APPOINTMENTS
Marion Certain/Brand USA
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, announces the appointment of Marion Certain as Trade Manager for Canada, effective March 1, reinforcing its commitment to growing travel trade engagement across the Canadian market. Based in Toronto, Certain will lead efforts to strengthen relationships with Canadian travel advisors, tour operators, airlines, and key industry partners, supporting Brand USA’s mission to inspire international travel to the United States.
Originally from Normandy, France, Certain is bilingual in French and English and brings extensive international experience in the tourism industry. She has worked with Brand USA for more than three years, where she supported trade development efforts in the French market.
Certain’s career includes experience across both tour operators and destination marketing. She previously worked with tour operator Worldia and held roles with organizations such as Atout France in Australia and New Zealand and Bonjour Québec in France. In addition, she has significant experience training travel advisors, giving her a well-rounded understanding of the travel trade landscape and its evolving needs.
Beth Mercier/Aurora Expeditions
Aurora Expeditions has appointed Beth Mercier as Vice President of Sales, North America. A highly respected leader in the adventure travel sector, Mercier brings more than 15 years of experience across expedition cruising and small-ship travel, with deep expertise in polar travel, spanning both advisor and operator roles.
In her new position, she will lead Aurora Expeditions’ sales strategy across North America, with a focus on growing distribution and strengthening partnerships with the trade. Mercier joins Aurora following a successful tenure as Chief Commercial Officer at Terra Nova Expeditions, where she developed commercial strategy, built strategic partnerships, and expanded distribution for the emerging brand.
Prior to this, she played a key role in launching Hurtigruten in North America and contributed to global sales growth at Quark Expeditions, further strengthening her experience within the polar expedition sector. Her career began on the front lines of travel advising, giving her a strong understanding of the guest journey and the evolving needs of today’s expedition traveller.
Flight Centre Canada/Angela Bokma & David Ardagh
Flight Centre Canada has strengthened its leadership team with two strategic appointments. Angela Bokma joins the business as Director of Marketing, while David Ardagh steps into the role of Commercial Financial Manager, transitioning from his previous position as Senior Financial Analyst within Flight Centre Travel Group.
Bokma brings more than a decade of travel marketing experience, most recently as a marketing consultant and previously as Director of Marketing for The Travel Corporation. In her new role, she will oversee performance marketing for Flight Centre Canada, with a focus on strengthening brand positioning and driving customer acquisition and retention.
Ardagh builds on his experience as a Senior Financial Analyst at Flight Centre Travel Group, where he contributed to business planning and financial decision-making. As Commercial Financial Manager, he will oversee financial performance for the Flight Centre brand in Canada.
Carlo Rinaldi/Porter Airlines
Porter Airlines has named Carlo Rinaldi as Director, Quebec Market Development. He will lead the company’s commercial presence in the province.
Based in Montreal, Rinaldi will drive Porter’s market development strategy, with a focus on growing corporate travel, expanding agency partnerships, and deepening engagement across the travel trade and corporate sectors.
He brings over 20 years of experience in enterprise sales, business development and travel industry partnerships, including 10 years at Porter earlier in his career.
Antoine Gordon/Unique Vacations Canada
Maureen Barnes-Smith, vice president, sales & marketing Canada at Unique Vacations Canada, is pleased to announce the appointment of Antoine Gordon as the new Business Development Manager, Alberta, Manitoba and Northwest Territories (based in Calgary) effective immediately. He joins the Canadian sales team for Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts with a solid sales background, in travel and beyond, in both Canada and the United States.
As a Travel Industry Council of Ontario – (TICO) – certified travel advisor, Gordon inherently understands the day-to-day needs of travel advisors which will serve him well in his new role. In addition to helping travel advisors in his region develop and execute successful sales & marketing strategies to grow their business with Sandals and Beaches Resorts, he will support tour operators and tourist board partners in Western Canada.
Travel advisors can contact Antoine Gordon at: 587-336-1841 or 1-800-545-8283 ext.4951 or by email at: [email protected].
Ian Elliott /TravelOnly
Ian Elliott has returned to TravelOnly to take on the role of Senior Vice President, Commercial & Engagement.
Elliott’s return comes as TravelOnly moves into “a dynamic new phase” as the company continues to elevate its advisor community and strengthen its position as one of Canada’s most innovative travel networks.
A long‑time champion of TravelOnly’s entrepreneurial spirit, Elliott spent the last three years in the consortia world as VP of Partner Relations at Ensemble Travel.
His return to TravelOnly brings renewed energy and a deep understanding of the company’s culture, advisors, and partners. His leadership will focus on enhancing commercial strategy, deepening engagement across the advisor network, and driving forward bold initiatives that support TravelOnly’s rapid growth.
Sylvie Madore and Danièle Bouchard/Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority’s Canada office is strengthening its presence in the Quebec and Ottawa markets with the appointment of Sylvie Madore, President and CEO of La Tribu Gourmande, and Danièle Bouchard, Marketing Consultant, effective immediately. The new representation reflects ABTA’s strategic investment in the French-speaking Canadian market, with a focused mandate to grow visits to the destination, deepen travel advisor engagement, and expand consumer awareness across Quebec and Ottawa.
Madore brings extensive tourism industry expertise to the role. Passionate about travel, she began her career as a travel consultant before specializing in sales, marketing, and destination representation for tour operators, airlines, hotels, and tourism boards. Her portfolio has included representation for a range of international destinations in Canada.
Danièle Bouchard contributes more than 30 years of experience in the travel industry. As founder of Quebec-based high-end tour operator Tour Vogue, she was a pioneer in promoting premium all-inclusive packages in the 1990s and has represented luxury hotels and destinations internationally.
Travel advisors in Quebec interested in learning more about Antigua and Barbuda are encouraged to register for the destination’s specialist program or contact Sylvie Madore or Danièle Bouchard directly at [email protected] or by calling the Toronto office at 416- 975-1268.
Lesley Berry/ACTA
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors (ACTA) is pleased to announce the promotion of Lesley Berry, CTC, to Membership Manager.
She has been part of the travel and tourism industry since 2007, with a diverse background that includes experience as a travel advisor, flight attendant, hospitality and tourism instructor, and Disney specialist. Her breadth of industry knowledge provides valuable insight into the evolving needs of travel agencies and advisors across Canada.
As she approaches her three-year anniversary with ACTA, Berry continues to demonstrate the professionalism and commitment that have made her a valued member of the team since joining the organization as Membership Coordinator. Most recently, she served as Interim Manager, Meetings and Events, stepping into the role during a maternity leave and ensuring the continued success of ACTA’s international, national and regional events.
Berry’s deep understanding of the travel agency sector and her member-focused approach position her strongly to advance ACTA’s mission and support Canada’s travel advisor community.
Steven Salm/Tully Luxury Travel
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