TTAND to launch corporate program as opportunities take shape with Travel Counsellors

The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND) is set to roll out a new corporate travel program following its newly-announced equity partnership with UK-based Travel Counsellors, PAX has learned.

The division, which will be designed to serve small and medium-sized enterprises, will build on Travel Counsellors’ already-robust corporate portfolio, which amounts to roughly $500 million in annual sales, says Flemming Friisdahl, TTAND’s founder and CEO.

Speaking to PAX Wednesday night (Dec. 3) via video link, Friisdahl said TTAND is well positioned to enter the corporate space, citing its already-established contracts with Canadian airlines.

But having access to Travel Counsellors’ systems—already built to serve the corporate world—will unlock more, such as hotel and car programs. Things “we may not have had access to before,” Friisdahl said.

“[Corporate travel] is something you don’t see too often in the host agency space in Canada,” he said. “Generally speaking, most focus on leisure.”

The program is expected to launch in approximately 12 months, Friisdahl said, and it’s driven largely by agent feedback.

“We've been asked by over ten per cent of our agents to start a corporate program,” he said.

Global but Canadian

It’s just one of several developments to surface since TTAND announced its new venture with Travel Counsellors, which it calls “one of the UK’s largest and fastest-growing technology platforms for travel entrepreneurs.”

With a network of some 2,200 independent business owners, Travel Counsellors operates in six countries – the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates – and employs more than 400 people in its UK headquarters and overseas offices.

The company made its first foray into Canada in 2008 (back when Friisdahl worked at Thomas Cook) with a Toronto office, which it ultimately closed in 2015.

Under the deal announced Tuesday (Dec. 2), TTAND, as one with Travel Counsellors, will continue to operate independently in Canada, with Friisdahl retaining full control over supplier lists and commercial activities – as he always has.

READ MORE: “A win, win, win”: TTAND forms equity partnership with UK-based Travel Counsellors

Friisdahl called the deal a “partner program” that combines his TTAND holdings with Travel Counsellors, which is backed by Vitruvian, a global private equity firm with offices in London, Munich, Madrid, Miami, Mumbai, Stockholm, Shanghai, Singapore, San Francisco and Luxembourg.

Vitruvian now owns a majority stake in TTAND, but Friisdahl was quick to point out that his operations remain authentically Canadian.

TTAND, founded in 2014, will still operate and pay taxes in Canada, and its network of some 1,700 independent travel advisors will continue to work for themselves.

“Our advisors are Canadian, they live in Canada, they own Canadian businesses,” he said. “Agents can still say they're a Canadian company.” 

Buying power boost

Friisdahl chose Travel Counsellors for its shared culture—particularly its focus on agent support and innovation—as well as aligned values and benefits.

For TTAND, some of those benefits will include having access to Travel Counsellors’ technology platform, Phenix, a dynamic packaging program.

The partnership also strengthens TTAND’s buying power, giving it access to contracts that were, perhaps, previously out of reach.

READ MORE: TTAND launches LUXE premium brand to cater to affluent travellers

“I'm pretty darn proud of my half a billion [in sales], but Travel Counsellors does two billion,” Friisdahl said. “That can help us get contracts we couldn’t get before because we didn't have the volume.”

TTAND’s newly-launched luxury program, "LUXE by the Travel Agent Next Door," is poised to benefit from this. The one-company approach will help TTAND form partnerships with premium brands like Four Seasons, said Friisdahl.

“It opens doors I may not have been able to open before,” he said.

TTAND has already signed Crystal and Abercrombie & Kent to its luxury arm – and three to four additional partners will be announced by year’s end, said Friisdahl.

What’s in it for Travel Counsellors?

What does Travel Counsellors get out of its partnership with TTAND?

Well, the opportunity to add more than half a billion in sales to their books, for one. As reported, TTAND is expected to produce $530 million in sales this year and rise to $600 million in 2026. 

The deal will also give Travel Counsellors access to TTAND’s agent-facing, highly-customizable business systems.

The UK-based brand will furthermore gain a competitive presence in North America. But that doesn’t mean Travel Counsellors is returning to Canada, Friisdahl said.

“Their model does not work here,” he said. “It’s a 60/40 split, which is part of the reason why they left Canada. Their model is not the same as ours and they don't want to mix them.” 

Additionally, there’s no plan – nor pressure – to “assimilate” TTAND into Travel Counsellors, Friisdahl added.

“The Travel Agent Next Door is a different brand and they want to keep it that way,” he said.

On the flip side, you won’t see TTAND-branded agents suddenly popping up in regions where Travel Counsellors is active, such as the UK or South Africa, because TTAND isn’t licensed in those parts, Friisdahl noted.

“The two models will never compete in the same market,” he said.

In a statement, Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors, called the partnership an “exciting next step in our international growth story, but most importantly, it’s about people — growing together, with care at the heart of everything we do.”

And the feeling is mutual. “Steve and I are extremely aligned,” Friisdahl said. “We say the same things, without having to even look at each other to see what the answer is going to be.”

All about opportunities

It’s a change, yes, but don’t use the word “changes” when discussing the partnership.

Friisdahl maintained that there will be no changes for TTAND’s employees in Canada and India, nor for its agent partners and suppliers.

He also confirmed that TTAND isn’t leaving its consortium, the Travel Leaders Network, nor is it going to expand its tightly-controlled list of preferred and approved suppliers (unless it’s for a new category, like luxury).

Rather than “changes,” Friisdahl prefers the word “opportunities” – ones that will be presented to its network of travel advisors in due time.

“It’ll be their choice to take them or not,” he said. “It’s about adding more tools to the bucket.”

And what about TTAND’s national conference? The popular annual event has been hosted everywhere from resorts and cruise ships to destinations as far-reaching as Jordan.

In 2026, the conference will run April 18–26 aboard Celebrity Silhouette, sailing an eight-night itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire before returning to Fort Lauderdale.

With Travel Counsellors now in the picture, does this mean future TTAND conferences will be held in the UK?

“Probably not,” Friisdahl said, noting that he plans to stay the course in connecting his network with Canada-specific suppliers, destinations and sales strategies with his own event.

But expect some crossover – Canadian TTAND agents are welcome to attend Travel Counsellors’ conferences in the UK, and vice versa.

“Will we have Travel Counsellors’ at our conference? Yes, we most certainly will. We may even have speakers come from their area,” Friisdahl said.

The bottom line

It’s an exciting path forward, but the bottom line in TTAND’s partnership with Travel Counsellors is about having a succession plan, Friisdahl said.

“That's the real reason I'm doing this,” he said. “My baby is big, and it still has a lot of potential, but this is about thinking ahead about what we’re doing. I turned 60 this year, I’m healthy. I’d be fine doing this for the next five years or more. But what’s going to happen if, God forbid, something happened to me?”

“Advisors now know there's a Plan B if Plan A doesn't work out. The company will be taken care of by people who have the same culture, perspectives and beliefs that I do.”

Based on comments shared on social media, it appears many within TTAND agree—prompting some agents to begin thinking about their own business succession plans.

“I'm doing this to make sure our travel agents, and our partners, have a long-term future,” Friisdahl said.

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