Award-winning ways to sell Canada

Destination Canada’s 27th British Annual Canada Travel Awards took place at Canada House on February 23, once again rewarding excellence in promoting Canada.

Winners on the night included First Class Holidays, which was voted Best Tour Operator by travel agents; Canadian Sky, which won the Keep Exploring award for its marketing efforts; and Claire Moore at Peakes Travel Elite, winner of the Best Travel Agent award.

“It’s a genuinely great result and I’m floored by it,” says Moore, joint proprietor and manager at the independent Shrewsbury-based agency.

The Best Travel Agent award was judged by tour operators and based on Canada sales volumes for 2016, with Moore coming out on top.

“As an agency, we always do a good general amount of business for Canada,” she says. “It normally follows a pattern of one reasonable year, one bumper year, but even compared with an average bumper year, we had an impressive one, as bookings were up by 250% from 2015 to 2016.

Innovative thinking

Moore says that sales to Canada were so good last year that there was not enough product to go around:

“There was a lot of business early last year which we didn’t manage to book due to availability.

“Instead, we got in touch with clients a couple of months later and booked them on to 2017 trips, so they had a big holiday to look forward to.”

With 2017 marking Canada’s 150th anniversary, and the incentive of free entry into all national parks, Moore says that clients are booking earlier than ever.

Then in June last year Moore was invited on a Destination Canada fam trip, to record her experiences for the Canada Specialist Programme.

Moore and Adam Brinklow from Canadian Sky recorded their agent training videos in eastern Canada.

“We visited Ontario, including a visit to Toronto, zip lining around the Blue Mountains, hanging off the CN Tower, and a helicopter ride over Niagara Falls.”

Moore said it all helped further cement Peakes Travel Elite as a Canada specialist.

Shifting viewpoints

Moore says the trip also changed her perceptions of Canada, and how to sell it: “I’d been to the west coast before and that was all that existed in my mind. I remember seeing the images in the brochures years ago and thinking they’d been enhanced, but in real life it’s like nothing else.

“The lakes really are turquoise. It’s more than what you’d hope it to be.”

Moore is now more inclined to sell the east coast, too. “After last year’s experience I’d say Ontario and Toronto are must-visits and very trendy.

“Toronto is the gateway to the good stuff, including great food and drink, beaches, and an impressive family offering.

“Activities can be combined and it doesn’t have to be about full-on wildlife experiences, either.”

At Peakes Travel Elite the west coast remains eternally popular, as do trips to the Rockies, but Moore says her clients are becoming more adventurous.