'Tis the season: Alberta BDMs spread holiday cheer in Calgary & Edmonton, support food banks

The tradition continues.

Travel agencies in Alberta were treated to festive greetings this week as sales and business development managers in the province got together, donning Santa hats, Christmas sweaters and festive glasses, to spread some holiday cheer.

The annual holiday drop-in has taken place for more than 15 years now. This year’s group landed in Edmonton on Dec. 13 and in Calgary on Dec. 16.

Calgary, particular, welcomed its largest contigent yet, with 20 sales representatives showing up to participate.

In each city, reps travelled by bus, arriving at travel agencies with treats, and singing carols, to thank businesses for their support.

Organizer Jodine Clement, a sales manager with TTC Tour Brands, noted how the annual carolling crawl started in Calgary, and has since spread to other regions in Canada.

Earlier this month, sales reps in British Columbia held a similar carolling event for travel agencies in Lower Mainland and Greater Vancouver. 

“It is so nice to see other regions following suit and spreading the Christmas cheer in their regions,” Clement told PAX.

This year’s carolling event, notably, returned to Edmonton after a hiatus.

“It was great to be back,” Clement said. “It is always such a fun day to spread some cheer and appreciation to the agent community in both Edmonton and Calgary. It is also a great time to put the competition aside and spend the day together with other sales managers and BDMs.”   

Supporting local food banks

The day is also an opportunity to support communities. Donations to Edmonton and Calgary's food banks were collected along the way, capturing the spirit of giving. In total, $580 in cash and gift cards, along with more than 300 pounds of food, was donated during the two-day blitz.

The group would like to thank the following agencies for their generous cash/gift card and food donations:

• Maritime Edmonton
• NewWest Travel
• Algonquin Travel Sherwood Park
• Paull Travel
• Travel Gurus YEG
• Transat Travel Sherwood Park
• Expedia South Edmonton
• Expedia Sherwood Park
• South Travel
• Marlin Midnapore
• TierOne Travel
• Expedia Cruises Aspen Calgary
• Expedia Cruises Fish Creek
• Direct Travel Calgary

Many suppliers participated. Here’s a list of everyone who signed up:  

• TravelBrands (Farole Kikkert)
• Manulife (Judy Bunkall, Sharon Kramer)
• Iberostar (Jason Gignac)
• Collette (Brad Gibson)
• Carnival Cruise (Joel Danyluk)
• G Adventures (Ana Santa Maria)
• Royal Caribbean (Jeff Carpenter)
• CIE (Jennifer Bond)
• Exodus Travels (Rino Falvo and Cassandra Harrison)
• Expedia TAAP (Krista Peet)
• Exoticca (Sharon Wilson)
• Ratehawk (Keltie Gilmar, Kelsey Harper)
• TTC Tour Brands (Jodine Clement)
• WestJet (Irene Wong)
• Krystal Resorts (Sonia Machado)
• Sandals and Beaches Resorts (Jordan McGrowder)
• Sunwing (Heather Gerrard)
• Globus (Leslie Schaff)
• Air Canada Vacations (Suzanne Morgan)
• Sandos (Emily Spadafora)

Finally, a little poem, entitled “A Christmas Journey Around the World,” was written for agents. You can read it here. 

The holiday season is finally here,

And travel dreams are drawing near.

ACV brings joy with every flight

Avalon cruises through the starry night.

Manulife’s plans keep you safe and sound,

While Iberostar resorts are where joy is found.

Collette’s tours take you far and wide,

And Carnival’s cruises are a holiday ride

CIE takes you on tours so grand,

While Exodus journeys cross the land.

Exoticca’s wonders, a world to explore,

Expedia’s deals open every door.

G Adventures leads you to places untold,

And Sandos resorts shine like pure gold.

Ratehawk’s choices are always right,

Royal Caribbean sails throughout the night.

Krystal hotels welcome you with open arms,

And Sandals Resorts holds tropical charms.

Travel Brands brings special deals for you,

The Travel Corporation makes dreams come true.

WestJet’s wings take you far and wide,

As we all come together with joy and pride.

To agents, thanks for all you do,

We couldn’t do it without you.

So here’s to a season of travels and cheer,

Wishing you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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