A crowd of some 100 travel advisors, suppliers and other industry execs gathered at a hotel overlooking the Toronto Island Airport on 05JUN for a splashy party to celebrate the official Canadian launch of Envoyage, formerly Independent by Flight Centre.
Luxury launch
There was also some news about a new Envoyage Luxury product that’s close to being launched, as well as Envoyage Corporate.
Chief Operations Officer Astrid Richardson said advisors will need to qualify and show expertise in each area to work for either Envoyage Luxury or Envoyage Corporate. They’ll also have their own distinct programs and tools to help with sales.
The timing is secret, but she told Open Jaw it’s “imminent.”
“There is obviously an opportunity in Canada for luxury offerings,” said Canada’s Anita Emilio, Envoyage vice president.
“Our research shows an incredible shift,” Emilio said. “Travellers are investing heavily in their travels, and they’re elevating their experience and taking bucket list trips. Advisors have seen that opportunity and they’re elevating their game.”
Emilio told Open Jaw she thought the luxury travel boom might “peter out” by now, but it hasn’t happened.
Older travellers “want to do things in a way that’s more comfortable and they really want to enjoy great experiences,” she said.
Richardson, based in Sydney, said corporate business is way up globally, and Envoyage will have one of its best years ever in 2024.
“We won a lot of market share from our competitors during COVID,” she said.
“How did you that,” your Open Jaw correspondent asked.
“Because we’re good at what we do,” Richardson replied with a laugh.
Business travel
On a more serious note, she said 50% of the profit across the group is from corporate sales, “so we know that’s a good opportunity for us.”
The retailer plans on leveraging the trend with a separate corporate division.
Global USP
Richardson said Envoyage has been rolled out in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The group has more than 2,000 agencies worldwide.
“We feel we’re in a unique position to give our advisors an agency with the power of a global brand,” she said. “Certainly, our strategic intent is to have agents who are experienced and who see themselves as elevated above the standard agent, and they are.”
“Most important is that our current group of advisors and agencies have really embraced the new brand,” Emilio said in a rooftop interview at Hotel X, with Porter and Air Canada planes landing below. “We have agents and advisors who have been operating under their own brand and who love the look and feel of Envoyage, and what it represents. So now they want to operate under the Envoyage brand. It’s been really well received.”
Why would an agent hook up with Envoyage, Emilio was asked.
“To be a truly global brand is something that’s very interesting and attractive to Canadian advisors and agencies, where they really can be connected to their colleagues around the world. It also provides access to all the tools that are on the Flight Centre shelf. It really is an opportunity for them.
“Whether it was a blessing or a curse, we were very quiet within the Canadian travel space, so this has given us the opportunity to really reintroduce ourselves,” she said.
Richardson said Envoyage deals with a huge range of travel styles.
“To be able to have that super diverse and broad shelf of product and technology is hands down our winning proposition. Nobody else has that breadth and depth of shelf that we have, and ultimately agents can take as little as they like or as much as they want.”
Emilio said that Independent by Flight Centre began in 2008 and has operated under a few names over the years.
“None as good as Envoyage,” Richardson quipped.
Richardson said Flight Centre Travel Group has made a strategic choice to invest heavily in the private space and that it’s growing quickly.
“We can see the opportunities, and a big part of that is the USA and Canada.”
Asked about Canadian trends, Emilio said multi-generational group travel is definitely on the rise.
Back in the air
“The other thing we’re hearing is that advisors have gone back to selling air again. It was really hard for a while, and there were lots of cancellations, so many of them shifted away from air. Now they’re moving back to that and offering that full package for their customers.”
“We took a 70% position of a company called TP Connects out of Dubai before COVID hit, Richardson added. “It’s a single platform that aggregates air content from GDS, NDC content, low-cost carriers and airlines direct. There’s a single, beautiful platform for them to use.”
More news to come…
Emilio said agents recently returned from the Envoyage Worldwide global conference in Chile. They had great feedback from the event, and are already planning a follow-up session for 2025.
She also promised a lot more news in the coming weeks and months.
Emilio finished her presentation to attendees by reading from a special story about the birth of Envoyage.
“Every adventure needs a guide, a sherpa, a concierge, someone to create an exciting and jaw-dropping experience that feels as effortless as it is meticulously planned,“ she said. “That’s what Envoyage is, the envoy for every voyage.
“Our comprehensive travel ecosystem turns any agent into an envoy, ensuring every journey is the journey of a lifetime,” she added. “We want everyone to live by the compass, not by the clock.”
