Temporary footballing rivalry aside, it’s commonly known that Aussies have a strong affection for Canada (way beyond its delicious maple syrup). Indeed, this fondness for all things Canada extends to travel to the country.
With this in mind, the Viva Holidays Canada Roadshow hit the Australian east coast last week, showcasing the best of Canada to the travel trade in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Supported by Destination Canada, the Viva Holidays Canada roadshow promoted a wide range of travel styles including FIT, touring, groups, cruise and rail.
“Viva Holidays along with Destination Canada are proud to have delivered the Canada Roadshow, with over 400 travel agents attending across the three events,” Viva Holidays General Manager of Sales, Steve Brady told Karryon.
“Viva Holidays has always played a key role in upskilling agents and adding value to our agency relationships.
“Along with our comprehensive brochure range, trade and consumer marketing activity and sales tools for agents, events like these help ensure agents are equipped to sell Canada and deliver exceptional holidays for their clients.”
Panels and polar bears
Along with plenty of networking, the events featured panel discussions with Yas Yamamoto from Tourism Yukon, Joanne Motta (Tourism BC), Lizzie Doyle (Team Alberta), Melanie Swenarchuk (Travel Manitoba), Megan Nelson (Destination Vancouver), and Sonya Stevenson (Destination Ontario).
Meanwhile, Polar Bears International’s Alysa McCall gave some inspiring talks as the events’ guest speaker, discussing Polar Bear conservation. Read more about Alysa and her work here.
According to Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) Marketing Manager Nathan McLoughlin, Canadian delegates were “really impressed with how engaged the agents were at the agent events”, with many of the tourism organisations and suppliers making the trip over from Canada to be part of the roadshow.
“A lot of the Canadians have been coming down for years. And I got numerous comments from them that this is the most engaged they’ve seen the travel agents,” he told Karryon.
Off the back of the roadshow, Viva Holidays has launched a four-week Destination Canada Campaign filled with products and itineraries from suppliers who attended the roadshow to drive enquiries to agents.
How to win (even if you weren’t there)
As well as being highly informative, the events also gave agents the chance to win a variety of prizes. And for those who didn’t win, there’s still a chance to score a place on the Destination Canada 2024 Famil. The highest seller of Viva Holidays Canada product during the campaign period will win the coveted spot.
The roadshow was held at the Crown Conference Centre (Melbourne), Blackbird Bar (Brisbane), and Dining & Events at the Intercontinental Hotel Sydney.
Suppliers in attendance included:
- Viva Holidays & Ultimate Journeys by Viva Holidays
- Cruise Co
- Destination Canada
- Air Canada
- Travel Manitoba
- Destination Vancouver
- Tourism Yukon
- Destination British Columbia
- Team Alberta (Tourism Organisations from Jasper, Calgary, Banff & Lake Louise)
- Destination Ontario
- Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
- Grouse Mountain
- VIA Rail
- Discover Banff Tours
- Destination Greater Victoria
- Grouse Mountain
- Holland America Line
- Princess Cruises
- Intrepid
