For nine days in May, travel agents across Canada joined together to celebrate their industry, network with their colleagues and suppliers, and plan for the future during the annual Travel Professionals International Summit series.

And while Canada’s economy may have spent much of 2015 struggling to right itself, TPI travel advisors had a generally bright year, with more love expected for the year ahead. In fact, across the TPI network of advisors, average take-home commission increased by 18 per cent per advisor over the previous year.

“We are thrilled to see that our advisors’ hard work is paying off with them putting more money in their pockets,” said Morris Chia, TPI President & CEO. “Their focused hard work coupled with our industry-leading supplier base commissions, head office advisor support, and Velocity recognition and incentives showcases the unbeatable value proposition of joining our network.”

So what does that translate to, in terms of take-home pay? Many TPI agents can earn in excess of $125,000 a year, according to Chia. Not exactly pocket change, especially for an industry that was considered to be at death’s door just a few years ago.

“There is unfortunately still a misconception that independent travel advisors do not make a decent living,” said Chia. “That is categorically false as on an individual advisor basis taking home over $125,000+ annually is a very achievable goal as this represents only a portion of what many of our top travel advisors earn.”

Travellers who have not yet used a travel agent should know that on average, TPI advisors have about 12 years travel industry experience. Plenty of time to forge the relationships required to bring about top-notch service.

“All too often, those both inside the industry and outside the industry perceive our model to attract and retain more inexperienced travel advisors than industry veterans,” said Chia. “The survey results clearly show that TPI advisors are in this business for the long term, whether they gained their travel industry experience with TPI or prior to joining TPI.”

Digging deeper, at least half of TPI agents average 19 years or more in the travel industry, while one in five have at least 27 years travel experience.

It is these numbers that TPI is celebrating as it concludes its eleven-day TPI Summit, which unfolded at nine cities across Canada in 11 days, including Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and St. Johns.

Over the course of the series, more than 300 advisors attended, both to hone their skills and to maintain their personal networks. And if it’s true that a great salesperson is only as good as his/her partners, TPI advisors were in good company. The Summit series, which was sponsored by Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations as well as Allianz Global Assistance and Transat Holidays/Nolitours, welcomed a total of 30 suppliers who provided information and updates on their products.

Attending agents received the latest news from Barcelo, Bedsonline, Celebrity Cruises, Sandals, Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Tourcan, as well as the Association of Canadian Travel Agents (ACTA), CIBT Visas, DeNure, G Adventures, GoWay, Insight, Intrepid, Myrtle Beach Area CVB, Nexus Holidays, SimplyITickets, St. Lucia Tourist Board and Trafalgar Tours.

For its part, TPI focused on three key messages during the Summit: retention, growth and recruitment, with priority given to each in that order, Advisors were encouraged to continue to innovate their operations, in particular by utilizing TPI’s tools to enhance their own technology and offerings. Additionally, in particular for those hoping to grow their annual revenue, agents were encouraged to add higher-margin products to their client offerings, with an emphasis on FIT, cruise, and luxury (Virtuoso) offerings. And while TPI is made up of an exclusive group of top-producing agents, there is room in the roster for more advisors who meet a very specific set of criteria around entrepreneurship and proven business leadership, whether the individual has travel experience or is new to the industry.

Each summit consisted of a series of daytime events followed by a cocktail reception and trade show where advisors were able to meet directly with industry representatives. Following the trade show, top advisors were invited to an exclusive dinner with TPI executives.

TPI is a Virtuoso member and is a division of the I.A.S. - Independent Agency Services Corp. group of companies. More information is available at www.tpi.ca.