On Location: “If we get them here, we get their hearts”: Trevello conference kicks off in Belfast

Bring on Belfast!

Trevello’s national conference kicked off Sunday night (May 3) in Northern Ireland’s dynamic capital with an unplanned (yet fitting) nod to the past.

This year’s symposium – Trevello’s first conference outside North America – is centred on the theme “Building Bridges,” which, coincidently, was the same message championed by Irish politician Mary McAleese in her successful presidential campaign in Ireland almost three decades ago.

Catherine Reilly, managing director of Brendan Vacations – Celtic specialists with TTC Tour Brands, running the show this week – pointed out the parallel in her welcome remarks last night in the pink and purple-lit ballroom of Belfast’s Clayton Hotel, where a cocktail reception (complete with live folk music and dancing) was held.

Addressing delegates, Reilly explained how McAleese – Ireland’s eighth president, who served from 1997–2011 – spoke, in her inaugural address, about the need for “patience, imagination, courage” as the Emerald Isle, at the time, faced rapid and complex transformation.

Sound familiar? Fast-forward to today, and the travel industry, under pressure to embrace AI-driven automation and modernize legacy systems (while still preserving human touch), is also evolving at a similar pace.

Trevello’s 2026 conference – with rolling Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, in the background – aims to build the bridges that will shape the future. Real human connections, for real-world results. 

And, you guessed it, it starts with relationships, “which are very important to us,” said Zeina Gedeon, CEO of Trevello Travel Group, speaking to PAX, which is covering Trevello’s conference, exclusively.

“Whether it's our advisors, suppliers, tourism boards, partners or customers, you have to have relationships to succeed,” she said.

Next-level learning

Building Bridges, running until Friday (May 8), is a masterclass in forging the meaningful connections. It’s face-to-face meetings, learning moments, and destination discovery, wrapped in a big emerald-green bow.

From now through Tuesday, some 150 travel advisors from across Canada (fresh faces and seasoned pros) will get down to business with 36 suppliers (represented by 46 individuals) at presentations, workshops, networking tracks, and a “Meeting of the Minds” session, where advisors choose their topics, shape the agenda, and steer their own professional growth.

Classic conference canoodling, until Wednesday (May 6), when the real Irish jig begins.

That day, attendees – many of whom arrived early in the Emerald Isle for pre-excursions – will be split into groups and head off on FAMs curated by Tourism Northern Ireland.

The itineraries cover the very best of the north: Country Fermanagh, Derry-Londonderry, the Causeway Coastal Route (including Dunfin Farm, the Giant’s Causeway, and Dunluce Castle), along with Newry, Mourne, Down, Armagh, and Belfast.

And hey, it’s also International Travel Advisor Day, a date Trevello has reserved for its conferences for years now.

David Meade, renowned international speaker, emcee, and TV personality, will kickstart the celebrations with a keynote address.

Then, on Thursday (May 7), the group will hit Belfast’s mural and brick-lined streets on Black Taxi tours and guided walks, taking in the city’s history, culture, and stories – shaped by shipbuilding and past political and social tensions – that make it unforgettable.

Along the way, advisors will post moments on social media, using specific hashtags, for a chance to win a travel voucher.

And, oh, did you hear Trevello is taking over the Titanic museum, Titanic Belfast, for one night?  

On Tuesday, Tourism Northern Ireland and partners will roll out the emerald carpet and host a first-class awards gala and dinner in the world-famous museum that resembles ship hulls.

(Belfast, notably, is where the Titanic was designed and built).

Cue “My Heart Will Go On,” on endless loop.

Factor in that advisors and suppliers are spread across three Belfast hotels – the Clayton, Grand Central, and Maldron – all within a four to five-minute walk of each other, and you have a conference that feels closely integrated with the city.

Travel advisor Wendy Nethercott of Saint Marys, ON, has been with Trevello for 18 years, but is participating in the host agency’s national conference for the very first time.

She’s attended Trevello’s regional events in Canada, but “this takes it a step further,” Nethercott told PAX.

“It’s a different level of opportunities that will grow and expand my business,” she said.

“An emerging destination”

Trevello bringing its conference to Belfast is “a privilege,” said George Diamondis, head of business solutions at Tourism Northern Ireland, “and it’s obviously something we're quite excited about.”

“Having advisors here, for a week, to experience the destination, meet locals, and have an authentic Northern Irish experience is the foundation of building a strong commercial relationship,” Diamondis told PAX.

He described Northern Ireland as “an emerging destination” that has been gaining momentum over the past 15 years.

With a wave of new investments (the cranes lining Belfast’s skyline speak volumes), alongside major attractions such as Titanic Belfast and the Game of Thrones Studio Tour (Northern Ireland was a primary filming location for the HBO series), as well as a growing slate of new hotels and restaurants, perceptions of the region are beginning to shift.

“People are starting to see the new Northern Ireland for what it is, rather than what they might have read in the news 25, 30 years ago,” said Diamondis, alluding to The Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict that lasted from the late 1960s to 1998.

“We're an incredibly young city. You have to experience what a post-conflict society is about, how we're making a success of that, and how we’ve become a poster child in global peace and reconciliation.”

What connects the North and southern Republic of Ireland is the warmth of the people.

Both regions share traditions rooted in Irish music, dance, storytelling, sport and Gaelic heritage. The land border is largely invisible, and through a touristic lens, it feels like two parts of the same place.

The most notable change, when crossing borders, is the shift from metric system to the imperial system for road measurements: Ireland uses kilometres, whereas Northern Ireland uses miles.

“There’s something special about this island where no matter where you’re from, you'll have some connection that you'll take away with you, and you’ll remember it long after you leave,” added Diamondis.

“We want advisors to experience this themselves and become authentic ambassadors.”  

Seeing is believing

It’s also a good time to highlight the Emerald Isle.

According to Toronto-based Lauren Lamonday, a business partnership executive at Tourism Ireland, Canada continues to be an important growth market.

“We’re now ranked as the fourth largest source of overseas tourism revenue,” said Lamonday, on the scene last night, noting that arrival numbers are up 35 per cent over 2023.

“There are 4.5 million Canadians who have Irish ancestry, but we also have great connections.”

WestJet, for one, has restarted service from St. John’s, Nfld. to Dublin (it’s only a 4.5-hour flight!), adding to six other routes, operating year-round from gateways across Canada (Air Canada and Air Transat also fly).

But Building Bridges is also about timing. With many Canadians rethinking U.S. travel, and with war unfolding in the Middle East, “a lot of advisors are looking for different destinations for their clients – and we hope to inspire them with Ireland,” said Lamonday.

Ireland, “for what they stand for as a country,” has emerged as a desirable choice for Canadians, added Gedeon.

“You’re not going to the Middle East today, so what better place than here?” she said. “More importantly, the biggest thing for our advisors, as we have seen over the years, is that if they experience a destination, they’re able to sell it.”

If Trevello advisors are “wow’d,” Gedeon continued, “they’ll all be coming back, either with one person or groups.”  

The Brendan Vacations effect

Then there’s Brendan Vacations, another key piece to the conference pie.

The travel company was founded in 1969 and, over time, has evolved into an Ireland and Scotland specialist in guided vacations.  

The brand was acquired by The Travel Corporation (TTC) in 2006, but didn’t enter the Canadian market until 2020 (and we all know what happened that year).

With the pandemic now firmly in the rear-view mirror, Brendan Vacations has an opportunity to step into the spotlight at Trevello’s conference and shine for Canadian travel pros.

“We really wanted to showcase this destination and company,” said Jodine Clement, director of sales for Canada at TTC Tour Brands, noting that Trevello’s conference has been at least two years in the making. “We want to get the Brendan Vacations name out there.”

Particularly timely is Brendan now offering FIT options to better serve today’s demand for personalized experiences.

The tour operator is “anything in a kilt,” explained Clement, noting that Ireland and Scotland are “hugely popular” right now.

“Like all our brands, everything is looked after for you, and with an office in Dublin, they truly are Celtic specialists. They have all the connections,” she said.

Catherine Reilly, who has worked at Brendan Vacations for more than 40 years, echoed that sentiment.

“We're based in the destination. We've grown up with this. We know our suppliers very well,” she said, 

Guests get to experience the region through Brendan's local experts, who share their lived stories during tours, she said. 

Reilly also remembers a time in Northern Ireland when visitors “hardly came here,” and to see the region emerge with new hotels and tourism investments, “is very, very exciting.”

“This is about giving [advisors] the expertise to sell Northern Ireland with confidence, knowing that we’ll take care of their clients when they get here,” she said.

Having Trevello advisors in Ireland, in general, is “absolutely wonderful,” Reilly added.

“We know the best thing is to get their feet into the destinations,” she said. “Because if we get them here, we get their hearts.”

Sales growth & opportunities

The conference comes as Trevello sees continued growth across its network.

Full-year 2025 delivered nine per cent total sales growth and seven per cent commission growth, Gedeon told advisors in her opening remarks at the Clayton hotel early Monday (May 4).

2026 is also performing well: Q1 results showed sales up eight per cent, commissions up 10 per cent, and average invoice value climbing to $2,977, up five per cent year-over-year.

Gedeon also leaned into some of today’s challenges, from tariffs to border tightening to currency and fuel volatility.

Canada–U.S. flight bookings are down 38 per cent versus last year, she said, and over 60 per cent of Canadians are rethinking U.S. travel entirely.

It’s a shift Gedeon called “structural, not temporary.”

The demand hasn’t disappeared, however. It’s being redirected to destinations like Mexico up (29 per cent), Portugal (up 41 per cent), Spain (up 35 per cent), and Japan (up 47 per cent), she said. 

“This is your generational moment,” she said. “Clients are actively asking for guidance on non-U.S. alternatives. The advisor who masters these markets first wins the decade,” Gedeon said.

While the world can feel uncertain, “Your value is not,” she said.

Stay tuned for more of PAX’s on-the-ground coverage of Trevello’s Building Bridges conference in Belfast!

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