TORONTO — When you’re the industry’s largest retail travel group, attracting new members is crucial. But staying responsive and agile for the members you’ve already got it just as important.
Travel Leaders Network is still interested in agencies looking to join, make no mistake.
However “our focus this year will be less on bringing in new members, and more on supporting our current members,” said TLN’s President, Lindsay Pearlman, at yesterday’s media briefing. “We’re always interested in adding more agencies,” he added with a smile. “But we want to make sure we’re not bringing people in for the sake of bringing them in. It’s not just about scale, it’s how we do more profitable growth.”
With some 5,700 travel agency locations across the U.S. and Canada, Travel Leaders Network is North America’s largest network of professional travel agencies by far. And all those agencies add up to some 100,000 travel advisors.
“But we don’t take that just on face value,” said Pearlman, adding the organization wants to make sure current members are supported with all the products and services TLN has to offer.
Just to name a few of those products and services: Engagement Marketing; Agent Profiler; Social Share Pro; Cruise Complete; Cruise programs like Distinctive Voyages, Culinary Collection and Amenity Departure Dates; Leaders Alliances; Business Travel Center of Excellence; SNAP and more.
And what about AI? Travel Leaders Group’s VP, Product & Solutions, Cory Voss, outlined the AI tools available to TLN members, including Toby AI, a tool that can help agents craft itineraries, draft a new Agent Profiler bio, write client correspondence, curate social media posts and more.
When discussion inevitably touches on AI’s threat to travel advisors, however, Pearlman is adamant that nothing can take the place of a real live agent. “AI is a tool. It’s a tool that needs to be used by a person. If they’re using it effectively, that makes them more efficient. And as we all know, often it’s wrong. It sounds great telling you it’s wrong, but it’s wrong,” he said.
Yesterday’s briefing included Pearlman’s State of the Industry update, travel trends from Internova Travel Group’s SVP, Partner Relations, Pam Young, a look at TLN’s direct mail, email, social media campaigns and more with Internova’s Chief Partner Marketing Officer, Stephen McGillivray and an update on the Canadian operations from Travel Leaders Network’s VP Canada, Christine James.
TRAVEL’S RESILIENCE
Watched the news lately? It seems like travel is always under siege from one political headwind or another. “But the numbers say something incredibly different,” noted Pearlman. Global leisure travel spend is $5 trillion now – and forecast to triple in just 14 years, according to data from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). “By 2040 global travel spend will be $15 trillion. That’s 8-10% growth annually. For those who say travel is going the other way, it’s the exact opposite,” said Pearlman.
It’s disconcerting, but ultimately good for the travel industry, that navigating headwinds has become every traveller’s new normal. “Now when there’s a geopolitical event, they don’t stop booking, they just book elsewhere. And travel advisors are aware of that,” he said. “Travellers are looking for reassurances, for expertise. They’re looking for help if things go wrong. It’s not a matter of if something will go wrong on a trip, it’s a matter of when.”
Not surprisingly, luxury travel is still on its stratospheric growth trajectory. “In 2008, during the economic crash, people had money but they didn’t travel. Now people aren’t afraid to spend the money to travel. And the better stuff is selling further out.”
More data from BCG indicates that 18 – 39% of travellers take solo trips. Travel is growing far beyond the nuclear family, as Pearlman noted.
CANADA IN FOCUS
TLN added more than 300 new member agencies in 2025, including 264 affiliate agencies in the U.S., four associate (franchise) agencies and 36 agencies in Canada. They represent more than $300 million (of which Canada represents
$24.5 million) in annual sales to preferred supplier partners.
TLN’s Canadian members now have the benefit of working with a larger team, aimed at providing top-level service. “We want to make sure our existing membership base is really looked after. With a bigger team, we get more time and more resources,” said VP Canada, Christine James.
Under James’ leadership, the Canadian team now includes …
- Caroline Belgrave (BSM, Western Canada)
- Cheryl Babulal (BSM, Central & Eastern Canada)
- Melissa Wheaton (BSM, Ontario)
- Anju Bliss (Account Manager)
- Cynthia Landry (Inside Sales Coordinator)
At the end of 2025, TLN’s results by segment in terms of revenue outbound from Canada were up 9% for cruise & land, 13% for cruise and 5% for land. By the start of 2026, increases were 30% for FIT & tours, and 19% for fun & sun. Top destinations, naturally, include Mexico, DR and Cuba.
“I checked with our big suppliers, and they say they’re not seeing any cancellations for Cuba,” said James, as the industry keeps an eye on Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean for potential fallout from the U.S. administration’s Jan. 3 Venezuela strike.
The U.S. is down about 30% from Canada, said Pearlman. The downward shift from Canada for Caribbean cruises sailing out of U.S. ports continues. Europe and Alaska cruise bookings are up. “The biggest challenge we’ll have for Europe is inventory. Book Europe now,” said James.
James and her team and TLN’s Canadian members are excited about the new Elevate Canada events. Designed to replace the network’s usual one-day Regionals in Vancouver, Toronto and either Edmonton or Calgary, Elevate Canada will feature two expanded two-day events in Vancouver (Oct. 21-22) and Toronto (Oct. 28-29). Elevate Canada also gives Canadian advisors an alternative to EDGE in the U.S., which was prompting some hesitancy for Canadian members.
Meanwhile TLN’s 2026 Spring Mixers will take place in Edmonton, Calgary, Mississauga, Winnipeg, London, Cambridge, Kelowna, Windsor, Toronto, Regina and Vancouver. The 2026 Fall Mixers will be held in Nanaimo, Halifax, Winnipeg, St. Catharines, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Richmond Hill and Vancouver.
SNAP’S A SNAP
SNAP air booking functionality was launched in Canada last summer. SNAP is TLN’s popular point-and-click tool, now offering air as well as hotel and rental car bookings. Powered by Sabre, SNAP provides end-to-end travel planning for travel advisors, without the need for deep GDS expertise.
“We’ve put a ton of money into SNAP, because we truly believe that travel advisors should be selling air to their customers,” said Pearlman. “So often we hear of a travel advisor getting a booking and sending clients somewhere else for air. If an advisor is booking all components of a trip, that loyalty factor is up substantially.”
TLN is seeing 83% YOY growth in SNAP adoption, he added. About half of TLN’s Canadian members have signed up.
“The platform has been really well received,” noted Pearlman. “We want to make sure it’s easier for advisors to go to one place to do everything. That drives efficiencies.”
The retail travel community may have seen its share of air bookings drop over the decades, but 58% of air is still booked by travel advisors, said Pearlman.
AGENT PROFILER TIERS
Internova’s Chief Partner Marketing Officer, Stephen McGillivray, said TLN sends out more than 11 million pieces of direct mail to members’ customers, more than 120 million email promotions, and more than 1 million posts to TLN members’ social channels reaching 100 million impressions to a user base of 5 million followers from 2,500 members enrolled in Social Share Pro.
“It’s important to flex the solutions as environments change,” said McGillivray. “Time is a precious commodity for travel advisors. We want to do things for them that they may not have time to do themselves.”
TLN’s North America lead generation solution, Agent Profiler, generates more than 3,000 leads a year. “This program continues to be a home run,” said Travel Leaders Group’s VP, Product & Solutions, Cory Voss.
The average booking from Canada through Agent Profiler is $13,000, he added, with a 27% successful closure rate.
Here’s more data from 2025 Agent Profiler bookings: 1,200+ bookings were $20,000+; 200+ bookings were $50,000+; 125+ bookings were $75,000+ and 80+ bookings were $100,000+.
Members can work their way to achieving special Agent Profiler status, according to three tiers: Super Agent; Super Agent Gold; and Super Agent Diamond.
Across North America, there are 21,500 published profiles on Agent Profiler, with 2,050 Super Agent-qualified, 440 Super Agent Gold-qualified and 171 Super Agent Diamond-qualified. In Canada there is a dozen or Super Agent Diamond-qualified members.
“There’s a lot to be gained from achieving the high levels,” said Voss. “We designed it to be difficult to achieve because the rewards are considerable.”
Lead image caption: Travel Leaders Group’s VP, Product & Solutions, Cory Voss; Internova Travel Group’s SVP, Partner Relations, Pam Young; Travel Leaders Network’s President, Lindsay Pearlman; Travel Leaders Network’s VP Canada, Christine James; Internova’s Chief Partner Marketing Officer, Stephen McGillivray at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
