TORONTO — The theme of TravelBrands’ 2025 Agent Appreciation events is Change & Create – “because if there’s one industry that knows all about changing and creating, it’s the travel industry,” says TravelBrands’ President & CEO, Nathalie Tanious.

Tanious spoke to Travelweek as TravelBrands’ three-city roadshow made its way to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. The Toronto event was a fun and high-energy night at Universal Event Space in Vaughan.

For Tanious and her team, it’s not just about thanking travel advisors – although that’s a big part of what the popular annual Agent Appreciation events are all about.

It’s also about showcasing for agents the power of TravelBrands’ parent company H.I.S.

“We want to show travel advisors what we can do by leveraging the power and scope of H.I.S. The breadth and width of our range, I don’t think every travel advisor realizes the extent of it,” Tanious told Travelweek.

“Agents who have customers who want Bali, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, you name it, we offer all those products and more, and with our expertise, with travel styles from FIT, to groups, to escorted. With H.I.S., we’re even opening lodges in Africa. We have the luxury of a multinational company behind us. It’s not just about having it all, it’s about offering it all.”

Canadian travellers are more receptive than ever to new destinations these days, and longer-haul destinations too. There’s a sense that we’ve entered a new era – and new heights – of travel demand. Travelweek asked Tanious what TravelBrands is seeing in terms of demand for winter 2025-2026 and beyond.

“People still really want to travel,” said Tanious. “For winter 2025-2026 we’re seeing real pickup in the Caribbean and Mexico, and to Spain and Portugal too. The airfares to Europe are great.”

She added that cruise “is still extremely strong. There’s so much capacity out there, and customers see the benefits of cruise vacations.” TravelBrands’ cruise product portfolio includes some 20 cruise lines.

Meanwhile TravelBrands is grappling with the Canada-to-U.S. downturn. They’re certainly not alone, as the sharp drop-off in cross border travel has impacted travel retailers and wholesalers across the country. “The decline in bookings to the U.S. is definitely substantial, to be honest, and it’s been that way since February,” said Tanious.

TravelBrands’ Agent Appreciation events are a chance for the company to showcase new tools, resources and incentives for travel advisors, and this year is no exception.

Tanious shared a rundown of what’s new.

“We have a new hotel switch feature that will give agents access to more promotions, better rates and more product. We are also putting a very strong focus on NDC,” she said, referring to IATA and the airlines’ New Distribution Capability.

Travel advisors with clients looking to country-hop will find that making those bookings with TravelBrands even easier than ever.

“With our enhanced multi-destination booking functionality, launched Oct. 1, agents can combine up to nine cities in a single booking,” Tanious told Travelweek. “It transforms complex trips into seamless bookings. For example, a trip that includes two nights in Paris, three in Rome, two in Milan, and on and on, with flights and hotel and car and everything else. Before we developed this feature, agents with multi-destination bookings would have had to call, and to be honest it would have been a very tedious process. Now it’s quick and easy.”

Agents can also now personalize air documents with their agency’s own logo.

As of Oct. 1, Exotik product is now available through ACCESS+. “Italy, Japan, Spain and Portugal, Greece, Zimbabwe, Kenya … all of these and more,” said Tanious.

And starting on Oct. 14, travel advisors can connect with TravelBrands’ new AI-powered assistant, Emma, giving agents 24/7 access to invoices and e-docs.

Travelweek asked Tanious about AI, especially when it comes to travel advisors who, despite embracing the time-saving functionality with the new technology, might also be concerned about their clients turning to Chat GPT to plan trips.

“With AI, there’s nothing to fear. AI will make things faster, easier and simpler for travel advisors. Customers still want the expertise they get from working with a travel advisor,” she said.

TravelBrands’ big thank you this week to its agent partners also includes enhancements to the company’s Loyalty Rewards Program, including lower thresholds for redemptions, no caps on groups and more.

Tanious’ message for travel advisors? “We’re here for you. And you’ll be around for a very long time.”