“Change & create”: TravelBrands’ Nathalie Tanious unpacks new tech & winter trends

TravelBrands kicked off its 2025 agent appreciation roadshow Monday night (Oct. 6) at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown in Burnaby, giving Canadian travel advisors a first look at the latest products, technology, and trends shaping the upcoming winter season.

The roadshow, which continues in Toronto on October 8 and Montreal on October 9, promises a mix of innovation, inspiration, and hands-on experiences for travel professionals.

Last week, PAX spoke with Nathalie Tanious, president and CEO of H.I.S. Canada Travel Inc., parent company of TravelBrands, about this week’s events, TravelBrands’ new offerings, and the trends driving travel this winter.

 “Change and Create”

This year’s roadshow embraces the theme “Change and Create.”

“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,” Tanious said.

The theme reflects both the evolving nature of the travel industry and TravelBrands’ commitment to equipping agents with tools to adapt and thrive.

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

Nearly a dozen members from H.I.S.’s global team are joining TravelBrands at its events this week.

READ MORE: TravelBrands roadshow returns to B.C. with new tools, AI, and advisor-focused upgrades in tow

“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. Because of H.I.S, we have the services and technology available. That's a very big focus for us coming up,” Tanious said.

Tech upgrades that simplify booking

Technology remains a key focus for TravelBrands.

Tanious highlighted several new tools designed to streamline agent workflows and improve customer service.

“On the air side, we’re continuously working with everything to do with New Distribution Capability (NDC). It’s key for agents on getting the best content and pricing,” she said.

TravelBrands also has a new hotel switch, which secures more promotions and products, and lower fares.

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.

Also new is that Exotik Journeys can now be booked directly on Access+, eliminating the need to call in or send an email, Tanious said.

The advancements are rooted in both demand and agent feedback.

“It's a combination of both,” Tanious said. “We have an extensive sales team on the road. They come back, they give us lots of information about what everyone's looking for, what they'd like to see, what can we do better.”

Strong attendance, growing Interest

TravelBrands’ roadshow is attracting large crowds this week, demonstrating the appetite among travel professionals for in-person learning and networking.

Tanious shared attendance expectations: “Vancouver 300, Toronto 750 and Montreal, 400.”

“If we knew it was going to be this popular, we would have had bigger venues. The demand to attend is incredible. There’s a lot of interest,” she said.

Enhanced loyalty & agent support

TravelBrands is also evolving its loyalty programs and agent support services.

It has reinvented its loyalty points program to allow agents to have lower redemptions, no caps on groups, extra savings on personal travel and less points to redeem for travel certificates.

The company’s air-sea protection and 24/7 service remain pivotal.

“Whether you're booking air or air only, or air with a cruise, we have a department that focuses on everything in travel service. In the case of a cruise, if the customer, for whatever reason, misses their embarkation port, we’ll get them there on us. In the current environment, it’s a very important service,” Tanious said.

Embracing AI

Responding to the rise 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. However, the key is to provide agents with more technology and more AI,” Tanious said of the new tool. “This was a very big step for us.”

Winter trends, market insights

Despite some softness in U.S. sales due to the geopolitical conflict, Canadian travelers continue to book extensively,

Tanious noted: “Canadians love to travel. We see it in the numbers. We see people shifting to other destinations [beyond the U.S.],” she said. “The Caribbean and Mexico remain very strong. Cruise remains very strong, and people are booking Europe for next year.”

What the team finds interesting, from the FIT side, is how the booking window has changed.

“People will book within 45 days now to go to Spain, to Portugal, to go on a cruise, which was once a very small portion of our business,” Tanious said. “We are cautiously optimistic with winter, because we do see that people are travelling.”

Emerging destinations this season include Turkey and Japan, both seeing strong demand as travellers seek new experiences, she added.

The competitive edge

TravelBrands’ edge this winter is its product diversity – especially within its air portfolio, Tanious said.

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

This is what makes TravelBrands’ air-sea 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 explained. “It's the diversity of the product that gives us that edge.”

Celebrating a decade of SeaU

Looking ahead, TravelBrands will mark the tenth anniversary of SeaU with Virgin Voyages in November 2026.

“Virgin’s customer service is top notch," Tanious said. “This SeaU will be a little different and we want to make sure agents see everything that Virgin is about.”

Advice for agents attending the shows

Tanious encouraged travel advisors to approach its appreciation events as a chance to explore widely.

The shows, in addition to showcasing many suppliers, will feature live demos of TravelBrands’ Gigi and Access+ platforms.

“Think of it as a buffet, taste a little bit of everything, and then see what it is that interests you,” Tanious advised. “We can then work with you to get all the information you need.”

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