Happy Birthday, New Wave!

When you consider what’s gone on in the past 35 years in the Canadian travel industry, clearly doing business in it for three and a half decades is more than deserving of some recognition. So, here’s a big congratulations to Toronto-based New Wave Travel which has done just that.

And it’s probably not too surprising as the business partners Gloria Pelchovitz and Norman Feferman arrived on the scene with a plan that was ahead of its time – specialize in selling luxury travel.

And from small beginnings – it launched in 1980 with a staff of two and an “office no bigger than a standard one-bedroom apartment – and over the course of 35 years, it has expanded to more than 80 employees and now operates out of a 6,000 square foot prime Bay Street location. And in 2014, New Wave opened a new chapter, becoming a division of Vision Travel Solutions.

As Pelchovitz sees it, “The past year has been a breakthrough year for New Wave because it really gave us a view into the future. Being a part of Vision Travel, we are now integrated into a wider network that gave us access to not only technological advancements, but also a larger customer base than ever before.”

Now, New Wave is continuing to expand its expertise in the luxury travel sector to include scaled-up meetings and incentives offerings and corporate travel services.

Vision’s vice-president of leisure travel, Lynda Sinclair notes that: “New Wave’s longevity is testament to their depth of expertise within the luxury travel sector. As we look into the future, this division plays a key role in our continued growth, and we are very proud to have them as part of the Vision family.”

As for Pelchovitz, she attributes New Wave Travel’s success to their immense love for travel. Herself a prolific traveller, Pelchovitz has visited nearly every country in the world multiple times over, but each time, she discovers something new.

“I have been to Israel over a hundred times, but each time, I learn something I never knew before,” says Pelchovitz. “Booking travel for our clients also allows us to experience and explore an exotic destination through their eyes. I find that tremendously exciting, and it never gets old.”

Seen in the photo, from l to r, are Gloria Pelchovitz and Norman Feferman.