Travel Women We Love: ACTA’s Wendy Paradis

It was a high school trip to the UK that sparked Wendy Paradis’ passion for travel, which lead to 40 years in the industry.

“I was very lucky that in high school that a friend of mine invited me to the UK for the summer when I was 15. It was my very first flight and trip outside of Canada, besides Florida,” she told Travel Market Report Canada in an interview earlier this spring after she announced her upcoming retirement from ACTA.

“That is when I fell in love with travel, and not only about the travel experiences, but the whole industry, going to the travel agency, booking our flights, showing up to the airport the check-in agents, the flight attendants and the pilot, and then arriving in this new country. I was in awe of all the careers I saw, and I thought at 15, I really want to see this as part of my future.”

Paradis says the icing on the cake was when her friend’s parents took them to Paris for our 16th birthdays.

“That was it. I came home, I started researching careers in the travel industry and at 16, I decided to become a Travel Advisor. I went to college, started working, and then my career just took off from there.”

Since those early days after becoming a travel advisor, Paradis has been a travel manager, Regional Director, and Vice President with notable brands like Eatons Travel, Thomas Cook, CAA and Marlin Travel gaining experience in both leisure and corporate travel.

But it was a college instructor that steered her down a different educational path, one that would eventually be a big asset to her career at ACTA.

“We had a college instructor named Gillian Snook, and she really made a difference in my career. I had finished my first year of college and I told her I didn’t think this education was quite what I was looking for; I was more interested in how the world works including international policy and politics.

She advised me to finish my college program and go to business school. It was fantastic advice, because I ended up finishing college and going to Western University where I focused on business, international politics and public administration. That is directly linked into my advocacy work here at ACTA.”

All of that added strength to my knowledge, career and critical thinking. It’s amazing how you think you’re going left, and then you think you want to go right and how it all adds to your life journey and career. That advice from my college instructor really made a difference.”

When news of Paradis’ retirement was announced in March, you could almost feel the mixed reaction; there was a celebratory vibe on a well-deserved retirement, but there was also a sense of trepidation in the ACTA community.  After all, she led advisors through the pandemic, intensely advocating on their behalf and for changes to commission structures.

With the current Canada and US polarizing policies, many are wondering what lies ahead for advisor advocation, and will it be as strong as it was under Paradis?

“I will say that that I’m leaving ACTA in strong hands. The team is very experienced and tremendously dedicated to the success of our members. We have Avery Campbell leading advocacy who is knowledgeable about the current government issues and the potential impacts on our industry. I do feel that that ACTA is in a really great place to continue to lead in advocacy and education, and the team, our advisory groups and the National Board of Directors are excellent and fully engaged.”

So, what does retirement look like for Paradis?

“I certainly would like to relax a little bit and then continue to travel the world. One of my my key goals is to spend more time with my husband, who’s already retired and my adult children. I love travel and want to be able to travel more on a personal and leisurely basis.

“I do see myself helping out with some future business projects, and I’d like more free time to explore new things that I love.

Of course, behind the scenes should the travel industry need my assistance, I’ll definitely be there in the background helping out.”