2024 06 19 — Transat Distribution Canada and Ipsos survey: Marlin Travel and Club Voyages on the list of travellers' favourite brands in Canada

Montreal, June 19, 2024 - Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), Canada's largest network of travel professionals entirely Canadian-owned, is pleased to share the results of a recent cross-Canada study, commissioned by TDC and conducted by Ipsos, in which 920 Canadians participated as of the end of March 2024.

"It's essential for a network of TDC's stature to take the pulse of the market formally, to survey the travel intentions of Canadian customers at regular intervals, and above all, to measure the resonance of our brands. Our last study of this kind took place before the pandemic, so this portrait of travellers' intentions comes at just the right time," says Karine Gagnon, General Manager of Transat Distribution Canada.

"The highlights of this survey were shared with our owners and managers of franchised and affiliated agencies last April, as part of our Leaders Forum. This data is enlightening for our members, and helps them to structure their advertising offensives better, aligning them with the interests of their customers," continues Karine Gagnon. "Overall, the survey shows that travel professionals continue to occupy an enviable place with Canadians when it comes to planning and booking their next vacation, a very positive trend for all TDC network members, whether they work in our franchised or affiliated agencies, in one of our corporate agencies, or our agent@home program. Canadians know they are real experts, specially trained to meet their specific needs," concludes the General Manager.

The strength of the TDC network brands

From the point of view of Marc Pelletier, Senior Director, Marketing, Communications and Events at TDC, the findings of this study are indeed positive for travel professionals, and more particularly for the brands of the TDC network as a whole.

"The brands of TDC's franchised agencies - Marlin Travel in English Canada and Club Voyages in Quebec - enjoy an enviable reputation with customers, as do those of our corporate agencies, Transat Travel/ Voyages Transat. What's more, they are also at the top of the list of brands that inspire the most confidence in Canadians, an average of 3.6 in English Canada and 3.8[1] in Quebec, and our association with Transat is certainly a factor in this equation," says Marc Pelletier. He continues. "We know that brand awareness is important when choosing a company, and especially when it comes to trust. This is even truer when we're talking about a service company. This trust, built over the long term, is a differentiating factor worth its weight in gold, especially in an industry with fierce competition".

Travel professionals, a reference for customers

"At TDC, our travel professionals are one of our most important strengths, and we are increasingly highlighting them in our marketing initiatives. I'm particularly pleased to do so, as our Ipsos survey reveals an upward trend in intentions to use their services. In fact, by 2024, 40% of Canadians travellers (and 45% of Quebec travelers) plan to book their next vacation with the help of a travel professional. This represents a significant increase over 2023, when 31% of Canadian and 38% of Quebec customers used their services," points out Marc Pelletier. He adds that "the three main reasons why they do so are almost all equivalent in terms of importance: being able to book everything from a single place, making travel arrangements less stressful, and finally, talking to a real person and having the opportunity to really verbalize their needs. In short, the human factor," he adds.

Where and how will Canadians travel in 2024?

"When it comes to the destination of their next vacation, Canadians' top 3 preferences are the United States (37%), then their province (35%), and finally, Canada but in a province other than their own (33%).

"The next most popular international destinations are Mexico and the Caribbean (29%), followed by Europe (27%)," says Marc Pelletier. He adds that "when it comes to choosing a means of transport, air travel is far ahead (68%), and the car comes second (50%). When it comes to accommodation, hotels are still by far the favourite choice for Canadians, at 73%, and in 2nd place comes house or apartment rentals, at 34%", adds Marc Pelletier. "And with 90% of Canadian travellers saying they are very or fairly likely to travel in 2024, this bodes well for TDC members," concludes Marc Pelletier.

About Transat Distribution Canada

Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) is a full-service travel agency network with some 325 locations, comprising brick-and-mortar travel agencies, websites, a call centre, and independent contractors representing members of the agent@home program. The network includes the Transat Travel, Marlin Travel, Club Voyages, TravelPlus and Voyages en Liberté brands, as well as other affiliate members. TDC is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel and offering vacation packages, hotel stays and air travel. Transat was awarded Travelife certification in 2018 in recognition of its commitment to sustainable development. Based in Montreal, it has 5,000 employees.

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[1] This score is calculated out of 5.

Source: Marie-Annick Lalande, Senior Advisor, Communications, Transat Distribution Canada - 514-987-1760, ext. 4076; [e-mail]