Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), Canada’s largest network of full-service travel agencies, welcomed a delegation of around 200 travel agency owners, preferred partners and members of the TDC leadership team last Thursday for its bi-annual National Leadership Conference at the Marival Armony Luxury Resort & Suites in Punta de Mita, Mexico.
On the agenda, an exciting week of workshops, strategic reflection, discussions, and various presentations to support network members in their business objectives. The conference will be in full swing until December 12th.
A first day focused on strategy and innovation On December 6th, Joseph Adamo, Transat’s Chief Distribution Officer and President of Transat Distribution Canada and Louise Fecteau, General Manager of Transat Distribution Canada, set the tone for the event. First, Joseph Adamo provided an update on Transat’s strategic priorities, highlighting the special relationship between TDC and Transat. He focused particularly on the growth of Air Transat’s fleet and airline network, the effect of the Transat brand on the market and the impact it has on the travel agency network, not to mention the importance of customer loyalty in today’s competitive environment.
As for Louise Fecteau, she reviewed a 2019 year filled with numerous projects and achievements, including the update to the gift card program and the opening of the eX par Voyages Transat laboratory agency. “At TDC, our dedicated team is committed to providing you with the best support so that you can focus your energy and efforts on growing your business,” she shared with agency owners. “Whether it is through exclusive programs or the best deals with our preferred partners, we can say without a doubt that TDC is the leader in Canada” she concluded.
This year, in our continuous effort to find ways to innovate, TDC’s Industry Relations team connected with preferred partners in a completely new way to promote their offer to the network members present. In fact, they were able to take part in a ‘preferred partner scavenger hunt” throughout the Marival Armony Luxury Resort & Suites, which also allowed them to discover the magnificent property while networking with the thirty preferred partners on site.
The day ended with a welcome reception on the beach with a breathtaking view of Banderas Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
Getting out of your comfort zone, a step towards innovation A few of TDC’s preferred partners spoke with agency owners present to share their new updates and discuss their business objectives. “TDC’s trusted relationship with its approximately 60 preferred partners allows us to maintain our position as a market leader by offering benefits in all areas for both franchise members and consumers”, said Susan Bowman, Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations. “And we are always pleased to acknowledge their tremendous contribution to our development and reputation,” she concluded.
Innovation, as Louise Fecteau announced at the opening of this national conference, would once again be a major focus this year, both in the way we approach our content and how we do things. First, a preliminary report on the few months of operations of the eX par Voyages Transat laboratory agency was presented by Rita Polegri, National Director of Corporate Agencies but the conclusive results drawn and the real assessment of this innovative project will be made after one full year has been completed. In addition, the attendance of the two founding partners of Axellite Leadership was perfectly in line with this effort, namely to experiment things instead of simply being on the sidelines and trying to fit-in. Katarina Haddad and Jean-François Thibault invited members to the first of a three series interactive sessions on self-leadership, leading them to reflect on how they could be the best version of themselves. The objective? Be able to remain in their high-performance mindset as a leader, and especially to identify the triggers that bring them from this high-performance zone to other energy zones, such as recovery, survival or exhaustion.
Saturday ended with the special evening organized for the preferred partners, and a tribute to the Christine Thurlow from Holland America Line who will be heading into retirement. TDC’s management team was pleased to highlight her decades of outstanding support to the organization.
On December 8th, travel agency owners, preferred partners and TDC managers were able to enjoy a leisure day to themselves They were all invited to participate to a workout session organized by Axellite Leadership, and the day ended with a reception hosted by Transat on the sea-view terrace at Secrets Vallarta Bay Puerto Vallarta.
