Built to last: Vicky Zaltsman reflects on 40 years of YYZ Travel Group

Forty years in travel has taken Vicky Zaltsman just about everywhere.

She has travelled to all seven continents, opened a travel agency in Moscow, helped bring Aeroflot charter flights to Toronto, navigated recessions, wars, 9/11, SARS and the COVID-19 pandemic, and watched the travel industry transform from handwritten airline tickets to artificial intelligence.

But the story of YYZ Travel Group begins on a much smaller scale.

It was 1986 and Zaltsman was in her early 20s, working from a four-desk, 400-square-foot office inside a medical building on Leslie Street in North York.

She was building a business from scratch while raising a young family – sometimes quite literally doing both at the same time.

“I had a three-year-old child, and after daycare, I brought him to work because I had to put in long hours. So I put two chairs together and that's where he slept while I worked through the night,” Zaltsman recalls. “It was hard work.”

Those long nights laid the foundation for what would become YYZ Travel Group, a high-end boutique travel company based in Thornhill, ON, that today has nearly 100 travel advisors and support professionals, with a business spanning leisure, corporate, wholesale, cruises, groups and incentives.

And this month, on August 19, YYZ Travel officially turned 40.

Sitting down with PAX in a suite at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas recently at Virtuoso Travel Week, Zaltsman, executive president of YYZ Travel Group, reflected on a milestone shaped by immigration, perseverance, entrepreneurial risk and an ability to continually adapt to an industry that rarely stands still.

“How do I feel? I can't believe that 40 years went by so quickly,” she said. “Absolutely everything has changed.”

Starting over in Canada

Zaltsman's story began long before travel became her life.

Born in Lvov in the former Soviet Union, she was 12 when her parents left the U.S.S.R. in January 1975, seeking greater opportunities for their two children in Canada.

The family settled in Winnipeg. Zaltsman arrived, in the dead of winter, knowing very little English. She initially spent half of each school day in regular classes and the other half learning English, with adults, at Red River Community College.

She also watched her parents start their careers over. Her mother, formerly the head of a pharmaceutical department, became a clothing salesclerk. Her father, who had designed shoe tops in the Soviet Union, took physically demanding work as a flesher.

Their sacrifices left an impression on Zaltsman and fuelled an early determination to become financially independent.

Travel, however, wasn't initially on her radar.

After high school, she studied Anglo-Saxon history at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. 

It wasn't the right fit, so a friend suggested she try an intensive summer travel course. Zaltsman did – and it changed everything.

“Working in travel hit me right off. Learning about destinations, sending people on trips, helping them realize their dreams; for me, it was everything and that's what I wanted to do,” Zaltsman told PAX in this archived interview from 2013.

She soon landed a job at K Iwata Travel and later worked part-time at YVR Travel under her mentor, Peppi Lopez.

Eventually, Zaltsman decided Toronto was where she needed to be. Many airline head offices were based there, and the city offered greater opportunities to build a career in the business.

After working at New Wave Travel, she decided to go out on her own. At age 23, Zaltsman spent $1.75 on the materials and forms required to incorporate a company.

Inspired by YVR Travel's name, she called her new business YYZ Travel.

A four-desk office

YYZ Travel officially opened on Aug. 19, 1986, initially focusing on corporate travel.

Its first home in North York came with a relatively low-risk proposition: YYZ took over the remaining lease of another agency that was expanding, leaving only about a year and a half on the agreement.

But making the business work required a bigger financial gamble.

Zaltsman's parents mortgaged their home so they could lend her $30,000 to obtain an IATA licence.

She then pursued volume aggressively. Zaltsman issued tickets for travel agencies that weren't IATA-accredited, sometimes operating on margins as thin as one per cent, hoping increased sales would attract airline attention and ultimately lead to better rates.

Growing beyond corporate travel

The strategy worked and expansion came quickly.

In November 1986, Zaltsman launched Canadian Gateway, a wholesale company specializing in Eastern Europe and Israel that would eventually be rebranded as CG Journeys.

Today, the operation consolidates more than 30 airlines and runs VIP familiarization trips around the world.

Incentive, leisure, cruise and groups divisions also followed.

In March 1988, Zaltsman joined forces with Alexandra Pelts, helping YYZ expand its leisure business and strengthen its position within Toronto's growing Russian-speaking community.

“It started with two people, and over the decades, we grew to a 100-employee company,” Zaltsman told PAX.

Today, YYZ's business is approximately 40 per cent corporate, 50 per cent leisure and 10 per cent groups and incentives.

About half of its travel advisor network is home-based and independent, with advisors located in Ontario and parts of Western Canada.

The group, today, is led by three business partners: Zaltsman, Pelts, who serves as president, and Inna Zelener, executive vice-president, who joined in 1998. 

YYZ also acquired Aufgang Travel about 15 years ago, adding another company with deep expertise in Israel (a destination that Zaltsman acknowledges has seen demand decline and growth stall in recent years amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East).

Finding a market in a new Canada

YYZ's early growth was closely intertwined with Canada's Russian-speaking immigrant community.

Zaltsman is from Lvov, Ukraine, Pelts is from Odesa, Ukraine, and fellow owner Inna Zelener is from Kyiv, Ukraine.

As immigrants arrived from the former Soviet Union, YYZ offered something many couldn't find elsewhere: travel services in their own language from people who understood their backgrounds.

“We were the largest travel company of Russian-speaking people,” Zaltsman explained. “Today, our agents speak 30 languages collectively.”

In the 1980s, many newcomers to Canada were still learning English and weren't comfortable dealing with English-speaking companies, Zaltsman explained.

YYZ advertised in Russian-language newspapers and helped travellers with everything from airline tickets to visas

“We were a one-stop shop,” she said.

The company also arranged Russian-speaking tours to Europe because “people were comfortable going on a tour in their own language.”

Max Rositsan is among those with a long-standing connection to YYZ and its Russian-speaking roots.

In 1993, as a newcomer to Canada, he purchased his very first airline ticket from the agency.

“They were well-established and trusted,” said Rositsan, who has spent the past 15 years with YYZ as an independent consultant, specializing in complex air itineraries.

YYZ's expertise eventually opened doors beyond its Toronto customer base.

In 1992, the company participated in a Canadian sales mission to Moscow with then-prime minister Brian Mulroney and businessman (and the now disgraced) Frank Stronach.

That international exposure would eventually inspire one of YYZ's boldest expansions.

YYZ Travel opens in Moscow

In the early 1990s, Zaltsman and Pelts saw an opportunity to establish a presence in Moscow.

They opened SVO Travel – named after Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport – which Zaltsman said became the first foreign IATA agency in Moscow.

“I had Coca Cola and McDonald's as my accounts, we were part of the Canadian Embassy,” she said.

Running the operation required a gruelling transatlantic schedule, with Zaltsman and Pelts taking turns in Moscow to oversee day-to-day operations.

“Two weeks on and off, back and forth,” Zaltsman described it.

The Moscow operation ultimately ended in 1997, but it was emblematic of YYZ's willingness to pursue unconventional opportunities.

Another major achievement involved Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier.

In the mid-90s, the airline had been flying from Moscow to Montreal, but didn't have scheduled landing rights in Toronto.

Through Canadian Gateway and wholesale agreements, however, YYZ Travel found another way: operate the service as a charter.

The initiative ultimately brought Aeroflot charter flights to Toronto in 1997.

“I was on the tarmac to meet the first flight that flew into Toronto,” Zaltsman recalled. “We had media at the airport. It was a big deal for us.”

YYZ's physical footprint, over the years, grew alongside its business.

In 1988, the company left its 400-square-foot medical-building office and moved to a 1,600-square-foot basement location at Bathurst and Steeles.

About a decade later, it expanded again nearby. The company's wholesale operation was also based at Bathurst and Steeles.

But bigger offices didn't necessarily mean shorter hours.

“We lived there, working 24/7,” Zaltsman said. “Our staff would work Monday to Friday, nine to six, but there’d be three cars outside – us, working till 8 o'clock or 10 o'clock at night, at different hours. We couldn’t sleep.”

Generations of clients – and staff

One of the strongest measures of YYZ's longevity can be found in the people who have stayed with it.

Customers who first booked with the agency decades ago still turn to YYZ for travel services, Zaltsman said.

“Some have been around for 40 years and now. Their children are contacting us,” she said.

The same loyalty exists internally. Many YYZ employees have worked at the company for between 15 and 38 years. Even in retirement, former team members remain part of the YYZ family.

“Whenever we do office parties, we invite the people who have retired,” said Zaltsman.

For Zaltsman, that low turnover is evidence that the company has maintained something increasingly rare as travel agencies consolidate: accessibility to ownership.

YYZ isn't a giant corporation where decisions have to travel through layers of management, she said.

“With us, agents they can come to three owners,” Zaltsman said.

“It's like being part of a family”

Travel advisor Karol Farb, who joined YYZ five years ago after more than two decades with Expedia, praised the company for creating a community-oriented environment where independent advisors feel respected and valued.

“The leadership has been in the business for many years. They’re respected, which helps us whenever supplier issues come up. They’re always willing to help,” Farb told PAX at Virtuoso Travel Week.

Travel advisor Sharon Bizouati, who moved over to YYZ Travel during the pandemic, described the decision as “the best thing that ever happened to us.”

“It's like being part of a family,” said Bizouati. “They value us as we value them. I should have joined years ago.”

From paper tickets to artificial intelligence

Virtually everything about selling travel has changed since YYZ Travel opened its doors.

Zaltsman remembers when agents served as the airlines' primary distribution channel, writing paper tickets and manually calculating fares.

Today, customers can research, compare and book travel within seconds.

As a result, being an advisor requires something different.

“Being a travel expert today is so much more than just writing tickets and booking hotels,” Zaltsman said. “You have to anticipate travellers' wishes and present something new, unusual and unexpected.”

Artificial intelligence is the latest challenge.

Zaltsman recognizes that AI can produce information and options at extraordinary speed. But for a company built on high-touch service and first-hand knowledge, she sees major limitations.

She points to something as simple as selecting a beach resort.

AI may show a customer images of turquoise water and a pristine property, but it might not reveal noisy construction next door or seaweed accumulating on the beach.

“We are aware of those particular nuances as we guide people where to go, which properties to visit, and where to be,” she said. “Artificial intelligence cannot provide this information.”

Surviving 40 years of disruption

Technology is only one piece of the turbulence YYZ has navigated.

The agency's lifespan has encompassed recessions, geopolitical upheaval, wars, pandemics and sweeping changes to airline distribution and commissions.

Asked what has kept YYZ going, Zaltsman's answer is straightforward.

“Staying in touch with our clients, agents and suppliers. That's the key survival,” she said.

Customers themselves have also changed. Today's travellers arrive with information already gathered online – and expect answers immediately.

“You can't say ‘I'll get back to you tomorrow.’ They need answers now,” Zaltsman said.

That creates pressure, but it also reinforces what she sees as YYZ's advantage: travellers who book online may find themselves without someone to call when things go wrong.

 “It can be challenging,” Zaltsman said, “but we’re adapting.”

Virtuoso changes the game

YYZ's position in luxury travel took another major step forward when it was invited to join Virtuoso in 2008.

At the time, Zaltsman recalled, fewer than a dozen Virtuoso-certified agencies operated in Ontario.

Membership became a powerful differentiator, particularly with corporate clients whose executive assistants were arranging travel for senior employees.

“Virtuoso was our stamp of approval,” Zaltsman said.

YYZ could also provide clients with Virtuoso amenities and benefits, adding another layer to the company's high-end offering.

In a statement to PAX, Karen Hardie, general manager at Virtuoso Canada, highlighted YYZ Travel Group’s longevity and the value its advisors have brought to clients over four decades.

“Forty years is a remarkable achievement for any agency. Congratulations to the entire YYZ Travel team on reaching this milestone,” Hardie said. “The best travel experiences come from advisors who truly know their clients and can open doors on their behalf. Four decades of doing that so well speaks for itself.”

Cheryl Cheney Bunker, SVP, global memberships at Virtuoso, also offered her congratulations, and had this to say:

“Longevity like this is built on relationships, and it is agencies like theirs that make our global community as strong and as engaged as it is.”

Luxury-minded customers remain a key part of YYZ's customer base. Today, some clients will spend upwards of six figures on a single trip, said Zaltsman.

Zaltsman herself gravitates toward adventure travel – the Arctic, Antarctica, climbing Machu Picchu, scuba diving, shark encounters and other off-the-beaten-track experiences.

That passion influences the itineraries she creates.

“Realizing people's dreams,” Zaltsman said when asked what accomplishment makes her most proud. “The itineraries I plan for clients, I live through them.”

Celebrating four decades

For the past two decades, YYZ Travel has operated all of its entities from its own two-storey building in Thornhill.

That was the setting for a 40th anniversary luncheon on Aug. 19, which brought together the agency’s team and special guests, including Local and Regional Councillor Gino Rosati to celebrate the milestone.

Naturally, a big birthday also calls for a big trip.

This October, approximately 50 YYZ team members from across Canada will head to Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to celebrate together, in two separates waves (so the office can remain open).

No plans to retire

After 40 years in the business, Zaltsman, a mother of three, could certainly be forgiven for wanting to slow down.

But she doesn't want to.

“I enjoy this so much. I don't consider it work,” she said. “I don't plan to retire.”

Corporations have approached YYZ's owners about whether they're ready to exit the business, she said, but selling isn't in the cards. At least for now.

“We're not ready. We’re going to keep going,” Zaltsman said.

What YYZ's 50th anniversary, ten years from now, might look like is impossible to predict.

“Maybe robots will be sitting at desks, plucking away at the computer,” Zaltsman said. “I don't know what it will be. None of us know what ten years from now will look like.”

She does, however, know what it takes to build a successful travel business.

Her advice to others? “Pay attention to detail. It's very, very important,” she advised.

New agency owners should also prepare to put in the hours.

“You can't just say you’re working until five o'clock. You truly need to do a lot of work. It’s not easy. Thank God I opened up the agency in my early 20s because I had the strength,” she said.

That work ethic can be traced back to Winnipeg and to the parents Zaltsman watched rebuild their lives after leaving the Soviet Union.

It carried her from university studies that didn't fit, to her first job in travel, to Toronto, to a four-desk office, to Moscow, and eventually to the helm of one of Canada's established travel companies.

Asked what advice she would give her younger self, Zaltsman doesn't dwell on regrets.

“I think I've done everything right,” she said. “I don't think I would change anything except, if I knew what technology would be today, then maybe I would have bought certain stocks. But I think I've done okay.”

From an initial $1.75 investment to nearly 100 travel pros, four decades of clients and a business that has survived every travel disruption, “okay” may be something of an understatement.

In the words of singer Natasha Bedingfield, the rest is still unwritten. And Zaltsman’s story is far from finished. 

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