Travel Market 2026 spotlights Canadian excellence, tech innovation, and next-gen strategies
Canadian travel advisors and suppliers were in the spotlight as TRAVELSAVERS wrapped up Travel Market 2026 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa with its annual awards gala.
Among the Canadian winners were:
- Groupe Atrium — Chairman’s Award for agencies
- Total Advantage Travel — President’s Award
- Luv to Travel — Soaring Eagle Award
- GOwithHIPPO Travel — Soaring Eagle Award
- Murdoch Travel — Horizon Award
- South Coast World Travel — Horizon Award
- Verona Travel — Horizon Award
Canadian partners were also recognized:
- Air Canada Vacations — Chairman’s Award for Preferred Partner
- TravelBrands — Tour Partner of the Year for Canada
- Manulife — Canadian Specialty, Insurance or Ground Transportation Partner of the Year
- Collette Tours — Best Sales & Service Partner for Canada
For Mary Beth Buchanan of GOwithHIPPO Travel, the recognition was particularly meaningful. Visibly moved after receiving the Soaring Eagle Award, she reflected on the challenges she had overcome in recent years, saying she believed: “You have to contract to expand.”
Marigold Frontuna of Air Canada Vacations, which received the Chairman’s Award for Preferred Partner, emphasized the importance of relationships. She said it’s been “wonderful working with the Mazza family,” adding that the award was a testament to the value of the relationships the company has built.
But awards were only part of a three-day Travel Market that gave Canadian advisors networking opportunities and plenty of ideas to take home, from understanding the next generation of travellers to finding practical ways to put AI to work to generate more business.
Canadian agencies looking ahead with confidence
New TRAVELSAVERS Canada survey results released during the conference suggest Canadian advisors remain optimistic about the remainder of 2026.
Among the findings:
- 65% expect sales to increase over 2025.
- 67% say shoulder-season bookings are steady or growing, while another 10% say there is “no more shoulder season.”
- 40% say clients are booking further in advance than a year ago.
- 45% report more clients purchasing travel insurance.
Clients are also finding different ways to stretch their travel dollars. 16% are choosing less expensive destinations and another 16% are being flexible with timing. Fourteen per cent are booking further in advance, while 11% are travelling during less busy periods and 11% are exploring emerging destinations.
TRAVELSAVERS Canada also reported 325 agencies in its network, with 10 new agencies representing $87 million in preferred sales added in 2026.
Across the wider TRAVELSAVERS network, FIT land sales are up 7%, guided land 8%, cruise and river cruise sales 14% each and hotel room nights 8%.
Putting technology to work
“Technology should create more customers, not more work,” Chief Marketing Officer Nicole Mazza told attendees during the opening session.
TRAVELSAVERS unveiled a new Marketing Hub designed to do just that, bringing campaigns, promotions, social media content, customer data and marketing resources into a single dashboard.
The network has also enhanced advisor searches on its consumer websites, including TRAVELSAVERS Canada, allowing consumers to find advisors based on destination expertise and travel niches.
Digital campaigns have generated nearly 18 million impressions this year and 323,000 website clicks, more than triple the previous year.
Using AI to boost your bottom line
AI was another major topic, and advisors shared practical examples of how they’re already using it to improve their businesses and generate sales.
Sarah Bonsall of Latitude 21 Travel asked AI to analyze her client communication and suggest ways of improving sales. One recommendation, following up a second time with a phone call, resulted in a significant increase in sales, she said.
She has also created a virtual “board of directors,” assigning AI personalities different roles and perspectives and having them debate new business ideas. And she doesn’t rely on just one AI platform.
“I pit Claude and Lola against each other and make them battle it out,” said Bonsall, who has nicknamed her ChatGPT Lola.
But there’s one area where she draws a firm line: “I never use AI to talk to my clients.”
Nikki Hendrix of Favorite Grampy Travels is equally enthusiastic about the technology.
“I’m addicted to AI and use it every chance I get,” she said.
Hendrix uses it to optimize her website and blog posts, analyze social media comments for potential leads, determine the best times to post content and compile daily industry updates for her agents. For a small business that can’t necessarily hire someone for every role, she said, “It’s like having extra employees.”
Her advice to advisors who remain hesitant is simple: don’t be afraid to experiment.
“The best time is yesterday, but the next best is today,” she said.
For Canadian advisor Michelle Gammond, owner of Travel Potions, AI was involved from the beginning. She used it as a sounding board while developing the concept and branding for her new agency, refining her prompts until the results reflected the originality she wanted.
“But it’s not going to replace me,” she said.
That distinction between what technology can do and what still requires a human was another recurring message at Travel Market. Travellers have no shortage of information at their fingertips. What they increasingly need is someone who can interpret it, understand what matters to them and be there when something goes wrong.
For Denise Tudor of Travel Potions, that was one of the conference’s most important takeaways.
“I loved the sessions around AI and how it can’t replace human connection and relationships with my clients,” she said.
And nowhere was the value of understanding the person behind the technology more apparent than in a session examining the next generation of travellers.
Learning to engage effectively with Gen Z
One of the presentations that generated some of the strongest reaction from attendees came from Jason Dorsey, president of The Center for Generational Kinetics, who challenged advisors to think differently about generational differences and how understanding them can translate into sales.
Technology, he said, is the easiest difference to spot, but not necessarily the biggest. Younger generations simply grow up with technologies that older generations remember arriving.
“Technology is only new if you remember the way it was before,” he told attendees.
For advisors, understanding those differences can translate directly into business.
Dorsey said Gen Z, having grown up during periods of considerable instability, places a premium on reassurance and wants to know someone has their back when things go wrong. Despite their relationship with social media and technology, they also value in-real-life experiences and human connection.
Sometimes the adjustment can be surprisingly simple.
Dorsey advised agents not to ask a Gen Z client for a “referral,” a word he said doesn’t resonate particularly well with the generation.
Instead, ask: “Do you have any friends I can help?”
Connecting beyond the conference floor
“Trust, respect and collaboration” are the three pillars of successful partnerships, according to Jane Clementino, Senior Vice President and General Manager of TRAVELSAVERS Canada.
Travel Market offered plenty of opportunities to put that philosophy into practice, both on and off the conference floor.
Canadian advisors repeatedly described the conference as a “family reunion” or “homecoming,” valuing the chance to meet suppliers and other advisors face-to-face.
Lisa Jessome of Four Point Travel said she enjoyed being able to “put a face to the emails” she receives and to throw ideas around with colleagues, while Angela Douglas of Murdoch Travel summed up the experience simply: “It’s all about connection.”
And connecting can be fun, too. After the day’s sessions, Canadian attendees gathered for a lively Canada-only event featuring flags, Canadian party favours and enthusiastic karaoke. The event has earned a reputation among attendees as one of the best parties of the conference.
Taking it home
For experienced agent Danuela Freel, owner of Four Point Travel, the value of Travel Market will come in what she does with the information once she gets home.
When she entered the travel industry in the 1990s, she remembers hearing predictions that travel agents would only be around for another 10 years. More than three decades later, she is thinking not about the disappearance of the profession, but about how to pass it on.
She was particularly interested in what she learned about communicating and building relationships with Gen Z, not only because they are potential clients, but because they are potential travel professionals.
The timing couldn’t be better. When she returns home, a 19-year-old co-op student and newcomer from Mexico who hopes to become a travel agent will be starting at her agency.
“We need to pass on our expertise,” she said.
