Air Canada Vacations held events this week in Montreal and Toronto to celebrate the launch of their new Europe & Cruise and Go Canada programs.

In Toronto, 250+ agents attended ACV’s event at the Sheraton Toronto Airport, getting the opportunity to speak with suppliers on the tradeshow floor before sitting down to dinner and an episode of the George and Guy comedy hour.

Air Canada Vacations’ George Platanitis, vice president, sales & partnerships and Guy Marchand, general manager, sales – Quebec and Atlantic Canada, played well off each other’s sense of humour as they presented ACV’s 2017 Europe & Cruise and Go Canada programs.

Guy Marchand and George Platanitis, kept the crowd laughing at ACV's Toronto Europe & Cruise, and Go Canada launch.

Europe & Cruise: ACV’s new Europe brochure focuses on 10 destinations and 25 Cruise Escapes, all segmented into eight categories; Urban Getaways, Guided Tours, Fly & Drive Vacations, Fly & Rail Vacations, Island Hopping in Greece, French Riviera Escape, Amalfi Coast Escape, and Cruise Escapes.

All packages include flights, transfers, accommodation, and suggested or pre-arranged excursions, based on the destination, and the itineraries offered within each of the eight categories are specially curated to appeal to every type of traveller, from history buffs to island hoppers.

One interesting point was the cost of a Europe Vacation. “I really wanna stress the fact that a lot of us think, and a lot of your clients think, and a lot of YOU think, that Europe is expensive.” said Platanitis. “I just want to focus your attention on the prices here that include tax. Greece – Best of Island Hopping at $1789 tax in. Why would someone not book an ACV package for $1,789 tax included per person…you can go to the Caribbean for pretty much the same price, or they can get the culture, do some island hopping, see Europe that they haven’t seen before, and you get tremendous commission for it.”

On the Cruise front, ACV’s Cruise Escapes product offers 25 itineraries with departures from Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, Rome and Venice, plus river cruises sailing on the Seine, Rhone, Soane, Rhine and Danube form Avalon Waterways and AmaWaterways.

“And we also have flights…but many, many of the bookings we have for cruises are for cruise only, and we don’t know why because we fly to six continents in the world…everywhere with Air Canada.” said Marchand. “So why don’t you book [your cruise air] with us?”

 “Cruise and air is another value-add that no one else offers”, added Platanitis. “Its flexible options make it easy for you and your clients to add flights…to their booking.  All flights are 100 per cent refundable up to 30 days prior to travel, as is the $100 deposit to hold those flights.”

ACV’s CruiseAir also features a Best Price Guarantee and Flight Guarantee. The Best Price Guarantee ensures that clients get the best price and the Flight Guarantee will protect your clients who may miss their cruise departure, with ACV arranging alternate flights on Air Canada’s network to get them to the next port of call free of charge.

To celebrate the launch of their Europe & Cruise program, ACV is offering an extra 5% commission on new Europe package bookings until May 31, 2017 and 5% commission on the air portion of CruiseAir bookings.

Air Canada Vacations’ Aeroplan partnership was front and centre throughout the presentation. Not only do travellers earn Aeroplan Miles on ACV packages, but ACV is also offering exclusive perks to Air Canada Altitude™ members, including a one-time bonus of 1,500 Altitude Qualifying Miles with the purchase of any air and hotel or air and cruise package, and up to 2,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the purchase of any air and hotel or air and cruise package. All agents need to do to apply the bonus Altitude Qualifying Miles and Bonus Aeroplan Miles is input the client’s Aeroplan number when booking.

Go Canada: ACV describes Go Canada as “an ode to Canada’s beauty, culture and history” and their Go Canada program, launched in January 2017, offers air-inclusive packages across Canada, divided into seven categories; Urban Getaways, Wildlife Adventures, Fly & Drive and Fly & Rail Vacations, Guided Tours, and Golf and Ski Vacations.

Until June 30, 2017, ACV is offering clients $300 in savings per family on Canada packages and 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per couple. And for agents, every Go Canada land-only or air-inclusive package booked this year gets agents an entry to win round-trip Business class air tickets to anywhere in the world Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge flies.

Be sure to watch TravelPulse Canada’s exclusive 1-2-1 Q&A with George Platanitis, where George answers your questions.

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