“Dream bigger, see the world”: Agents learn about Europe & beyond at ACV seminar series

Lights, camera, Europe (and beyond!)

Taking over a movie theatre in Etobicoke, ON Tuesday night (Feb. 18), Air Canada Vacations (ACV) welcomed a pumped-up crowd of roughly 150 travel advisors to its “Dream Bigger, See the World” seminar – one of three happening in select cities this week.

The detailed training event – which lands in Burnaby, BC today (Feb. 19), and then Laval, QC on Thursday (Feb. 20) – was held to show the travel trade just how much ACV sells outside of the traditional sand and sun.

From South America to Europe to Asia to Australia to New Zealand, ACV, as organizers reiterated, “sells the world.”

“We’re diversifying a lot more,” said Erminia Gallina, director of sales at ACV, speaking to PAX at the popcorn-filled event, which was held at Cineplex Cinemas Queensway.

 Today, ACV partners with more than 600 resorts across 60 sun destinations, but also offers more than 350 tours across Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Dubai and Central and South America with flights on board Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge.

Work smarter, not harder

The message, last night, was that ACV, thanks to new support tools, makes selling tours (and cruises) easy and simple.

Speaking about ACV’s 2025 Europe portfolio – which includes new tours to Porto, Prague, and Naples, as well as expanded options in Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland – Gallina described it as a “working smarter, not harder” model.

“We put everything together,” she said. “We’ve classified different tours, nailing every aspect of travel.”

ACV’s Europe Travel Agent Toolkit, a useful resource that equips travel pros with tools, incentives, and sales support, explains it all. (Click here to download a free digital version).

There are new multi-country tours, fly and drive/fly and rail options, as well as classic, island hopping, beach holidays, urban, premium and guided tours.

It’s a useful model for product positioning, whether your client is a Europe first-timer, a travelling couple, a repeat visitor or a culture lover.

“There are so many variations that can help advisors identify what their clients are looking for,” Gallina explained. 

Group options are also now available – agents can choose from more than 240 curated tour packages, offering guided, self-guided, or partially guided experiences.

Last year, ACV introduced a new Group Quoting Tool, giving advisors the capability to create and manage their group quotes. Since then, booking groups with ACV has been “getting easier,” Gallina said. 

“We’re seeing an uptick in groups, which we’ve expanded to include Europe,” she said.

ACV offers group tours in Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain, for example. And changes have been made, such as allowing ten passengers (instead of ten adults). Price matching is also back.

“We’re opening up for groups to expand. We’re finally ready to get to that stage,” Gallina said.

The Europe toolkit, which includes cheat sheets, outlines other changes ACV has made this year, such as expanding Europe from seasonal to year-round – “because people don’t necessarily want to go in July and August,” Gallina said. 

Agents can also review ACV’s top three European tours (Portugal North to South, Best of Greece and Discover Italy), and discover new ones, such as “Paris and Beyond: Iconic Destinations,” “Sorrento and Ischia: A Tale of Two Coasts,” and “Amsterdam and more.”

Cruising made easy 

Joining ACV last night were partners Celebrity Cruises, Arabian Adventures, Tourism Ireland, Tourism Australia and TripOppo. Representatives from each presented the latest updates.

Some attention was given to ACV’s Flight & Cruise packages, which feature more than 100 itineraries, allowing travellers to explore Europe’s iconic cities with the convenience of unpacking once and calling the ship their home.

The “biggest thing” with ACV, said Gallina, is the company’s Cruise Promise. 

These packages include flexible booking options with no deposit required for flights, fully refundable flights and one complimentary name change up to 24 hours before departure.

Travellers can secure their cruise with a deposit as low as $50 per person on select cruise lines.

Additionally, the Promise guarantees the lowest airfare or a fly-free offer, along with the opportunity to earn Aeroplan points.

ACV, notably, will soon expand its Flight & Cruise Packages with the addition of Virgin Voyages and CroisiEurope – both of which will launch in March. These two brands, said Gallina, will offer more variety at sea and on rivers. 

Growth spurt

ACV experienced a growth spurt last year, introducing new guided tours beyond the borders of Europe – in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. 

In Asia, agents will find packages in Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as in China and Hong Kong. The company’s guided tours in Asia have the traits of an all-inclusive vacation, as PAX learned firsthand on a FAM with agents in Japan last year.

Round-trip flights, transfers, accommodations at four and five-star hotels, gratuities, any domestic flights between cities that may apply, and some meals are all included.

Meanwhile, ACV offers nine tours in Colombia, 13 tours in Brazil, 10 tours in Chile, three tours in Costa Rica and two tours in Belize.

And let’s not forget the Middle East, where ACV unlocks guided adventures in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Air Canada’s network will also expand this year.

Starting April 2, year-round, non-stop service to Manila will launch at YVR; new seasonal, non-stop service to Porto, Naples and Prague will also start in spring 2024 out of YYZ.

Furthermore, YVR will see new year-round and seasonal flights to Tampa, Raleigh and Nashville starting this summer.  

ACV celebrates 50 years

Adding to the excitement is Air Canada Vacations’ 50th anniversary, a milestone that wouldn’t be possible without the support of Canada’s travel trade, Gallina said. 

“Without them, we wouldn’t be the company we are today,” she said.

To mark the occasion, from now until Feb. 23, travellers can take advantage of savings on over 50,000 ACV packages to destinations worldwide for departures until Dec. 18, 2025.

A new interactive trivia game for the trade, celebrating “50 years of loving you,” has also launched: from now until March 2, 2025, agents that book any ACV package will receive a link to their ACV&Me email containing a fun interactive activity, which unlocks a chance to win 50 exciting prizes, including Aeroplan and ACV&ME points, future travel credits, and round-trip air tickets to select destinations in Mexico or the Caribbean.

Travel pros will receive a game play email with a chance to participate for every reservation made. Winners will be notified with details on their prizes during the week of March 17, 2025.

And that's not all. Throughout the year, ACV will have special surprises in store for the 50 top performing agents.

These high achievers will be treated to extra perks along with an exclusive experience under the sun. The details are still in the works, so stay tuned. 

“Our plan is to go big or go home,” Gallina said. 

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