Suzanne Acton-Gervais puts human judgment, AI and advocacy at the heart of ACTA's next chapter
Ilona Kauremszky
There was plenty to talk about at ACTA’s Eastern Canada Travel Industry Summit in the Toronto area last week: AI, airline compensation, economic uncertainty, US-Canada trade relations, fraud, changing regulations and the eternal travel-industry question—where does the travel advisor fit when technology can spit out an itinerary before the coffee gets cold?
Suzanne Acton-Gervais, President of ACTA, had an answer. Put the (human) travel advisor back in the centre.
In her opening at the summit at Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, Acton-Gervais delivered a message that was part rallying cry, and part reality check.
ACTA Member Update: Advocacy gets real
The association, which represents travel agencies and advisors across the country, is set up to help shape change in the fluid travel industry, and to advocate. Over 500 travel industry professionals and 212 Eastern Canada suppliers gathered to hear how ACTA over the past year, has met with key industry players on the national and international level.
In March, ACTA took its advocacy message to Ottawa. Travel agency leaders, advisors, and partners met with members of Parliament and senators. “The strongest advocacy happens before a decision is made,” she alerted members.
Results from ACTA’s 2026 Advocacy Survey were released, revealing 65 percent of respondents noting supplier commercial policies, including distribution, commissions, and compensation as the main priorities, from the poll of 133 respondents. Forty-three percent indicated travel rights and travel disruption, while fraud and cyber security were at 31 percent.
Members want ACTA talking to airlines, government and vacation-package companies about transparent compensation, timely payment, commission protection, clear commercial policies and respect for the agency-advisor-client relationship. Acton-Gervais’s position is that advocacy cannot be switched on after the fact. “We cannot wait for a crisis to build influence,” she said.
The rallying cry grew stronger. She added, “It takes evidence. It takes relationships. It takes persistence—and sometimes returning to the table after hearing “no.””
“The role of travel agencies and travel advisors has never been more important,” Acton-Gervais told delegates.
This year’s Eastern Canada Summit saw a record number of exhibitor booths (126) and the largest presence of suppliers ever to participate, which further reflects the value of partner agencies and advisors working together with industry suppliers in this travel community.
Opening Remarks: The work doesn’t disappear
Over the past 12 months, she said, agency owners and travel advisors have been tested with rising operating costs, economic uncertainty, changing regulations and fraud. “The work does not disappear,” she said. “Calls don’t disappear. Schedule changes don’t disappear. Disruptions, documentation and duty of care don’t disappear either.”
For all the economic jitters, Acton-Gervais isn’t predicting a travel drought. “(Clients) may change the timing. They may adjust the budget. They may choose a different destination, but they have not lost the desire to explore, reconnect, and experience something beyond the everyday.”
Delegates heard how in response to today’s geopolitical climate with the United States, clients are broadening their destination choices by choosing diverse experiences across Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Central and South America and other destinations that are all competing for the Canadian traveller’s attention.
In 2026, IATA reports 5.1 billion passengers travelling globally, while the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) projects 12.4 billion global air passenger volume by 2050. “For our industry that means more people to inspire, more journeys to design, and more opportunities to sell travel,” she said and suggested travel isn’t simply convincing people to go somewhere. “It’s understanding why they want to go,” pivoting travel into more meaningful experiences where wellness, adventure, culture, family connection, and even a few glorious days away from the everyday are more valuable. She opined, “The more digital our lives become the more real those experiences become.”
Then came AI, naturally
Acton-Gervais sees plenty of useful applications with AI from comparing options and summarizing information to producing a first draft and making marketing more efficient but she drew a line.
“Information is not wisdom,” she said, and added that an itinerary is not the same thing as journey design. “Advisors, ask questions first. What do I need from this experience? What can go wrong?” she explained and further added, “The value is in turning information into the right decisions for the real person.”
Moreover, it was heard that AI cannot replace the professional who has to deal with what happens when the original plan falls apart. The ACTA President sees the ability to listen, interpret, reassure, solve problems and advocate as the authentic human intelligence. “The future belongs to professionals who combine both,” she said, pointing to the mix of “smart tools and human judgment,” along with “efficiency and empathy” and “data and relationships.”
The advisor has a younger audience
Delegates heard another reason for optimism in the current travel bookings trend.
Acton-Gervais cited a Skyscanner Report indicating that 52 percent of Gen Z travellers take at least three leisure trips a year. According to a Chase Travel survey of the 4,000 travellers polled, 60 percent of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they want to use a travel advisor. Forty percent of Gen Z Canadians are willing to travel without purchasing travel insurance, giving advisors, she explained, an opportunity to educate this growing market. These are consumers who may discover their destination on TikTok, Instagram or a search engine.
Acton-Gervais also pointed to the emerging “new longevity demographic”—travellers living longer, wanting more meaningful lives and rewriting the traditional rules around retirement, work and age. “They have time, ambition, and resources, and are not letting age define their next chapter,” she said.
Strength in numbers
There was also a pointed invitation to advisors themselves. ACTA, Acton-Gervais reminded the room, isn’t simply a logo, a headquarters or a team working somewhere on behalf of members. “It is a community with a shared voice,” she said and further elaborated how that voice becomes considerably louder when members answer surveys, join committees, share evidence from their businesses and participate in advocacy.
For example, one agency may have a problem, while thousands of agencies and travel professionals describing the same problem now have a policy issue. She relayed that distinction matters and creates influence with decision makers. “Share evidence from your business. Tell us about which policy is colliding with reality. And when ACTA asks you to add your voice, please do,” she asked the members.
The next 50 years
As ACTA approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027, Acton-Gervais framed the association’s road from 1977 to 2027 around three responsibilities: celebrating the legacy, leading with purpose today and building an association ready for tomorrow.
Her goal is an ACTA that is “more influential, more responsive, more representative, and more connected.”
That future will bring more technology, new business models, regulation and disruption. “Our business is human connection, human judgment, and human care,” she explained, and closed with, “The future of travel is human. You’re not going anywhere.”
Someone still has to know the client. That ‘someone’, for now and for the next chapter, is the travel advisor.
Summit agenda featured a dynamic roster
The full-day summit included a dynamic roster of panel discussions ranging from “Next Hot List: Emerging Destinations Your Clients Will Ask for Next,” to “Connecting your Clients with Extraordinary Experiences,” as well as two keynote sessions: “Beyond Borders & Bookings: Redefining Travel Through Innovation, Diversity and Inclusion,” a presentation by James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, and one of the trade show sponsors; and “Leadership in Action: Driving Impact, Influence, and Growth in Today’s Travel Industry,” a presentation by Gloria Di Francesco, CEO and Founder of GDF Talent Inc.
During lunch, delegates heard from Jennifer Waver, AVP, Head of Distribution of Manulife Canada; Inês Almeida Garrett, the director of Portugal Tourism for Canada, and two of ACTA’s host countries for the ACTA International Destination Conference. Giving brief presentations were last year’s Spain, Isabel Martin Benitez, Consul for Tourism Affairs and Director of the Tourist Office of Spain, and the upcoming host country, officials from the Japan National Tourism Office.
Travel talks continued into the afternoon as advisors participated in the trade show, meeting with industry reps from cruise lines, luxury resorts, tour operators, DMOs, rail companies, and a myriad of destinations. JourneyWoman’s Carolyn Ray was seen on hand at TourRadar’s booth, discussing the world’s first online booking platform for solo and women’s travel, called the JourneyWoman Women’s Travel Directory with Marc Buchegger, Senior Partnership Manager. According to new insights released on the same day as the ACTA Summit from this joint partnership, Iceland was the most popular destination for women and solo travellers in August 2026. According to TourRadar data, 73 percent of multi-day trip bookings to Iceland were by women and 47 percent of those were solo trips.
Mike Allard, CTC from Mallard Travel, who was a panelist on the morning panel: Connecting your Clients with Extraordinary Experiences, dropped by the Spain exhibitor booth, in prep for his upcoming trip there. Nicole Conrad from BermudaAir was at the ready, as were reps from SATA Azores Airlines sharing spectacular rates starting at $698, giving 2 percent commissions, and so much more.
The next ACTA International Destination Conference will take place in Yokohama, Japan from Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2026.
