travelbrands unveils 'Your Window to the world' brand image
Ask Nathalie Tanious if there have been any surprises in 2026 and she’ll laugh and then laugh some more.
“You want more? You mean after Cuba, after PVR, after the Middle East,” asks the President & CEO of H.I.S. Canada Travel Inc., parent company of travelbrands.
Okay, badly asked, admittedly. So, more to the point: Are there any positive surprises of note so far in 2026?
“I’m going to tell you something ironic,” Tanious began. “What we found is that when all this was happening in February and March, we saw a really big pick up in cruise sales and we’re starting to see a pick-up in U.S. sales [and] I’m cautiously optimistic on that one.”
Tanious also praised the travelbrands team and their efforts, telling Travel Courier: “A year and a half ago, we had to pivot from the U.S. as many Canadians wanted to get away from the U.S. Then we all know what happened with Cuba, unfortunately. Now we know what’s going on with the Middle East and everything in between, but the plethora of products we put out there is allowing us to pivot and to be able to help the travel agents with other products that they can sell and promote.”
As an example, Tanious said that: “Last year when we saw a lot of Snowbirds not wanting to go to Florida; not wanting to go to Arizona – we put a very big focus on our Spain and Portugal long stays through our Exotik Journeys division and that went extremely well for us and for the travel professionals.”
And she said: “We continue to offer cruises and we offer cruises – we have close to 20 partners today — there’s so much tonnage out there. There’s so much product, [so many] itineraries that cruises continue to be a very strong driver.”
Now as most of you know, travelbrands has a lot of brands and a couple of weeks ago, they invited a little over 200 of their suppliers and travel advisors to join them in a celebration of those brands, billing the evening as a celebration of 145 years of travel.
It was an opportunity for the company to remind everyone attending of the company’s history and some of the iconic brands that it shelters under the travelbrands umbrella.
Consider Holiday House and Fun Sun, classic Canadian travel brands which were established in 1956 (70 years ago) or Intair which launched in 1986 (40 years ago) or Encore Cruises which set sail in 1991(35 years ago) and when you total all of those years up, you’ll get 145.
Each of those companies carved out their own unique path. Each of those individual brands built their own legacy and their own following as they encouraged Canadians to explore the world.
The company’s new brand image – travelbrands Your Window to the World – is built around its philosophy of Change & Create – change with purpose, create with passion – and the rebrand reflects a modern, global, connected, and inspiring organization backed by the global strength and vision of its parent company, H.I.S.
But it’s more than a visual transformation. The new identity reinforces travelbrands’ position as a leading travel ecosystem designed to support both travel advisors and Canadian travellers alike.
Sam Youssef, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Partnerships, travelbrands, explained that: “At its core, this rebrand is about creating a stronger emotional connection to travel.”
And Youssef continued: “We wanted our brand to better reflect the inspiration, energy, and global possibilities that travel represents today. ‘Your Window to the World’ captures that vision — a more modern and unified expression of who we are, the experiences we help create, and the future we continue to build alongside travel advisors and travellers alike.”
He pointed to the company’s extensive inventory of 2 million hotels, 85 airlines, over 20 cruise lines and more than 10 car rental companies that are all brought together in “one travel ecosystem,” that delivers to travel advisors all the product, services and technology that they need to help their clients discover the world.
In fact, Youssef said: “The evolution of the travelbrands’ brand is encouraging Canadians to dream bigger and to discover more of the world,” adding that: “Our new identity reflects who we are today and where we’re going tomorrow.”
As Tanious will point out there’s a lot to see out of that Window to the World that travelbrands has opened, telling TC: “Let’s face it, it’s all about diversity and, god knows, we have it all — whether you’re looking for air consolidation, cruise, FIT, dynamic packaging and everything in between it — we offer it.”
And she continued that what has made travelbrands different is: “… the diversity of the product line. The focus on customer service and its technology. It’s really the combination of the three.”
Tanious observed: “We’ve evolved into a far more connected and dynamic business, and our brand needed to evolve with us,” explaining that: “This rebrand reflects both the scale of what we offer today and the future vision we have for travelbrands as we continue expanding and innovating within the travel space.”
And while travelbrands has gone through a lot of changes over the years, Tanious is quick to tell TC that: “Travel agents are our number one focus,” continuing that “because of them, we’re here today. Our success is thanks to them, and we still think we can bring something to the table to help them sell.”
As for her message to advisors, Tanious said: “Stay strong. We’re a resilient group of people and, you know what, this is a cycle and we’re going to get through it because there are so many beautiful destinations out there and I want to believe that Canadians will continue to travel.”
