On Location: Canadian Advisors Talk the State of Travel in San Antonio

by Mark Chesnut
Last updated: 12:10 PM ET, Mon September 28, 2026

An array of issues recently dominated conversations among Canadian travel advisors at two major events staged by TRAVELSAVERS, NEST and the Affluent Traveler Collection (ATC).

The invitation-only ATC Symposium, held Sept. 22–24 in San Antonio, Texas, brought together more than 250 luxury advisors, agency leaders and preferred partners. It was followed by Travel Market on Sept. 24–27, with approximately 1,000 participants gathering for professional development, supplier meetings and networking. Both events took place at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa.

Even as attendees discussed challenges related to economic uncertainty, reduced airline commissions and declining Canadian travel to the United States, the general outlook was positive, as advisors reported that Canadians are still making travel a priority.

Confidence Returns After a Soft Spring

Jane Clementino, senior vice-president and general manager for Canada at TRAVELSAVERS, described an encouraging change in the mood among this year’s attendees, compared with previous conferences.

“I feel like there’s more confidence in the room,” she said.

“With the confidence, there’s calm. And if there is a problem, I feel like they have the recipe or the way forward to fix it.”

That positivity is confirmed by TRAVELSAVERS Canada survey results that were released during Travel Market. Sixty-five percent of Canadian advisors expect their 2026 sales to surpass 2025 levels, while none anticipate a significant decline. Sixty-seven percent, meanwhile, said shoulder-season bookings were steady or growing.

Still, Clementino said the year had not been uniformly strong. The first quarter was decent, she said, but the second quarter was “really soft,” as political and economic uncertainty took a toll on bookings.

“But in the summer, it got really, really strong,” she said. “We feel like the end of the year will finish strong, and we’ll be ahead of 2025.”

The forward outlook is even more optimistic. TRAVELSAVERS reported that 2027 bookings are showing double-digit growth across most segments. “2027 is looking excellent,” Clementino said, noting that many travellers are already “securing what they want because inventory is limited for some of these special trips that cost between $25,000 to $50,000.”

Luxury sales are particularly strong, according to ATC, which reported that in 2026, luxury ocean sales have surged 31% year over year, luxury room nights have risen 44% and river cruise sales have increased 12%.

Pivoting Away from the USA

Reduced Canadian demand for U.S. vacations has emerged as one of the most noticeable shifts in the marketplace, according to multiple observers. Clementino estimated that overall Canadian bookings to the U.S. is about 25% to 30% lower, although she said business travel, visits to friends and relatives and cruise departures continue.

The good news for advisors is that this drop doesn’t mean that clients have stopped traveling: they’re just choosing other destinations.

RELATED: TRAVELSAVERS Reports Double-Digit Cruise Growth, Unveils New Advisor Tools

“People have just taken their travel budget and redirected it,” Clementino said. “The winner for us in Canada has been Europe.”

Asia is also gaining ground, according to Clementino, with standouts including Japan and, increasingly, China. Domestic travel also performed especially well during the summer, she said.

Confirming the shift in destination preferences is Jesse Eberts, a travel advisor with Walnut Grove Cruise & Travel in Langley, B.C. He reports far fewer bookings for California, Florida and U.S. Disney vacations — but stronger demand for Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Europe.

“In the long run, it does make us a little more money,” he said. “All these new destinations, I find, are sometimes turning all-inclusive travellers, Disney travellers and Florida travellers into more worldwide travellers.”

“We've seen an increase of people who are big Disney fans, now deciding to go to Disney in Japan, Disney in Hong Kong,” he added. “I never sold much Disney Paris, but over the last two years, I've sold an amazing amount of it.”

Kim Cross, vice-president of leisure strategies at Away by TTI Travel, also reported a strong tendency among clients to avoid travel to the U.S. “Almost all of our clients pivoted,” she said, citing strong interest in Turks and Caicos, Costa Rica, Portugal and Spain. “It was a pivot, not a cancellation.”

Dealing with Reduced Airline Commissions

Airline commission cuts — such as Air Canada’s recent move in June — pose a problem for the retail travel segment, according to Cross. “It’s a financial hit to all Canadian agencies,” she said. “It’s in the hundreds of thousands of dollars lost to agencies.”

Airline choice will still be “client driven,” Cross said, but noted that “we could see a shift, simply because of the commission structures.”

The impact is especially significant for smaller agencies, according to Eberts, who called the changes “a little nerve wracking” for his family-owned business.

“We still work very hard to make sales and to hit our projections that we set as an agency,” he said. “I feel for the people that aren’t hitting those numbers.”

RELATED: 65% of TRAVELSAVERS Canada Advisors Expect Sales Growth in 2026

Clementino has advice for advisors. “With the reality of the commission cuts, I think you have to have a service fee,” she said. “And it’s worth it, because [clients] have that peace of mind that whatever happens — schedule change, cancellation — the agent’s going to be able to support you.”

Advisors without their own IATA accreditation, Clementino noted, can also use TRAVELSAVERS’ consolidator relationships.

Overall, she advises that agencies treat air as one component of a larger transaction. “Make sure that you’re doing it as a total package,” she said, “so you’re making your commission holistically on everything.”

New Technology and Human Expertise

TRAVELSAVERS debuted an array of new developments at Travel Market 2026 – including a new marketing hub, improved consumer lead programs, new partnerships and digital initiatives.

"Our innovation strategy has always been laser-focused on helping advisors grow stronger, more profitable businesses while delivering exceptional value to travellers," said Nicole Mazza, the company’s chief marketing officer. 

During a presentation, she also stressed the importance of the human factor in a travel agency’s success.

“Travellers don’t need more information,” she explained. “They need you, the advisor, to cut through it all. The more information becomes abundant, the more people want trust, they want confidence. Trust has become one of the most powerful currencies in our business today.”

At a panel discussion about artificial intelligence, Cross expressed the distinction clearly: “AI is not going to have your back.”

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