Ontario, Jenni Berg, Director, Strategic Accounts and Austin Fraser, BDM, GTA and eastern Ontario. 

The company maintains a staff of more than 180 here in Canada, including the call centre. Other BDMs in Canada serving this market are Michele Kempf Quebec for Ottawa and the Maritimes, Nicole Davey for B.C., Saskatchewan and Yukon, and Jordan Harris who looks after Alberta and Manitoba.

Trevello Travel Group’s Susan Lawson, VP, Sales, Marketing and Partnerships, and CEO Zeina Gedeon

MAXIMIZING VISIBILITY FOR BRENDAN VACATIONS

TTC Tour Brands’ long list of well-known brands includes Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Costsaver, Luxury Gold, Contiki and Brendan Vacations.

This past spring TTC Tour Brands introduced a unified leadership model for the S&A division that brings African Travel, Brendan Vacations and Lion World Travel under a single executive structure.

Brendan Vacations launched in Canada in 2022, and Whitney Ramirez, Senior Vice President, Sales for all Specialist & Adventure brands, told Travelweek she wants to maximize the visibility for both Brendan Vacations and African Travel in the Canadian market.

“Anything in a kilt,” said Ramirez, talking about the Ireland and Scotland specialist, adding that she first worked at Brendan Vacations 27 years ago “and I’m thrilled to be back.”

Ramirez told retailers: “Whenever you have clients interested in Ireland or Scotland, think Brendan. We do it all. FIT, self drives, luxury self drives, rail, golf, custom groups. All of our small group tours are guaranteed to operate. Of course we also have out traditional larger groups. And we really shine with custom vacations.”

For flexible travel Brendan has four ways to travel: Private Driver, Self Drive, Luxury Self Drives and Rail. And for guided tours, the options are Small Group, Classic and Premium. Festival tickets are also available.

Ramirez and her team showcased one of Ireland’s true gems, Belfast, at Trevello’s Building Bridges 2026 conference this past May. “We hosted more than 300 Trevello advisors. We’ve seen a lot of momentum from that, and we’re still riding that wave,” she said.

Envoyage was well represented at the TTC Tour Brands event with attendees including Heather Baker, National Marketing Manager

Yesterday’s event also included an update on TTC Tour Brands’ Partner Services, from Justine Sawler, Director, Global Sales Operations. “Our sales managers are out there building business with you,” Sawler told advisors. “Our commitment is that we respond to you efficiently and quickly. When you need us, use us. We want to be the easiest partner you do business with.” 

Travel advisors can access TTC Tour Brands’ Travel Advisor Portal (TAP) as one-stop-shop for booking, marketing tools and expert support. Advisors can browse and book over 750 tours, manage payments, download marketing materials and stay up to date with product updates.

The company is ramping up training for its call centre. “You will always have a knowledgeable passionate call centre here. We want to make sure every call is picked up quickly and resolved the first time,” said Michelle Crocker, Global Head of Enablement. Talking tech, she added: “AI is going to help us but we’re a people business and we want to make sure every call counts.”

MORE RIVER CRUISE SHIPS FOR TRAFALGAR 

Trafalgar officially entered the river cruise market this past April, marking a major milestone for the brand. Trafalgar Verity debuted on the Rhine and Trafalgar Reverie on the Danube.

“River cruising with Trafalgar had a great launch. We’re bringing our land experience to the rivers,” said Clement.

Another summer of low water levels on Europe’s rivers have made 2026 challenging for all river cruise operators. Clement told Travelweek that Trafalgar has been navigating impasses with ship swaps with sister river cruise company Uniworld, with thankfully only minimal cancellations. “We haven’t had to do many motorcoach segments,” added Clement. The ship swaps have done the trick.

Both the Trafalgar Verity and the Trafalgar Reverie were formerly Uniworld ships. “In 2027 we’ll welcome the Trafalgar Dreamer for sailings on the Seine,” said Clement. It’s also a former Uniworld vessel. But just wait: the year after that, Trafalgar will be take delivery of its own brand new ships. “We’ll have three new-builds, they’ll be a bit larger and we’ll be able to customize the new builds which is great.”

Lead image caption: Sarah Bowden; Whitney Ramirez, SVP, Sales, Specialist & Adventure brands; Susie Eaton, Supervisor, Data Quality; Jodine Clement, Director of Sales, Canada; Brenda Bradley, Sales Manager, Southwestern and Northern Ontario; Justine Sawler, Director, Global Sales Operations; Jenni Berg, Director, Strategic Accounts; Austin Fraser, BDM, GTA and Eastern Ontario