Igniting the inner athlete at TDC’s annual conference
Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) welcomed its English Canada members to its Olympic-themed, annual conference in Toronto over the weekend.
Memebeers attending the “Ignite your Inner Athlete” conference were joined by 60 preferred partners and two renowned speakers, in addition to the TDC leadership management team. In all, some 250 participants took part.
Karine Gagnon, general manager of TDC, said, in her opening remarks, that: “Like Olympic athletes, TDC travel professionals are highly trained. They know a wealth of information about products, destinations, and so on. And like top-level athletes, they have to know how to perform when it counts, i.e. when their customers are in front of them or on the other end of the phone.”
Gagnon told members that: “Like Olympians, it is crucial for travel professionals never to stop training, growing and learning. To achieve this, we must set clear objectives and find the inner motivation to keep pushing ourselves. Above all, once we’ve got all that, we need to be able to rely on the right resources to enable us to continue to grow, and these resources, like training, are on hand within the TDC network, starting with the solid programming we offered our members this weekend.”
Keynote speakers
Keynote speakers included Michael Vickers who kicked off the conference, explaining how to do some Gold Medal Selling, demonstrating that in 2024, advisors must find their distinctive value, using the five customer values. A tailor-made approach for advisors in the TDC network, where their added value is recognized and appreciated.
“It’s important to present a strong agenda, with as many moments as possible when all participants are together, to help maintain this powerful commitment that our members have to TDC, I would even dare to say almost this attachment,” said Marc Pelletier, senior director, marketing, communications, and events.
“In 2024, training is the essential backbone on which an organization must build, and since no two people have the same interests or needs, we must offer a choice, and that’s what we’ve done with our workshops on three different topics.”
Topics included How to Out-position, Out-sell, & Out-experience with keynote speaker Michael Vickers; getting to grips with luxury travel, a panel made up of agency owners and advisors specialized in luxury, who shared their expertise with their peers, a workshop developed in collaboration with Virtuoso and moderated by James Allen and finally, the TDC TikTok Challenge presented by G Adventures, combined a theoretical presentation by G Adventures’ social media specialist Michelle Dloomy, with a practical component, where participants had to put into practice what they had just learned by creating a 60-second TikTok video.
Isabelle Fontaine, who caused a sensation as conference opener last year, appeared virtually to participants on Sunday morning to wake them up with a fiery Tabata. And it was Jean-François Ménard, keynote speaker and mental coach to Olympic champions, who brought the annual conference to a close with his presentation Train your Brain like an Olympian. All participants were offered a copy of the book of the same title, written by Jean-François Ménard, to enable them to pursue their reflection in greater depth.
New features
A number of new features were offered at this year’s annual conference, namely the TDC Travel Showcase, the Spotlight Stages, and the Lunch & Learn, where partners welcome members to their table for a lunchtime chat.
“One of the main advantages of belonging to a network like ours is that TDC multiplies opportunities for reflection and networking among its owners and branch managers,” said Dianne Jackson, director of franchise and affiliate members for English Canada.
On Sept. 20, owners and managers of Marlin Travel and TravelPlus franchised agencies, as well as affiliate members were invited to the TDC Leaders Forum, a high-level brainstorming session also attended by the entire TDC leadership team.
Giovanni Di Girolamo, M.B.A., Ph.D., C.S.L. of HEC Montréal, gave a keynote on sales management, while Alain Brouillard, Transat’s Senior Financial Director, gave a keynote on how to assess the valuation of an agency.
The Toronto gathering also provided an opportunity for the members of TDCLab, a think tank made up of a dozen agency owners, to hold their third meeting of the year, this time in person.
“At TDC, the values of openness and dialogue are in our DNA. This forum for exchange between TDC’s leadership team and our owners is one of the perfect embodiments of that,” Jackson said. “We all sit down at the same table to think together and find common solutions to situations that impact the industry; these owners, all competitors in life, get together to think, find solutions, and share them with their peers. For me, that’s what the TDC network is all about.”
Sixty preferred partners took part in Toronto, including three newcomers signed up in the past year: Explora Journeys, Ponant, and Worldia.
“TDC’s close relationship with its partners is incredible; their presence at our events makes all the difference. “But more than that, the agreements negotiated with them enable TDC to be one of the networks that offers the best commissions to its members,” said Gagnon.
And a TDC annual conference would never be complete without the unmissable Saturday evening festivity, presented by Transat.
“Yes, we’re here to work, but the pleasure of celebrating together and letting loose is essential to recharge our batteries,” said Gagnon. “It’s very precious for a network to be able to count on the loyalty of its members, and in this sense, we can say that TDC is well served, with members celebrating anniversaries of longevity highlighted on Saturday evening: Mary LaRocque from Marlin Travel Peterborough: 20 years; Peggy McKnight from Marlin Travel Cambridge: 25 years; Karen Taylor from Marlin Travel Belleville: 35 years and finally John Fraser, from Marlin Travel Victoria: 40 years.”
TDC held its conference for its network members from Quebec on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15 in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
