TTAND wraps up ‘Breaking Barriers Together’ 2023 conference with a few surprises

By Vawn Himmelsbach

CANCUN — Vicky Young had been working at Flight Centre for 15 years, up until the pandemic, when she was among the many agents who were let go when storefronts locked down or shut down.

When considering her options, she did her due diligence, speaking to five or six host agencies to find the right fit. “I had a beautiful spreadsheet,” she told Travelweek at The Travel Agent Next Door’s annual conference, held at the Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres.

Young joined TTAND in January 2021. “My clients found me, so it was an easy transition to get back into my

People

business, back to my happy place.”

This was also her first TTAND conference, the largest gathering of independent home-based agents held outside of Canada, with some 240 travel agents and 67 suppliers (from 42 companies) in attendance.

“Probably the biggest thing for me was the opportunity to network with suppliers - having this many suppliers come and want to be part of this also speaks to TTAND’s status within the host agency community,” said Young.

Andrew Dyer is Navigatr Group’s new EVP, Travel Partner Relations

Navigatr Group has appointed Andrew Dyer as its new Executive Vice President of Travel Partner Relations.

Dyer, who comes to the team from Expedia Group, will work with partners across all Navigatr brands to enhance long-term relationships with partners. While leading this brand new division of Navigatr Central Services, Dyer will source supplier inventories across all verticals such as air, hotel, cruise, car rental, insurance and tours & activities.

Navigatr Group includes several travel brands, including Kensington Tours, Travel Edge Network, Travel Edge, Ensemble and TripArc, a travel technology company.

In moving the procurement role and responsibilities from TripArc to Navigatr with the creation of this new position, TripArc will now focus solely on driving Navigatr’s proprietary travel technology platforms, including achieving improved revenue outcomes for its advisors who book travel on its platforms. This includes its proprietary technology and booking platform, ADX (Agent Digital Experience).

She was also surprised - and delighted - when she was called to the stage during TTAND’s supplier awards, when she received the award for ‘Rising Star’ from G Adventures (Chen Ye was awarded G’s top producing agent). The Rising Star awards recognize the hard work and achievement of TTAND agents and agencies by suppliers.

The award was handed out by David Green, G Adventures’ VP of sales and customer operations and managing director for Canada. Green later surprised the audience of travel agents when next year’s conference location was announced.

AND THE 2024 CONFERENCE LOCATION IS…

Aside from adding to (and refining) its list of preferred suppliers, TTAND is also aiming to bring on more tourism boards, one of which is the Jordan Tourism Board.

Green took the stage with Omar Banihani, Jordan Tourism Board’s director of marketing for Canada, to announce that next year’s TTAND conference will take place in Jordan, in partnership with G Adventures. This will also be a celebration of TTAND’s 10-year anniversary.

In June 2024, participating agents will be transported to Amman via a private Royal Jordanian Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Perks will include a private dinner by candlelight at Petra