Transat Distribution Canada Gathers Owners, Managers & Suppliers In Spain

Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) has wrapped up its National Leadership Conference (NLC), held this year in Marbella, Spain. 

The conference brought together the owners and managers of franchised and affiliated agencies in the TDC network, the managers of Transat Travel/Voyages Transat agencies, the members of the TDC leadership team and numerous preferred partners.

The venue was Club Med Magna Marbella, on the Spanish Costa del Sol. At the heart of the activities was the showcasing of TDC’s preferred partners. The conference also featured the continuation of Partners Business Reviews, meetings offered alternately with TDC Talks, as well as individual meetings with the TDC leadership team. 

 “From my discussions with our members over the last two days, I am very pleased to hear that they have found the new approach beneficial. It is an extended process that began before the NLC, and above all, for which they were able to benefit from the support offered by our executive coach Cloé Caron as well as through our TDC Playbook,” said TDC General Manager Karine Gagnon. 

“We are always looking for ways to maximize the benefits of our events for our participants. We wanted to give them even better tools, and from what we hear from the owners, this extended approach is paying off.”

In addition to the meeting led by executive coach Cloé Caron at the end of February, during which participants were able to determine the goals they wanted to achieve by participating in the NLC, everyone received their own personalized dashboard containing information about their agency’s financial and marketing performance. 

“One of the great advantages of belonging to a network like TDC is the access to a variety of support and resources. In addition to presenting their performance ratios on different aspects of their operations, we have enhanced the whole thing this year, for the first time, with an analysis of the performance of their website, their CRM and their social networks, in addition to including recommendations and strategic advice to help them optimize their digital presence and maximize their marketing impact,” Gagnon explained.

Partner business reviews were a new 2025 National Leadership Conference feature. 

“Providing time for one-on-one meetings between two business partners is an excellent investment and we are proud to offer this opportunity to our participants this year,” Gagnon said.

“These strategic discussions between our agency owners and our preferred partners are even more beneficial when they are prepared in advance, as has been the case this year. This means that each meeting is really focused on a detailed analysis of the business relationship, after which both parties leave with a clear action plan to maximize their activities together.”

The conference also enabled TDC’s preferred partners to present their global offer and new developments to all participants in plenary sessions. “This year, we have updated the way our partners present their updates, and I must say that the openness with which they have embraced our new proposal is incredible,” said Gagnon. 

“Yesterday, we had the first edition of TDC’s version of a late-night talk show ‘Beyond the Brochure,’ during which we learned more about the world of Air Canada Vacations, TravelBrands, and WestJet Vacations.” Transat and Manulife also presented later in the week.

Dianne Jackson, Director of Franchisees and Affiliates, said members were called upon to participate in the second activity offered to preferred partners: The Dragon’s Den: Travel Edition. 

“Like what we see on the TV show, each partner had to prepare a presentation to impress our dragons,” said Jackson. “And who better than two of our agency owners to act as dragons, namely Elaine Simpson, owner of Algonquin Travel & Cruise Centre TravelPlus, Sarah Crowhurst, owner of The Travel Place, TravelPlus, accompanied by Donna Glover, Support & BDM at TDC, to determine which of our preferred partners delivered the best performance.”

Gagnon said the most important preferred partner is Transat itself.

 “At the heart of all these relationships with our preferred partners, there is one partner that always stands out from the rest, Transat. It is TDC’s most important business partner, and the one that is always at the heart of our events.”

Transat’s Vice-President, Tour Operator Products & Sales Renée Boisvert presented a TDC Talk to explain how Transat’s product strategy adapts to travel trends.

From TDC’s preferred partner’s perspective, Shannon Cunningham, Manager of Leisure Sales at WestJet Vacations, expressed her appreciation: 

“Kudos to the TDC team for revitalizing the conference content. The ‘Beyond the Brochure’ activity was creative while addressing our value proposition. The one-on-one business reviews with owners and managers fostered an engaging atmosphere, beneficial for business development and action plans. Based on the feedback I received from the owners I interacted with, the entire process was viewed very positively.”