Melissa DaSilva: Why TTC Tour Brands is Putting its Power Behind Trafalgar

When TTC Tour Brands announced it would bring Insight Vacations and Costsaver under the Trafalgar banner, it represented a dramatic change for three brands with decades of history.

But according to TTC Tour Brands Deputy CEO and Chief Sales Officer Melissa DaSilva, the decision wasn’t made quickly — and the goal isn’t to eliminate the differences between the products. It’s to eliminate complexity for travel advisors and their clients.

Before committing to the changes, the company spent months researching both the potential benefits and risks, including extensive conversations with travel advisor partners.

“We were understanding the complexities for them, the friction points, and how we might make life a little bit easier for them by simplifying,” DaSilva told Travel Market Report Canada.

Reducing the Sales Burden

For DaSilva, one of the clearest benefits becomes apparent when an advisor is sitting across from a client.

Under the current structure, an advisor might establish Trafalgar as the right brand, explain its benefits and build the client’s confidence — only to discover the desired trip is sold out, too expensive or doesn’t offer the more upscale experience wanted for a special occasion.

The advisor then has to start selling again. “They’d have to say, ‘I know I just told you all about this brand Trafalgar, but now let me tell you about Insight Vacations,’” DaSilva said.

“What we want to do is just remove that layer of complexity out of it, so that you still have the full range of product available, but without having to sort of go between brands.”

TTC’s research also found that advisors were often effectively using the three brands as proxies for price. Bringing them together as Trafalgar Saver, Classic and Premium makes that distinction more explicit.

DaSilva believes the new approach should be particularly helpful to advisors who are newer to the industry.

“You only learn one brand. You know that we’ve got all of this product that’s available across the globe, different travel styles, different tiers.”

Why Trafalgar Became the ‘Power Brand’

The consolidation raises an obvious question: Why Trafalgar? DaSilva says it came down largely to scale and recognition.

“Insight doesn’t have the same brand awareness as Trafalgar, which is why we went with the Trafalgar brand,” she said. “It’s got the largest brand awareness. It’s got the largest advisor community. It’s got the most past travellers, and so that’s the brand that we’re sort of putting the power behind.”

That doesn’t mean TTC intends to erase the product differences it has spent years developing.

“The product has to be different,” DaSilva stressed. “A premium product must be different than a non-premium or Classic product, which has to be different from the more budget or Saver product.”

She says TTC has done a particularly strong job over the past decade of differentiating the Insight Vacations experience from Trafalgar. Those elevated hotels, dining and experiences aren’t going away simply because the Insight name eventually will.

“We want to make sure we keep those unique experiences on either end of the spectrum of the product.”

Insight & Costsaver Won’t Vanish Overnight

DaSilva also clarified that the two familiar names aren’t going to abruptly disappear.

During 2027, existing departures will transition into the new structure, with guests who originally booked Insight or Costsaver potentially travelling alongside guests who booked the equivalent Trafalgar Premium or Saver product.

DaSilva says the transition to operation fully under Trafalgar will likely take place in 2028 or 2029, depending in part on how quickly the trade becomes comfortable with the new structure.

DaSilva says the consolidation also gives TTC an opportunity to sharpen what the Saver tier represents.

“Costsaver had a bit of a — it didn’t know what it was,” she said. “This has given us an opportunity to really reset it and say this is what the budget or Saver product really stands for.”

Small Groups Surging

The broader Trafalgar strategy goes well beyond reorganizing three coach tour brands.

The company wants Trafalgar to become a brand customers can stay with as their travel preferences change — moving between traditional tours, small groups, river cruises and rail journeys, as well as between different price points.

DaSilva says TTC’s expansion into small-group touring is already producing impressive results.

Small-group sales on Insight product are up by approximately 37% to 38%, she said, while the newer Trafalgar small-group offering is already outpacing Insight’s small-group tours despite launching a month later.

“We’re super excited about that,” DaSilva said. “Definitely, we have found a need in the market for our clients and for clients that are looking for that product.”

River cruising is another piece of the strategy, with DaSilva describing Trafalgar River’s first year as “hugely successful.”

Next up is a stronger push into rail. Trafalgar already has several itineraries where more than half of transportation is by train. TTC plans to use those as a foundation for a broader rail portfolio.

“We really feel as though that is another hugely growing market that we need to be tapping into a whole lot earlier,” DaSilva said.

“We know we’re late to the game for small groups. We don’t want to be late for rail.”

The Goal: Customers for Life

Ultimately, the strategy is as much about customer retention as simplification.

A traveller who loves Trafalgar might not want another guided coach tour on their next vacation. They may want a river cruise, a smaller group, a rail journey or a more premium experience for an anniversary or milestone.

TTC wants that traveller to have an answer to those needs without leaving Trafalgar — and DaSilva believes that creates an opportunity for advisors, too.

“We want to make sure that we’re keeping those people within our ecosystem when they come back and travel,” she said.

“We know they don’t take a tour every year. Sometimes they want to take a river cruise. Sometimes they want to go by train.”

By expanding the choices beneath one recognizable name, DaSilva says advisors have a better chance to “capture more of that share of wallet within the Trafalgar brand.”

Coming Next: Big Changes at Contiki 

TTC isn’t finished with its brand work. Contiki remains part of the company’s touring division, and DaSilva revealed that the youth-focused brand is currently undergoing a significant rebrand that will be unveiled in October.

“I don’t want to spill any beans, but they’re undergoing a massive rebrand right now,” she said. “It is extremely exciting,” she said. “I started with Contiki, and I can tell you it gives me goosebumps.”