TORONTO — Word got around about Victours. For more than half a century the company built a loyal following among travel agents and their clients largely thanks to positive recommendations. Now the company wants more brand awareness and market share. To get the message out, it has tapped industry veteran Firdosh Bulsara.

Bulsara is a well-known face at travel events especially in the GTA. His 30-plus years in the industry include stints at ALBATours, Escapades by Huntington, Inc. (later MyEscapades), Goway and Sunquest Select. He’s also a founding member and past chairman of TOPAC (Tour Operators Promoting Africa in Canada).

Now Victours’ Manager, Product & Marketing, Bulsara says his first steps are to strategize and implement a brand awareness campaign for the company. He says he wants to reach out to the travel trade across Canada, emphasizing the fact that Concord, ON-based Victours is more than just a wholesaler and supplier of travel services. “There are but a handful of companies that offer customization when it comes to long-haul journeys. Positioning Victours as the right source for customization combined with unique experiential learning during one’s travels is going to be my goal.”

In 2016, Victours will expand its Africa lineup, and introduce India. Everything will be open to customization, says Bulsara. “We enjoy counselling the agents to help them create a holiday that their clients will not only cherish for their lifetime, but will return to the agent to book another equally interesting and enjoyable experience elsewhere where we can work together again.”

At the same time Victours is narrowing down its destinations to ones the company is most familiar with, and where it has the most expertise. “The company’s core mantra is ‘we only sell what we know best’ and that’s the critical message that the industry needs to know,” says Bulsara. “Our in-house expertise originates from a team of specialists that have migrated to Canada from these destinations and having had previous homeland tourism experience is our greatest strength.”

For 56 years Victours “quietly acquired the confidence of Canadian travel agents and their clients” by consistently providing a high standard of travel related services, he added. Victours founder Maria Vecchiarino was a firm believer in word-of-mouth marketing, a core strategy for the company. Now Vecchiarino’s daughter, President and CEO Cecilia Rossos, wants the brand to thrive in today’s market environment bringing Bulsara on board to help gain brand recognition and market share.

Victours offers customized and experiential travel all over Europe, predominantly in Italy and France and also Turkey, Spain, Germany Scandinavia, Iceland, Croatia and the Baltics, and South Africa.

Small affinity groups are a specialty for the company. “Over the years, the company has had a great many groups under its belt and arranging special interest travel is our strong point anyways,” says Bulsara. “Stay tuned and follow Victours as we gain strength in the market.” The company’s website is victours.ca.