VAUGHAN — With a “phenomenal” turnout of more than 1,300 advisors, Air Canada Vacations wrapped up its 2026 Dream Makers roadshow in fine style last night.

The trade show floor was packed, and it was standing room only at Vaughan’s Universal Event Space when ACV VP Nino Montagnese took the stage. 

“The passion, the expertise, and the dedication that you help create, that you perform, help create unforgettable memories for your customers every day. It does not go unnoticed. The partnership we have with you matters,” Montagnese told advisors, to loud applause.

There were more cheers for ACV’s latest hotel and resort winners, announced last night. The nod for favourite luxury hotel went to Sandals Resorts, favourite groups hotel partner to Hyatt Inclusive Collection, and favourite family hotel partner to Beaches Resorts.

NEW ROUTES, NEW DESTINATIONS & WINTER DEALS

New for this winter, ACV has brand new routes to Montego Bay from Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg (plus Punta Cana) and Halifax (which also gets a new Barbados route), Cancun and Puerto Vallarta from Calgary, Liberia, Sapporo, Puerto Escondido and Monterrey from Vancouver, Puerto Escondido, Copenhagen and Manchester from Toronto, Pointe-à-Pitre from Quebec City and Oranjestad from Montreal.

ACV’s new destinations for winter 2026-2027 include Quito, Mazatlan, Merida, Roatan, Santo Domingo, Verona and Tenerife.

Clients still have a bit of time to take advantage of ACV’s BOGO deal, offering up to 50% off for second travellers on package bookings, applies to select packages to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Cartagena and Tenerife, and select Flight & Hotel packages to Orlando, Hawaii and California. The booking deadline is this Sunday, Sept. 27, for travel Jan. 2 – April 30, 2027.

Unique Vacations Canada team members including Omar Josephs (back row), Richard Todd (far left) and CJ Smith (second from right) at the Sandals and Beaches Resorts booth with ACV’s Erminia Gallina and Nino Montagnese (centre), along with special guest Carnel Smith, Director of Sales, Groups and Conventions, Sandals Dunn’s River (far right)

ACV also has cozy season Europe deals through Oct. 12, 2026 for travel until March 31, 2027. Advisors can earn 20% commission on ACV’s travel protection plans, plus the tour op showcased its many self-serve options for agents. There’s also a bonus 1% extra commission offer on select cruise bookings. 

Meanwhile ACV is big as ever on Groups, recently announcing its new interactive Groups Workshops aimed at helping travel advisors build confidence, strengthen their groups expertise and grow their business. The in-person events take place in October and November in seven cities across Canada.

BIG TECH ANNOUNCEMENT THIS FALL

How many of these do you remember? ACV brochure covers through the years

Montagnese told Travelweek he was thrilled with the reception for this year’s events. Seven cities over the course of 21 days, “and we’ve had sellouts all the way through,” he said.

These are challenging times for the industry, with soaring jet fuel costs and uncertain conditions, and many companies are scaling back. 

But ACV forged ahead with #DreamMakers. Why? “For me, what’s exciting is the energy and passion you see from these people. They crave that face-to-face interaction, which they’re not getting as much of today. Being able to hear from us live about what’s new, what’s changing and what’s coming, and then talk directly with our supplier partners, is invaluable,” he said. 

This year’s attendees had a bit of fun with tech, scanning QR codes at each booth, answering three questions and collecting points for correct answers. A leaderboard kept track of the tallies, and the top scorers earned prizes at the end of the night.

Embracing technology is one of the three takeaways Montagnese hopes advisors bring back from the #DreamMakers roadshow.

“Don’t be afraid of it. Use it to your advantage,” he said.

Watch this space for future updates where tech and ACV are concerned. Montagnese hinted that a big announcement is coming by the end of October. “We’re adding more functionality for advisors, and there’s even more coming that I can’t really talk about yet. But it will be something new and very user-friendly.”

Another big takeaway for advisors? “Understand that ACV is your partner. I want people to walk away knowing they should always check to see if we have the product they need before booking elsewhere, because chances are, we do,” said Montagnese.

“We’ve expanded so much over the past four or five years. We offer product everywhere Air Canada flies, whether it’s a sun package, a cruise package, land-only, flight and hotel or guided and non-guided tours. We have product in Asia, South America, the South Pacific and North America. All I ask is that advisors come and check with us first, because chances are we’ll have what they need, and they’ll earn good commission.”

Montagnese’s third takeaway for ACV’s travel advisor partners: “Never underestimate your value. This is a career, not just a job. Advisors should never underestimate what their career is worth, and they should earn as much as they can.”

FUEL SURCHARGE UPDATE

While travel demand is strong, there’s no getting around the impact that this year’s oil shortage and jet fuel prices has had on just about every sector of the travel industry. The fluctuating Canadian dollar is a factor too.

ACV’s $50 surcharge remains in place so far for winter 2026-2027, said Montagnese. 

“Every day I’m looking at the crude oil prices and the Canadian dollar,” he said. “We sell to Canadians in Canadian dollars, but we’re buying product in destinations that charge us in U.S. dollars. If the Canadian dollar drops, it eats into our profit because we can’t simply increase the customer’s price every time the currency moves.

He added: “Today, the Canadian dollar is around $1.40 to the U.S. dollar, and crude oil is around $90 a barrel. Earlier this week it was around $105. Before all of this, it was closer to $55 a barrel. And that’s only crude oil. It still has to be refined into jet fuel, which adds even more cost.

“The fuel surcharge is in place, and as soon as I can remove it, I will.”

With Canadians watching their costs, including the travel budget, any fuel surcharge can cause some clients to do a double-take. 

Montagnese said ACV has absorbed more of the cost than the $50 covers. “We’re charging a flat $50 surcharge, but the actual increase in costs was closer to $80 to $100. When those increases came in, I said there was no way we could pass the full amount along. So we went with $50 and absorbed the remaining cost ourselves. It was the right thing to do to help our partners continue selling, and to help keep travel affordable for consumers.”

“NOBODY IS GIVING UP TRAVEL”

Travel is always going to be part of people’s plans, he said. “What may change is the type of trip people take and how often they travel.”

ACV has sharpened its focus on luxury “because we’re finding that customers are upping the ante. They want to treat themselves. That’s another reason I tell advisors not to underestimate their value. When a client comes in, don’t automatically assume they’re only looking for the lowest price. They want a good product, and they’ll pay for it.”

Montagnese’s biggest takeaway for the retail travel industry? “People are still travelling. Nobody is giving that up.”