TravelBrands wows 750+ advisors in T.O. with tech, tools & “change & create” vision

The Toronto Maple Leafs were up against the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Blue Jays were duking it out with the New York Yankees.

But TravelBrands’ 2025 Agent Appreciation event was (arguably) the hottest ticket in town Wednesday night (Oct. 8).

At least according to the more than 750 travel advisors and 100 suppliers who gathered in north Toronto (in Vaughan) to fill the halls of the Universal Event Space, where the TravelBrands team, as part of the H.I.S. Group, showcased its latest tools and tech while reaffirming its commitment to supporting the travel trade.

As a stack of lit-up oversized letters, reading #TRAVELBRANDSLOVESTRAVELAGENTS, glowed at the venue’s entrance, attendees, treated to food and drink upon arrival, spent the night mingling at a trade show, which included live demos of TravelBrands’ air consolidation system, GiGi, and Access+ platform.

As previously reported, technology takes centre stage at this year’s multi-city roadshow, which kicked off in Vancouver on Monday.

The theme of the series, which concludes in Montreal tonight (Oct. 9), is “Change and Create” — a fitting reflection of the travel industry’s constant evolution.

“The travel industry is all about changing and creating. It's all about dreams and about selling travel. Luckily, it's a sexier product to sell than anything else,” said Nathalie Tanious, president and CEO of H.I.S. Canada Travel Inc., parent company of TravelBrands, who spoke to PAX last week before the roadshow started.

“One partner, all services”

TravelBrands is leveraging its relationship with its Japan-based parent H.I.S., which acquired the company in 2019, to give agents access to a worldwide inventory of products.

Nearly a dozen members from H.I.S.’s global team joined TravelBrands on the road this week to demonstrate its global reach in 70 countries, which is supported by 500 branches and more than 17,000 employees.

H.I.S. brings a “one partner, all services” approach to selling travel, the team said, offering agents a single point of contact, 24/7 local support, preferred rates and access to upgrades.

“We are leveraging the opportunity for Canadian travel agents to be able to book H.I.S. products wherever they are, whether it’s a villa in Bali or hotel in Tokyo,” Tanious said. “Because of H.I.S, we have the services and technology available. That's a very big focus for us.”

Updates from the “one-stop shop”

As the trade show buzzed in the background, attendees split into two groups for a sit-down presentation that covered all the latest updates.

“We’re here today because of you and your commitment to selling us and helping us grow,” Tanious told the audience, noting that TravelBrands’ newest tools were developed in direct response to feedback from the trade.

Bruce Lidberg, senior director of sales, and Jeff Carpenter, strategic account manager, then led attendees on a deep dive into the company’s “one-stop shop” of tools and innovations.

For starters, upgrades have been made to TravelBrands’ air consolidation system, GiGi.

Carpenter highlighted the integration of New Distribution Capability (NDC) web fares, which provide more routes, dynamic pricing, and fare options – adjusted in real time – that aren’t available in GDS systems.

“This is the direction the airline industry is moving,” Carpenter said.

GiGi has been updated to help agents stay competitive as the industry shifts toward NDC-based distribution.  

Several new features have been made to GiGi, including the ability to email an agent invoice copy, reduced change/cancellation fees (from $50 to $25) and an option to add agency logos to e-documents.

Hotel engine filters

TravelBrands has also added a new hotel switch in its backend, which secures more promotions and products, along with lower fares.

“It lets us launch those last-minute specials and promotions much quicker than we could before,” Lidberg explained.

The updated hotel engine has new filters as well, including one that pulls up refundable rooms, or even apartment-style rentals, so agents can narrow down their search.

Multi-destination function, dynamic packaging

There’s also a new multi-destination feature.

If a travel advisor wants to book a trip to Europe, for example, they can book up to nine cities – the flight, hotels, car rentals – within minutes in a single transaction.

Additionally, TravelBrands’ dynamic packaging tool, Travel Genie, has led to “surging” sales, Carpenter said.

“A lot of agents are realizing the advantage of being able to customize and bundle together air, hotel, car rentals, attractions and tours, all on one booking, in one file,” he said.

Travel Genie, notably, allows agents to determine their markup and help maximize their revenue, Carpenter added.

Exotik Journeys now bookable online 

What else? Exotik Journeys – now celebrating 48 years – can now be booked directly on Access+, eliminating the need to call in or send an email.

Lidberg stressed one thing about Exotik Journeys, a tour operator that creates customized vacation packages to destinations such as Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific, for a variety of travel styles.

“We are not your competition,” he said. “You're not going to see some big, fancy TV commercials out there saying, ‘come to our website,’ or ‘call us and book.’ We want that business to come to you,” he told the audience.

TravelBrands also a new option for Canadian snowbirds who may be boycotting the United States over President Trump’s tariff policies and annexation threats: a new menu of extra-long stay options, for up to 88 nights, in Europe and beyond.  

800+ cruise groups a year 

Meanwhile, TravelBrands Encore Cruises, a long-time wholesaler in Canada, continues to ride a wave of success.

“Cruising continues to be so popular. More people are cruising every year. You've got cruise lines introducing amazing ships and we're continuing to grow our program,” Lidberg said.

Riverside Luxury Cruises is the latest brand to join Encore, which now has a portfolio of 22 cruise line partners.

“We do over 800 cruise groups every year through Encore and 70 per cent of bookings are done online,” Lidberg said, noting that Encore’s team, on average, has been with the company for at least 12 years.

“You’ll be in good hands when you call us,” he said.

Speaking of learning how to sell cruises, TravelBrands signature cruise conference, “SeaU,” will return in November 2026, with some 15 cruise suppliers in tow, on board Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady ship.

“If you're looking to grow your cruise sales…you are going to want to be at SeaU,” Lidberg stressed. “It’s the most comprehensive seminar at sea in the industry.”

Registrations for SeaU 2026 will be opening soon, he said. 

One trend TravelBrands is seeing with cruise is more bookings with air included, which the team credits to its air-sea protection program.

This is a guarantee to clients that should they encounter a flight cancellation, delay or disruption, and they can’t get to their cruise, that TravelBrands will step in and get them there (or at least to their next port).

To complement the toolbox, TravelBrands also has a 24/7 service so agents can turn to a team if something in their bookings go awry.

AI with Emma

Finally, responding to the use of AI in travel, TravelBrands is launching a new tool, called “AI with Emma,” on October 14.

This will allow travel advisors, through a chatbot, to access their invoices and documents, without having to speak to anyone if they so wish.

“We always have a full customer service team available,” Tanious told PAX. “However, the key is to provide agents with more technology and more AI. This was a very big step for us.”

The presentation wrapped up with a focus on Japan, the featured destination of the evening.

During the presentation, Émilie Prudhomme from H.I.S. Global, described Japan as a “bucket list trip,” highlighting its many attractions that appeal to diverse audiences.

Philanthropy & competitive edge

TravelBrands also highlighted its philanthropy work, having raised more than $3 million dollars to date for organizations like the SickKids Foundation and Food Banks Canada.

“We truly believe in giving back to the communities we operate in,” Lidberg said,

As for TravelBrands’ competitive edge this winter, Tanious said it all comes down to product diversity.

“If you want to go to Cancun, we have all of these great direct flights, but we also have other carriers you can use. Same for Europe. We don't have just one carrier. We have multiple carriers,” she said.

This is what makes TravelBrands’ consumer protection as strong as it is.

“If a passenger is supposed to take a cruise out of Florida, and there's a snowstorm, we have a multitude of airlines to get them on,” Tanious said. “It's the diversity of the product that gives us that edge.”

To see more pictures from TravelBrands' Agent Appreciation event, visit and "like" PAX's Facebook page here.

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.