Montagnese settling into new role at ACV

It seems there hasn’t been a dull moment in the Canadian travel industry this spring, especially when considering the many recent changes in personnel taking place at several brands in recent weeks.

Among those changing faces is Nino Montagnese, who has made both a change and a return: in late May, Montagnese departed TravelBrands (where he spent just over a year as senior vice president of sales & marketing) and, less than a week later, returned to Air Canada Vacations where he spent 12 years as vice-president – sales and marketing, this time in the new role of managing director - sun markets.

“It’s a great opportunity to come back to the company,” Montagnese told PAX in a recent interview, adding that he’s excited to tackle the company’s “aggressive growth target” which has been aligned with the recent expansion of Air Canada rouge into several new destinations.

According to Montagnese, the new role (in which he will report directly to recently-appointed Air Canada Leisure Group President Craig Landry) will see him overseeing sales and marketing of the tour operator’s sun destinations, with a focus on developing relationships with trade partners. To that end, a new advisory board of retail travel agents (with members from across Canada) will be established in the near future.

“One of the keys is to align with our trade partners and ensure that they are being served the way that they should be served,” he said. “With regards to the advisory board, it’s important to listen to what people have to say.”

An increased focus on the retail side of the travel industry is a direct influence of his time with TravelBrands, Montagnese said.

“In my entire career, I’ve pretty much always worked in wholesale and I thought I understood what retailers wanted,” Montagnese told PAX, citing his time spent with Sears Travel (under the TravelBrands umbrella) as a key moment in “opening my eyes to retail.”

Looking ahead to the coming sun season, Montagnese said that while it’s still too early to determine how this year’s bookings will compare to 2015-16, initial sales are positive indicators; ACV’s 2016-17 winter brochure will officially launch in mid-July, which will be followed by several launch events across Canada, Montagnese said.