On Location: Alberta’s Tisson Travel Group hosts first community gathering in PVR with Playa

It wasn’t a conference, it wasn’t a FAM.

Tisson Travel Group’s first-ever company meeting held outside of Alberta tapped into something much deeper: the power of likeminded entrepreneurs, working together. 

A “community gathering” is how company founder and travel industry veteran Tannis Dyrland described Tisson’s inaugural in-destination meet-up, which took place Dec. 9-12 at Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The sun-kissed and palm tree-peppered affair, which doubled as a company Christmas party, was held to not only introduce Tisson’s travel advisors to the service-oriented world of Playa Hotels and Resorts (and gems of PV), but to also celebrate camaraderie and success.

“We've worked incredibly hard this past year,” Dyrland told PAX, which was invited to cover Tisson’s event exclusively. “This is an opportunity to spend time together, connect and celebrate the community that we are.”

All about community  

Community, after all, is the backbone of Calgary-based Tisson Travel Group, a company Dyrland launched in 2023, exclusively for travel professionals in Alberta, for the purpose of providing mentorship and strengthening bonds with suppliers in Western Canada.

READ MORE: On Location: “This is a rocket ship”: Suppliers, agents light up Tisson Travel launch in Calgary

Tisson – a word that refers to someone who is strong and resilient – follows a straight-forward philosophy: to give travel advisors the autonomy to design what their business looks like, from deciding who their preferred suppliers are to determining how those relationships are built.

Agencies who sign up are all independently owned, but are powered by Tisson Travel Group, which is part of TRAVELSAVERS.

Leveraging partnerships that serve advisors in Alberta is at the core of Dyrland’s model, which doesn’t split commissions on service fees, nor does it bound members to a tier system for booking specific brands.

It’s a community of travel pros who lean on each other (as PAX witnessed firsthand after spending four days with the team, watching them exchange sales tips and problem solve each other’s bookings).

READ MORE: Tisson Travel celebrates one year as advisor-supplier relations strengthen in Alberta

And the concept is taking flight. Over the past year, Tisson has doubled in size (the community is now 12 strong), and in revenue, as new talent and partnerships join the movement. 

Expedia TAAP, Paul Gauguin, Cabo and Cancun Adventures, and Air Canada Vacations are just some of the brands that have recently linked up with Tisson.

The network has also partnered with Reid Williams of Cruisen, a trip management tool for cruise bookings.

The Tisson community, which is currently all women, are a mix of both experienced travel professionals and industry newcomers.

“We refer to them as travel entrepreneurs – because that's exactly what they are,” said Dyrland, whose role in the operation is to coach, develop new tools (alongside her tech partner Ryan McElroy of Travel Agency Tribes), and lock in key industry relationships.

The joy of watching Tisson’s members grow their business “has been the best,” Dyrland told PAX.

The people in your backyard

There’s also something to be said about creating a model for agents in Alberta. One of Dyrland’s reasons for starting Tisson was to strengthen ties with suppliers in Western Canada, a region that she says, traditionally, has lacked outlets for establishing local connections.

Utilizing BDMs who “live in our backyard” gets things done a lot quicker, Dyrland explained.

“I'm all about connection,” she said. “Instead of having a phone call about something major, it’s more like, ‘Can we get together and have a coffee tomorrow? It's that simple.’ Having those one-on-ones, and building relationships, is the strongest thing we've got.”

Connecting in Puerto Vallarta

Connection was the word on the street at Tisson’s event in Puerto Vallarta last week.

Joining the group was the one and only Freddie Marsh, business development manager for Western Canada at Playa Hotels and Resorts, who walked the Tisson crew through site inspections while answering questions about all things Playa.

“Collaborating with Tannis and her growing team of fabulous travel advisors has been an absolute delight,” Marsh told PAX. “Their vision for exceptional travel experiences aligns perfectly with our own commitment to hospitality and Playa Resort’s Service from the Heart.”

For Dyrland, collaborating with Playa and Marsh on Tisson’s first major event was a “no brainer.”

“He is one of our biggest cheerleaders,” Dyrland said. “He's appreciative of what we’ve created in the West because he is from the West. He understands the need for it.”

Tisson’s event showcased Playa’s two all-inclusive resorts in the Puerto Vallarta area: the luxurious Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta and the vibrant Wyndham Alltra Vallarta.

“These resorts truly highlight the region’s charm, offering world-class amenities, breathtaking views, and unforgettable guest experiences,” Marsh said.

Unpacking Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta

Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, which was home base for the week, sits on a buttery beach that feels private because its tucked away in cove, restricting public access.

With 355 rooms and suites, the lushly-manicured sanctuary is filled with historical nuggets. The hotel was built in 1969 as the Camino Real Hotel, serving as a playground for Hollywood luminaries and jet-set personalities of the time.

That trend continued well into the 1980s – one of the resort’s most notable guests, back then, was superstar actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who stayed at the property for 30 days during the filming of his 1987 action/sci-fi flick Predator.

After 35 years as the Camino, the property closed and reopened as a Dreams in 2004. Ten years later, in 2014, Playa took over, remodelled everything, and opened family-friendly Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta.

A five-minute drive from PV’s Romantica Zone, a trendy, cobblestoned area known for its buzzing restaurants and LGBT nightlife, the secluded resort makes the adjacent Banderas Bay the star.

The hotel’s spacious units, which includes family and swim-up suites with private plunge pools, all offer eye-popping views of the ocean and surrounding mountains – including PV’s blazing sunsets. 

International cuisine unfolds at six restaurants, including authentic Mexican fare at Casa Grande, and our favourite, Blaze, an outdoor, waterfront eatery that serves spectacular ceviche and crispy Baja fish tacos.

There are five infinity ocean-view pools, including an an adults-only pool, an all-ages pool and an oversized infinity-edge hot tub.

The fitness centre and spa, meanwhile, offers holistic treatments and beauty salon service (with ocean views).

Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta is also an it-spot for events, boasting a rooftop wedding deck and an oceanfront gazebo, along with 6,500 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate up to 700 people.

The hotel's friendly and service-focused staff are what tie it altogether. 

Enter Wyndham Alltra Vallarta

Meanwhile, the 229-room Wyndham Alltra Vallarta, first announced in 2022, is the product of a collaboration between Wyndham Hotels and Playa.

Located between the Pacific Ocean and the jungles of the Sierra Madres mountains, this all-inclusive resort is in Nuevo Vallarta, a town known for its golf and surfing scene, about 20 minutes from PVR airport.  

Tisson’s advisors toured the family-friendly resort, which is great for beach walkers/runners and cyclists (there’s a nearby bike path).

All of the rooms and restaurants, here, have been refreshed, including the marketplace-style buffet, Ventanas.

Discovering Yelapa

Other partners who presented at Tisson’s event included WestJet, DMC Nexus Tours, and the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board.

Nexus provides a personalized experience for guests of WestJet Vacations (and Sunwing, which now belongs to the WestJet Group).

In Puerto Vallarta, the company offers transfer services (from group to private) and on-site contacts at hotels.

Excursions, too, are on the menu, one of which Tisson advisors got to experience: a beach and snorkeling boat trip to Yelapa, a small village, accessible by boat only, in the southernmost cove of Banderas Bay.

This secluded town, about 45 minutes from PV, is famous for two things: a majestic waterfall, which guests hike to, and its custard-filled pies, better known as “Yelapa pie,” served by a local “Pie Lady,” Chelly Rodriguez, who has been selling her delightful banana cream, coconut and cheesecake filled creations on Yelapa’s beach for more than 35 years. 

Charming Yelapa, where visitors remove their shoes to trudge through beachside rivers, is the type of destination that makes you fall in love with travel all over again. From roaring waves to friendly locals, it’s a destination filled with authenticity.

Vallarta Adventures, which orchestrated the fun-filled day, also invited guests to a BBQ lunch on remote Majahuitas Beach. (And, to our luck, we spotted whales along the way!)

There were opportunities to give back, too. During a workshop, advisors were introduced to Miguel Hidalgo elementary school, which is located in the mountains, nearly 50 kilometres away from Puerto Vallarta.

It’s a one-room schoolhouse, serving a low-income community where temperatures, at times, can dip to just above freezing levels.

Members of the Tisson community presented donations to representatives from the centre, from jackets to school suppliers to personal hygiene kits.

All eyes on Alberta

The rise of the Tisson’s community is a testament to Alberta’s thriving travel community.

The bookings are strong. “People are definitely travelling,” said Dyrland. “We have group bookings secured until the end of 2026.”

And Tisson is still locking in big-ticket trips, Dyrland said, from multi-gen reunions to adventures in Europe (thanks to WestJet’s direct service out of Calgary), as well as luxury cruises to Tahiti and Bora Bora with Paul Gauguin (French Polynesia is accessible from Seattle and Los Angeles, which isn’t too far from Calgary).

One of Tisson’s biggest shifts over the past year is opening the community to all travel advisors, regardless of their experience level.

The company has launched a recruitment tool on its website and is now accepting new faces for 2025.

But it has to be a personality match. “[Candidates] have to want to be involved in a community,” Dyrland explained. “If you want to sit at home and do your thing, it's not for you.”

Recruitment, at the same time, highlights one of Tisson’s biggest challenges.

Dyrland says the host agency space, in general, prevents many agents from leaving their host due to stringent contracts.

“They’d essentially be walking away from their bookings if they leave their agencies,” she said. “A lot of people are intrigued by what we're doing, but a lot of them are tied to contracts that don’t allow them to make the leap. I've had so many discussions with advisors, and they're stuck.”

“We are a close community”

Calgary-based Katia Tchorbadjiyska of Elite Explorations Travel is one of Tisson’s newest members.

Tchorbadjiyska is originally from Bulgaria, and lived in South Africa for 14 years, before coming to Canada. She studied tourism, but pursued a career in business management instead, which led to running her own lash and brow studio.

After joining the Tisson community in March, “I feel like I’m coming back to what I was meant to do all along,” Tchorbadjiyska told PAX. “I’m extremely excited.”

She’s selling all-inclusive beach vacations, but wants to eventually specialize in itineraries in southern Europe where she’s from.

“I feel so blessed, being part of this team,” Tchorbadjiyska said. “I can call Tannis, or any of the girls, with questions, at any time. And I get support all the time. I think this is the greatest thing. We are a close community, which makes a big difference.”

Christine Guy of Travel and Repeat echoed that sentiment. The travel advisor of five years joined Tisson in June after meeting Dyrland on a FAM in Africa.

“There's no competition of any kind. That's what makes Tisson one of the better agencies I've been with,” Guy said. “We have a group chat, they're always there to give pointers and advice. They automatically made me feel at home.”

How big is too big?  

Looking ahead, technology will play an important role in Tisson’s strategy. 

The team is working on a new advisor-client referral program for 2025 that will “blow up the industry,” Dyrland said. (The details will be shared in January).

As for how large Dyrland intends to grow her community, the answer to that question lies in her own home.

“The moment I can't fit everybody in my living room, it's too big,” Dyrland said. “I have no desire to be a large entity. For me, it's about quality, not quantity. The community has to feel like they're part of something genuine, authentic and real and not getting lost in the shuffle.”

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