In conversation with Travel Courier, TTC Tour Brands’ SVP of Sales, North America, Whitney Ramirez talks about the power of #ONE, explaining: “We have #ONE shared mission for success with our travel advisor partners, which is to maximize their earning potential. With #ONE portfolio of six unique brands – from luxury to budget tours and everything in between – advisors can go to one supplier for all their tour clients, earning bigger commissions and unlocking free personal travel faster.”
What is the power of #ONE? And does this all-in-one approach involve sales, reservation and marketing support; contact or call centre support; a new agency platform? What are its main features?
At TTC Tour Brands, we provide a roadmap for travel advisors that empower them to take their business to the next level by positively impacting their financial success. How? By becoming their #ONE Ultimate Partner in the tour space. With over 750 worldwide tours across our six distinct brands – Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Brendan Vacations, Trafalgar, Costsaver and Contiki – we have tours for any and every one – literally.
We have #ONE shared mission for success with our travel advisor partners, which is to maximize their earning potential. With #ONE portfolio of six unique brands – from luxury to budget tours and everything in between – advisors can go to one supplier for all their tour clients, earning bigger commissions and unlocking free personal travel faster. By focusing on #ONE booking at a time, #ONE step at a time, they can earn $75,000 with their TTC Tour Brands commission.
For travel advisors, what are the benefits of TTC Tour Brands power of #ONE approach? Will it help them be more efficient? Will they be able to earn more money?
There are numerous benefits available for travel advisors who work with TTC Tour Brands. Time is money and we want to save an advisor’s time and help them earn more money by delivering unparalleled support through #ONE unified team for sales, reservations and marketing across our six brands; #ONE place to book with our streamlined Travel Advisor Portal (TAP) and #ONE 24/7 contact centre. This all-in-one approach simplifies the booking process, enhances customer service and empowers advisors to deliver unforgettable travel experiences to their clients. With TTC Tour Brands, travel advisors have everything they need to succeed – all in #ONE place.
It is truly a “win-win” for travel advisors and their clients by continuing to book with TTC Tour Brands again and again – from increased commissions to rewarding clients with loyalty savings as part of our Global Tour Rewards Program.
Canadian travel advisors have an incredible opportunity to earn $75,000 with their TTC Tour Brands commission, by booking one couple each week across any of our six brands, which translates into over 100 guests for the year. With an average booking value of CAD$4,810 and an average commission of 15%, a single advisor can earn over $75,000 in 2025. That’s the power of #ONE!
TTC Tour Brands offers a wide range of products and programs covering an array of distinct market segments. Can you talk about some of the trends that you’re seeing in these market segments? What’s going on in the multi-day, family, solo travel and other segments of the market?
Across our open-age brands (Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Brendan Vacations, Trafalgar and Costsaver), we’re seeing a huge uptick in group bookings, with a 9.5 per cent increase in 2025 over 2024.
A group with TTC Tour Brands is considered to be a booking with just three or more guests – a very achievable number indeed. Small social groups are just one way for Canadian travel advisors to increase their sales with TTC Tour Brands, with more and more advisors discovering this.
At the same time, solo travel continues to be a core demographic across our six tour brands. That’s not surprising since touring inherently fosters personal connections with like-minded travellers, something that we’re all still craving almost five years after the pandemic.
More specifically, our data show that searches for “solo travel for women” are up by 36 per cent year over year. That demand aligns perfectly with our new Insight Vacations’ “Women-Only” tours that debut in 2025. It’s a collection of small, women-only groups across 11 expertly-curated itineraries that span the world from South America to North Africa, all including a memorable MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.
In terms of trending destinations, our “Best of Italy” itinerary with Trafalgar is one of our most popular tours, and rightly so. It’s a wonderful 13-day sightseeing tour of Italy, from the ancient treasures of Rome to Renaissance Florence and everything in between, with some unforgettable ‘Be My Guest’ and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences also included.
Japan is especially sought-after by our Luxury Gold guests with our “Majestic Japan” tour, another in-demand itinerary. Think 11 days, 8 cities and countless memories to be made while experiencing the majesty and mystery of Japan. With an average of 18 people on tour, all Luxury Gold guests enjoy the finest end to end experience on the world’s leading limited edition small group tours.
What about the new Travel Advisor portal? What are some of the features and some of the benefits that it offers Canadian advisors? How do they sign up for it?
We are so pleased at how well Canadian advisors have responded to our revamped Travel Advisor Portal – or as we like to call it, TAP – since it’s such a fantastic online resource, available 24/7 at their convenience.
They can use it to book itineraries (including flights and insurance), pre- and post-nights, pre-paid gratuities and discounts for each client’s booking. Travel advisors can also download itineraries and invoices, make additional payments, find transfer details and even complete a client’s registration on their behalf.
TAP offers easy access to their local TTC Tour Brands Sales Manager, as well as the most current deals and promotions for each of our six touring brands right at their fingertips.
A range of educational opportunities exist on the Travel Advisor Portal as well – everything from our TTC Tour Brands’ Masterclass series to upcoming FAMs, webinars and events – for advisors who want to increase their brand knowledge.
For those advisors who haven’t yet signed up for TAP, I encourage them to visit agents.ttc.com and register to receive their own personal username and password – and that’s it. They’re on their way to “tapping” into a wealth of information, resources, services and more on TTC Tour Brands.
A more general question. Can you talk a bit about the importance of the Canadian market to TTC Tour Brands? What’s selling in Canada? What is your forecast for the Canadian market in 2025?
TTC Tour Brands is 100 per cent committed to the Canadian market and it remains a key focus for us. In addition to our dedicated, talented team of Sales Managers based across the country in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax, the TTC Tour Brands office in Toronto is a vital part of our North American operations, supporting Canadian travel advisors on a daily basis.
Portugal and Spain are very hot right now with our Canadian guests. They are really enjoying these captivating countries rich in history, culture and cuisine across several of our tour brands including Trafalgar and Luxury Gold. Britain, Ireland and Scotland are always popular with Canadian guests…many of whom are exploring their family heritage and are turning to the Celtic travel experts at Brendan Vacations to help them along the way.
So, where do Canadian travel advisors fit in TTC Tour Brands plans? What’s their role?
Canadian travel advisors are incredibly important to us. We value their input and regularly incorporate their feedback (both positive and negative) into our own internal planning and strategy sessions, so we can better serve and support their businesses.
Last fall, we hosted our inaugural ‘TTC Tour Brands Advisor Alliance’ event in Alberta. We spent a week listening to and learning from a select group of 20 travel advisors from Canada (and the United States) to collaborate on everything from our marketing initiatives to our technology touch points. But of course, we’re always conducting regular focus groups with our Canadian travel advisors throughout the year, in order to get real-time insights into the successes and challenges they’re facing on the front line of the travel industry.
