One hundred and two years of operations. More than 160 vacation options. Seven continents.

Collette on Wednesday night launched their brand new season of tour destinations and dates at a splashy reception in Toronto, in conjunction with the debut of the latest agent resource guide.

Agents, suppliers and industry types were treated to a miniature spice market, Japanese Temaki making, Italian cheeses, South American dance and more at a downtown Toronto reception that marked their 102 years in the travel business.

The company next year is introducing more than 20 new tours in destinations that are currently trending on many lists of favourite world destinations. The Azores Jewels of Portugal, Spotlight on Nashville, and Greece Island Hopper, are just a few of our newest experiences, which guests can take advantage of throughout 2020 and into 2021.

“We wanted to create buzz and excitement around the launch of the new travel season,” said Joshua Chelmo, Senior Publicity and Events Manager. “We have so many incredible new tours, and the launch of this season is really a huge indicator of what is to come in the year ahead.”

“We’ve had a lot of the same trips in our top 10 for the past 25 years, including Shades of Ireland, so this is a chance to highlight some other destinations,” one Collette official said.

In an interview with TravelPulse Canada, Collette's marketing manager for Canada, Alisia Apostolou, said she doesn’t want would-be travellers simply walking into a travel agent’s office and asking, “where should I go,” but instead wants them to say, “Tell me about Collette; I want to travel with Collette.”

Apostolou said her company’s product designers are the best in the business and that Collette takes care of customers from the start of their trip to the finish, including picking them up for a trip to the airport for their flight.

“We definitely take things to the next level,” she said.

Collette officials said agents who are part of their network will get the most up-to-date information on Collette’s latest sales, marketing campaigns, and the biggest travel trends and can contribute regularly by providing feedback on the company’s services. Agents can visit the Collette Facebook page for more information.

Collette President Jaclyn Leibl-Cote told event attendees that a lot of great things are happening in the company and that travel around the world is booming.

“We’re seeing Morocco go through the roof,” she said. “Egypt and Jordan also are booming, and we continue to expand throughout Europe.”

Leibl-Cote said Japan is a big seller given that Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics, and that other fast-growing areas include Croatia and Finland.

Popular stand-bys include the Canadian Maritime provinces and Newfoundland, as well as Italy and Australia/New Zealand.

Leibl-Cote said popular Collette travel programs include Spotlights, where folks can experience life the way locals do, and Explorations, which are “culturally immersive” and entirely carbon neutral.

New tours for 2020 include Patagonia, The Azores, a combined Jordan-Egypt trip, Shrines of France, Spotlight on Nashville and Shrines of Ireland, as well as a Sicily & Malta package and one called “Australia and New Zealand Uncovered.”