"Thank you": Collette cheers travel advisors while championing new era of touring

Global Travel Advisor Month – now in its final days – was in full swing at the Hilton Garden Inn Toronto/Burlington hotel Tuesday night (May 26) as Collette welcomed roughly 50 travel advisors to a lively appreciation event filled with cocktails, passed appetizers, networking and even a spirited bingo game that offered attendees the chance to win prizes.

The evening was designed as a big thank you to the travel advisor community — a segment that continues to play a critical role in Collette’s success, particularly in Canada, which the company says is now its fastest-growing market globally for the third consecutive year.

The event also reflected the evolving identity of guided touring itself.

Long gone, Collette executives say, are the days when touring meant rigid schedules, exhausting bus rides and rushed sightseeing.

Today’s traveller is looking for detailed cultural experiences, slower pacing, authentic local connections and more flexibility — and Collette believes it is leading this transformation.

PAX got a firsthand taste of the company’s approach before even arriving at the venue.

Transportation to the event was arranged in a luxury SUV, mirroring Collette’s private chauffeur service that is included for guests who purchase airfare through the company.

The door-to-door service offers travellers transportation up to 100 kilometres from most Canadian gateways and includes airport transfers both at home and in destination. Groups of three or more are picked up in an SUV, while smaller parties travel in a sedan.

For Collette, this seamless experience is part of a broader philosophy: the journey begins the moment a traveller leaves home. And with travel advisors themselves.

“Travel advisors are a key part of our strategy, business, and future,” said Christian Leibl-Cote, executive vice president of global sales at Collette, in a group interview with select trade media. “We’re here to say thank you to everything they've done." 

The party, Leibl-Cote said, was organized to showcase the strength of the relationships Collette has cultivated across the Canadian market.

“It's fun to see how people are coming to us and saying, ‘I can't wait to work with you, I can't wait to do this,'" he said. 

He acknowledged the demands advisors face daily, noting the constant stream of supplier communications, training sessions and competing priorities.

“Travel advisors work hard. They have a lot on their plates. They get 600 emails a week on average, they get trainings from all different partners,” he said. “So for them to say, ‘I want to work with Collette. I trust Collette, I believe in what they do’ — that means a lot to us.”

Advisors also remain Collette’s dominant distribution channel. 

“The majority of our business is through advisors,” he said. “In Canada, it’s probably the highest of all the markets that we have. It’s pretty significant.”

Canada’s growth (and things you can’t Google)

Collette’s momentum in Canada has become one of the company’s biggest success stories.

“Canada's the fastest growing market, for three years in a row now,” said Leibl-Cote.

Ron Lonsdale, vice president at Collette Canada, credited much of that success to advisor relationships and the company’s efforts to evolve guided travel into something more experiential.

“Canadians over-index with experiences over material goods,” said Lonsdale, referring to Collette’s handcrafted, curated tours.

He explained that Collette’s designers and buyers live in the destinations they curate, allowing them to create experiences travellers cannot easily replicate themselves.

“We're creating culinary and cultural immersion experiences that the consumer can't Google,” he said.

That local expertise is shaping a new era of touring centred on “purposeful pacing,” said Lonsdale.

“Consumers want free time, they want to explore independently. They don't want it so structured,” he explained.

The company, for example, is always trying to reduce time spent on motor coaches in favour of keeping travellers active in destinations.

“What we've done is cut down the driving so there’s more time in destinations, not on the coach,” he said.

Leibl-Cote said traveller expectations have dramatically shifted since the pandemic.

“Before, it was all about seeing five or six countries in 10 days,” he said. “Now, it's about slowing the pace, being able to experience the destination and meet the locals.”

To support that evolution, Collette’s product teams continuously revisit itineraries to improve pacing.

Which comes back to reducing the mileage on the motor coach.

Leibl-Cote offered one striking example. “Nineteen years ago, one trip we offered was 2,200 kilometres in 10 days. That same trip now is less than 500 kilometres,” he said.

Rather than operating circular routes, Collette increasingly designs itineraries that begin and end in different cities and incorporate local transportation.

“For example, between York and London, it’s a six to eight-hour bus ride. We now use a high-speed train,” he explained. “Our travellers don't need to be on the motor coach because it's six to eight hours, so we take them on the train so they can spend more time in London or more time in York.”

Changing perceptions of touring

Both executives acknowledged that guided touring still battles outdated stereotypes.

“Touring has always had a bad perception,” said Leibl-Cote. “The idea of getting up at 6 a.m., following the flag, touring until 10 o'clock at night. But touring really isn't that.”

He believes the touring sector has lagged behind the cruise industry (amplified by CLIA) in reshaping public perception.

“Touring hasn't done that,” he said. “We're leading the way in changing what touring really is.”

That transformation has become particularly evident through Collette’s rapidly expanding small-group touring program, Explorations, Collette’s fastest-growing product.

This travel style incorporates unique accommodations (like igloos in Finland), rare activities (like truffle hunting in France) and local experts who know the inside scoop about a destination. The days are tailored specifically for smaller groups.

“It’s extremely hot,” Leibl-Cote said of demand for small-group travel. “In the last two years, we more than quadrupled the amount of departure dates and seats available.”

The company has expanded from 19 small-group tours in 2019 to more than 63 tours planned for 2027.

Collette defines small groups as roughly 19 to 24 guests depending on destination, with averages often landing closer to 18 or 19 travellers.

According to Lonsdale, travellers are increasingly seeking destinations where expert planning and local guidance provide reassurance and added value.

“I look at regions like Africa, Asia and South America,” he said. “These are areas where people wouldn't independently travel themselves. They're looking for that concierge service, local experts…they want to immerse themselves and have an authentic experience.”

The company is also seeing growing interest in colder and more remote destinations such as Patagonia.

“We don't want to tell the story. We want the traveller to have their own story,” Lonsdale added.

Leibl-Cote echoed that sentiment. “Travel is all about creating these memories that you're going to be able to talk about for the rest of your life,” he said.

Today’s travellers, he added, are seeking deeper cultural understanding rather than simply checking landmarks off a list.

“People are asking, ‘What is the real Paris?’” he said. “We use local transportation, so people can see how people live in destinations.”

Investing in advisor success

Collette is also doubling down on giving advisors firsthand experience with its product.

“In 2025, 1,100 advisors travelled with us,” Leibl-Cote said. “That was the biggest number we've ever had.”

The company now offers deeply discounted familiarization opportunities for advisors in Canada and beyond.

“What we created was the opportunity for advisors here in Canada to travel with us at $150 a night,” he said. “We want advisors to come in and experience what touring really is all about.”

Lonsdale said advisors, today, are increasingly strategic in how they position guided touring within their businesses.

“I think advisors are much more knowledgeable. They’re invested. They're looking at their book of business and how guided touring fits their traveller's needs,” he said.

To support them, Collette has focused on creating educational tools (see Collette University here) and resources that help advisors overcome outdated perceptions about touring.

The company is also invested in advisor-friendly loyalty and commission structures.

Through Collette’s loyalty program, guests receive future travel credits worth five per cent of their land package value, while advisors can track client profiles and loyalty information directly through the company’s trade portal.

Leibl-Cote also highlighted the company’s advanced commission program for advisors.

“If we cancel the trip, anything that they’ve earned in advanced commission, they get to keep it,” he said. “We will never recall it.”

Navigating uncertainty

The conversation also turned to the increasingly complex global travel landscape.

Leibl-Cote emphasized that Collette’s long-standing crisis management approach has helped build trust with both advisors and travellers.

“The travel industry is hit constantly by all kinds of things that happen on a yearly basis,” he said.

He pointed to the company’s response during major global crises, including 9/11, the COVID-19 pandemic and the October 7 attacks in Israel in 2023.

According to Leibl-Cote, Collette maintains a dedicated crisis leadership team and emergency operations centre at its headquarters that monitors world events continuously.

“There's always something going on, and we're always on top of it,” he said.

Despite geopolitical tensions and ongoing air travel disruptions linked to fuel shortages and Middle East instability, Canadian demand remains resilient, he said.

“Canadians are not cancelling, they’re still buying,” Leibl-Cote said, noting that the Australian market, which relies on hubs like Dubai and Doha to, has seen the biggest hit.

While travel from Canada to the United States has declined in recent years, the touring company hasn’t been as affected because relatively few Canadians use companies like Collette when visiting the U.S., Leibl-Cote said.

Lonsdale noted that Canadians are prioritizing multigenerational journeys. The company is also seeing growth among solo female travellers and younger demographics as well.

“It’s not about the age anymore,” said Leibl-Cote. “It's about the modern traveller who’s curious and looking to experience things.”

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