“I can’t wait”: Travel advisors gear up for ACTA’s conference in The Azores

If residents of The Azores feel the earth shake on Tuesday (Nov. 19), it’s because 150 excited travel advisors will be arriving from Canada.

The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors’ (ACTA’s) first international destination conference (well, the first one in several years) kicks off late Monday (Nov. 18) as Canadian travel advisors fly to The Azores for a week of fun and learning.

Taking place Nov. 18-25 on two of The Azores’ islands—São Miguel and Terceira—the ACTA International Destination Conference was designed to give agents an exclusive opportunity to connect with local providers, improve their product knowledge, and develop their social media and business-building skills.

PAX is among the esteemed trade media outlets covering the action-packed conference, which is presented in partnership with Visit Azores, Visit Portugal and SATA Azores Airlines. 

Along with advocacy, another core pillar at ACTA is travel advisor education and professional development, noted Wendy Paradis, ACTA’s president, in an email to PAX on Sunday (Nov. 17).

“Building knowledge through experiential learning and networking with a large and diverse group of travel advisor peers is an incredibly powerful business building opportunity for ACTA travel advisor members,” Paradis said.

All eyes on The Azores

Why The Azores? I mean, why not?

An autonomous region of Portugal, The Azores form a volcanic archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, some 1,400 km east of Cape Roca on mainland Portugal.

It’s a geographically stunning destination. The Azores, a group of nine islands, rise from the ocean atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, forming a major mountain range.

The islands are characterized by otherworldly beauty, fishing villages, exotic marine life, green pastures and hedgerows of blue hydrangeas.

São Miguel, the largest island (and one of our stops) is known for its lake-filled calderas (depressions in the ground that form after a volcano's magma chamber empties during a large eruption), and the Gorreana Tea Plantation.

Paradis said The Azores was chosen to host ACTA’s conference because it provides “unique experiences that travel advisors and their clients may not have experienced.”

The destination also has a “tremendous growth opportunity from the Canadian market,” she said. (The flight, from Toronto to São Miguel, is just under six hours).

“We love The Azores because of its unique attributes including beautiful scenery, richness in culture, the variety of traveller activities available, and the commitment to sustainable tourism,” Paradis said. “The proximity to Canada and direct air lift is also a huge bonus.”

In a statement to PAX, Ines Almeida Garrett, Visit Portugal’s director in Canada, said her team is “very proud” to host ACTA’s conference in The Azores, calling it “a great opportunity” to highlight the destination and give travel pros a chance to immerse themselves in stunning landscapes and rich culture.

“We hope to show The Azores as an amazing tourism destination, promote sustainable tourism, and provide networking opportunities for travel advisors,” Almeida Garrett said, adding that she is “very passionate” about The Azores.

“I can name a few reasons [why], like the landscapes, wildlife, culture, heritage, the connection you feel with nature and the warm hospitality of the islands that really help me to disconnect and recharge!” she said. “I can only hope that everyone travelling with us this week experiences the same.”

Start your engines

The teams have put together a jam-packed agenda.

Participants will board a SATA Azores Airlines flight tonight at Toronto Pearson airport and arrive in São Miguel early Tuesday morning.

Agents will be divided into groups as they shuttle off to their respective hotels and prepare for a day of walking tours around town.

The conference portion of the trip will unfold on Wednesday and Thursday morning with supplier presentations, panel discussions and business meetings. The program’s keynote speaker is Andrew Jenkins, CEO of Volterra, who’ll discuss ways to deliver value with social media.

In the afternoons, agents will unpack The Azores. We’ll visit places like Sete Cidades, twin blue-and-green lakes – “one of seven natural wonders of Portugal” – that are situated in the crater of a dormant volcano, and go whale watching.

Later in the week, participants will visit Furnas Valley, located at the centre of São Miguel's geothermal activity, known for its hot springs, and enjoy idyllic Terra Nostra Park.

By the weekend, we’ll be jetting over to Terceira Island (which sits at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital city Lisbon), to tour the historic city of Angra do Heroísmo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and explore other sites, like the municipality of Praia da Vitória, Natal Cave, a wine museum and vineyards.

And, of course, there’s some dance-till-you-drop themes parties on the itinerary, including a “Black and Gold Masquerade Ball” and an “Azores Islands Colour Party.”

Excited? Hell ya!

Travel advisor Mike Allard of Mallard Travel with Trevello Travel Group can’t wait to get started.  

“Am I excited?  Like the Drake song, hell ya!” Allard told PAX.

“It may be a cliché, but I am honoured for this unique opportunity to be among the 150 agents from across Canada to discover the beautiful Azores. Mainland Portugal was among my best sellers over the past year and getting to see the natural beauty of The Azores, in person, is a bucket list adventure for me.”

“The Azores won Best Adventure Destination [at the World Travel Awards] last year and I can’t wait to see why!”

Everything about The Azores “looks fascinating,” Allard went on to say, from the food to the culture to the natural beauty.

“The pride of the people is wonderful and I can’t wait to experience that firsthand. All of the partners have done a fabulous job in getting this organized,” he said.

ACTA’s help in creating hands-on learning tours is also impressive, he said.

“One of ACTA’s key mandates is empowering Canadian travel advisors, and this unique destination experience is more proof of putting words into action,” he said.

A world of possibilities

Aaron Baynton of Wired For Travel with The Travel Agent Next Door is also eager to get going.

“There’s no greater asset to an advisor than authentic first-hand experience in-destination,” he said. “When I saw that ACTA and the local tourism authorities had crafted this FAM, brimming with experience, culture, and gastronomy, I knew it was an opportunity I could not pass up.”  

“Collecting new knowledge and assets to confidently market The Azores is only going to keep me ahead of what’s on trend and give me a whole new world of possibility to explore with my clients and budding group business.”

Once you go, you know

Travel advisor Cynthia Davidson, the face of a new brand, Rivers, Oceans and Expeditions (formerly Beaches & Beyond), is always looking to experience places that are different – places that people have never heard of, or have ever considered.

“The Azores, in my opinion, is one of those destinations!” Davidson said. “I’m surprised by the many ‘Where’s that?’ responses from many clients that have asked me where I’m going next.”

Davidson said she has recently had a few inquiries about The Azores – “but I have yet to close a sale,” she said.

The upcoming ACTA trip will make selling The Azores “so much easier and give me more confidence because once you go, you know,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to meeting the suppliers that can help me with those sales, too!”

She added that she’s thrilled to be part of an international conference hosted by ACTA.

“I’ve been an ACTA member for years and never looked at them much for training,” she said. “This will be a great opportunity to start building an amazing relationship with the team.”

Stay tuned for PAX's on-the-ground coverage from ACTA's conference in The Azores! 

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