#ACVDreamMakers lands in Montreal, welcomes 800+; more FAMs coming

Air Canada Vacations’ (ACV’s) Dream Makers winter product tour landed in Montreal on Thursday night (Sept. 19), welcoming more than 800 travel advisors to interact with almost 80 suppliers and, of course, members of the ACV team.

The tour, which previously stopped in Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax, will conclude on September 26 in Toronto, where a thousand advisors are expected.

It’s ACV’s goal to interact with at least 3,000 professionals across the country by the end of the tour!

READ MORE: “Truly impressed”: East Coast agents raise the roof at Halifax’s ACV Dream Makers

Excitement (and relief) was blowing through the crowded aisles of the trade show that was held in Montreal. Emotions, no doubt, stirred up by the work stoppage that was avoided last weekend after Air Canada reached a tentative agreement with its pilots.

In an interview with PAX, Nino Montagnese, VP of Air Canada Vacations, pointed out that ACV is the largest tour operator in the country – mainly due to its link with Canada’s flag carrier.

“Everyone calls themselves the biggest tour operator, but in reality, we are the biggest. We offer the greatest variety of products in the greatest number of destinations. And the reason is simple: it's because we follow the Air Canada network, which is the largest provider of flights and the largest full-service airline in the country,” Montagnese said.

Montagnese was the first ACV representative to take the stage at Plaza Volare. He quickly welcomed guests before handing the mic over to Selma Filali, ACV’s senior director of marketing and e-commerce, who mentioned that the turnout for the evening shattered previous Montreal records, both in terms of agents and partners.

“We are so happy to be here tonight with you. Montreal is our favourite city – but we mustn’t tell the others,” she said with a wink in her voice.

More products & destinations

The tour operator then got down to business. Marco Gagnon (senior sales manager – Eastern Canada) presented a review of ACV’s offering, supported by his colleague Nicolas Thériault (sector manager).

ACV’s Sun Collection offers more than 600 resorts in 60 destinations, including 114 new hotels, some of which are exclusive. The company prides itself on offering something for everyone, including family-friendly resorts, adults-only options, LGBTQ2+ hotels, and more.

This year's edition of the interactive sun brochure also features a dedicated United States section, with 52 options in Florida, California, Hawaii and Nevada.

At the same time, ACV offers one-off, more niche events, such as “Chill Out” (which celebrates LGBTQ2+ pride at the Gran Muthu Rainbow Cayo Guillermo in Cuba in January 2025 and a Fitness Retreat (in November, at the Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda.

The sun brochure also offers hundreds of cruise itineraries. In this regard, ACV also highlighted the arrival of a new partner: Virgin Voyages, whose cruises will be available.

The tour operator is also focusing on its guided tour directories, launched for several new destinations in recent months, such as Colombia, Dubai, Asia (Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.), India and Australia.

Nicolas Thériault noted the importance of booking early, especially for Europe. “Reservations for Europe must be made… yesterday!” he said.

ACV’s Vacation Mood campaign

ACV also reviewed its ‘Vacation Mood’ branding campaign for fall and winter.

Launched in August, this social campaign invites Canadian travellers to showcase a trip that reflects them on social media, using the #MyVacationMood and tagging @aircanadavacations for a chance to be featured on Air Canada Vacations’ social channels.

According to Barbara Mengue Mbo, account manager, marketing and partnerships auxiliary at ACV, the initiative is bearing fruit.

“Our new campaign aims to provoke emotions in customers to bring them to travel agents so that they can help them make their travel dreams come true. We are very pleased with the results so far!”” she said.

Spotlight on tools

The evening also allowed the tour operator to distribute its Sun toolkit for travel agents. The spotlight was on new features and improvements to the tools that will help advisors better serve their clients.

In this regard, Montagnese spent time reviewing ACV’s new and improved Group Quoting Tool for the trade. And ACV’s self-help tools, like Trip Book or the Manage My Booking function, which allows agents to modify bookings up to five days prior to departure. Like having the ability to correct the spelling of a name, if required.

Upcoming enhancements will include a feature that links multiple bookings for easier management and the ability to request specific flights for packages, including Business and Premium Economy.

Trip Book also now allows agents to add the CareFlex and CareWorry-Free travel protections online, up to 48 hours after booking, without having to call.

Gagnon and Thériault also reviewed improved to ACV’s ePackages program, which offers professionals simple and flexible tools to book flight and hotel packages in all destinations served by Air Canada.

Another recommendation: encourage customers to take advantage of the “New Way to Earn Aeroplan Points” program (extended until December 31, 2025) which allows clients to earn points on both the flight and the vacation portion of their travel package with ACV.

ACV took a moment to applaud the return of its Travel Agent Advisory Board, whose eleven members are intended to be the voice of travel agents at ACV. 

AVC – almost 50 years old!

"Do you know how old Air Canada Vacations will soon be?" Nicolas Thériault asked during the evening. The responses pouring out from the room generally underestimated the age of the tour operator, which is, in fact, about to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Among other things, ACV will celebrate its fiftieth by offering a record number of FAM trips to the trade, announced Gagnon, drawing applause.

Enhanced by performances by singer-actors (humorously embodying scenes from the life of a travel agent), the evening ended with the presentation of several prizes, including stays from sponsors Bahia Principe and Sandals and Beaches.

We congratulate the winners (and we envy them a little!)

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