Travelzoo Best Bets: Where to Go in 2026 with Susan Catto

Ready for a clear eyed look at how to travel smarter in 2026? Dan and Travelzoo’s Senior Editor and co-host Gabe Saglie close our 10-part Best Bets series with Susan Catto, Head of Publishing and Production at Travelzoo Canada, for a forward looking conversation on the future of travel deals and the trends shaping how we book.

This episode connects the dots between destinations, member behavior, and the offers that truly deliver value. We explore how Canadians and Americans are traveling differently this year, from longer international journeys and train powered domestic escapes to the revival of the great American road trip with Route 66’s 100th anniversary and heritage travel tied to USA 250.

We uncover where value is hiding in plain sight. Mexico’s all inclusive scene is shifting from more to better. Saudi Arabia is emerging with remarkable UNESCO sites and a new wave of hospitality. Albania is gaining ground as a Mediterranean alternative without the crowds or price tag. Closer to home, winter in Muskoka, Vancouver Island, and Nova Scotia proves that off season can offer some of the richest experiences of the year. In Asia, Singapore stands out as a seamless gateway, while Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand continue to attract repeat visitors, often through flexible air inclusive packages that make it easy to extend your stay.

If you want real savings and better experiences, timing is everything. We break down shoulder season advantages, last minute booking behavior, the rise of workcations, and why travelers are reallocating budgets toward meaningful upgrades like better seats and curated experiences. Most importantly, we talk about trust. Human vetted offers, verified stay reviews, and community driven recommendations are redefining what a great travel deal actually looks like.

This is your roadmap to navigating travel trends and finding smarter value in 2026.

Thanks for joining us for this series! Don’t forget to become a member at travelzoo.com to access exclusive offers. Register for just a dollar for the first month!

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Transcript

Series Finale Setup & Guest Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:04

You're absolutely right about the more frequent trips and the sheer variety. Like a lot of Travel Zoo members tell us they're gonna be taking three or four trips, you know, or five trips a year, and it's always a combo. There's some will be within Canada, some will be international.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Hello everyone, and welcome to our final episode in our 10-part series between Travel Trends and Travel Zoo as we focused on best best destinations for 2026. It's been an incredible journey around the world with the destinations, the trends, and all the key moments that are shaping travel in 2026 for both Americans and Canadians. And throughout this series, we've obviously explored many incredible places that offer exceptional value and this year have made the Travel Zoo Best Bets list for all the right reasons. And in our final episode, we are now bringing it all home with one of the heads of publishing at Travel Zoo, who I'm gonna let Gabe introduce here in a moment, to look at the bigger picture of how travelers are navigating the world in 2026. We have focused on the destinations, but this team has done an exceptional amount of research to really understand customer behavior. And we thought it was the perfect way to finish off the series to look at how Americans and Canadians are traveling in 2026 to all of the destinations we've highlighted, plus so many more that TravelZoo promotes over the course of the year. And I just want to remind all of our listeners as well to get your Travel Zoo membership, just like all our Travel Trends team members have. It starts at just a dollar for the first month. You can register at travelzoo.com to take advantage of all the deals we've highlighted from the destinations over the course of this series, and many more over the course of the year. But let me bring my co-host in one more time for this series, Gabe Sagley. Gabe, welcome back to Travel Trends. Tell us about this final episode and please introduce your colleague.

What TravelZoo Does And How It Works

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Say it ain't so, Dan. Final episode. I can't believe it. This has, though, been an amazing journey around the globe, uh, looking at some fantastic destinations and some trends that uh in some cases uh bring Canadians and Americans together. In some cases, we've learned that we travel a little bit differently, but at the end of the day, the common thread here is we are all excited about traveling to these new exciting uh destinations in 2026. Some have been familiar to us, Dan, and some have sparked brand new interest to uh pack our bags, grab our passports, uh, and go. Uh, as you mentioned, here's our tenth episode. Now, this one's gonna be, I think, all about perspective, right? We're gonna be talking about trends, traveler behavior, uh, and how Travel Zoo specifically, both with their Canadian team and with our American teams, um, how we're seeing travel plans shape up now here for 2026, pretty much in real time. So very excited to welcome a friend of mine, uh, Susan Cato, who's head of publishing and head of production for TravelZoo Canada, uh, headquartered there in Toronto. I got to see Susan uh with the Travel Zoo team just a couple of months ago. We had a global meeting in the south of France there in Cannes. Um, very productive, very fancy way to sort of end the year. Uh so great to see Susan here again. She's uh leads the teams responsible for the stories, the deals, the editorial judgment that of course reach millions of Canadian travelers uh every single week. Uh Susan, great to see you again. Welcome to the show. Uh I know you're entering your almost your you're almost at 10 years now with Travel Zoo Canada. Very exciting. I thought maybe we could uh begin with having you introduce yourself, obviously. Tell us about your dual roles there as head of publishing, head of production, how they're different, how they're there's a crossover there. Um, and then we'll get our travel conversation started. Great to see you, Susan.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Hi, great to be here, Gabe. Well, my big picture role is creating um both the content and the deals that make Travel Zoom membership so valuable. So as head of production, I'm leading the client managers who work with our partners to develop the irresistible deals and test them to make sure that they really are the best available in the market. Um, and they're also working with um the destinations that we feature to develop the destination campaigns. And then as head of publishing, um, I lead a team of content creators who do the storytelling. You know, they bring these deals to life through our uh top 20 list of the week's best deals, through the inspiring destination showcases that you guys have been talking about uh in this series, and you know, the the deals that we send out to our members uh both for hotels and trips within Canada and around the world.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

And how big is Travel Zoo Canada's uh membership right now?

SPEAKER_01 4:39

We have about 1.4 million members.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

And you've got deals obviously that cover the gap because I know you're based in Toronto, but you're you're tackling uh travel opportunity for Canadians from coast to coast, really.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yes, we feature deals that go, you know, hotels all across Canada with a lot of um local tourism, you know, that that's very popular with our members to travel locally or to see sites within Canada. But of course, we're featuring trips all over the world, as well as hotels, you know, our Travel Zoo having global offices. Uh, we're picking up, you know, hotels that our colleagues have found uh out of, you know, our American colleagues have found in the Caribbean, places in Italy, in the UK. Um, so these fantastic um deluxe hotels and resorts that we are famous for at Travel Zoo, we have all those uh available to our Canadian members as well.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

That's great. Susan, it's terrific to have you here. Obviously, wonderful to have a fellow Canadian joining us. Obviously, we're both based in Toronto, but one of the things that's unique about you and your role, which is why I think you're the perfect person to have this conversation with, is you are a dual US and Canadian citizen. You actually also have a uh quite a prestigious background as well in journalism. You know, you worked at The Economist, you worked at the New York Times. We've been fortunate to have you in Canada now for about 15 years, but obviously you know both sides of the border. And today we're gonna talk about both. But I actually, what Gabe was just referencing is Canada. And I want to start on that topic because as you mentioned, the population uh, well, I was gonna highlight the population of Canada now is 40 million. The fact you've got you know over a million subscribers, it also highlights how much room there still is to grow in Canada and how many more people should take up Travel Zoo memberships in Canada. And uh we'll talk about the US in a moment because that's where Travel Zoo started. But I know Canada was a very successful region for us uh marketing through Travel Zoo to the Travel Zoo database. Um, but tell us a little bit about the Canadian market specifically. And I guess what I'm also keen to understand here, Susan, is some of the trends that are happening in Canada that might be unique to this market.

The Canadian Traveler: Flights, Trains, And Timing

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Sure. Well, Travel Zoo members in Canada are famously engaged. We have some of the you know highest engagement around the globe. And I think it's because those who know us, well, as I'm sure you've talked about, those who know Travel Zoo and experience it love it. And that's definitely true of our Canadian members. They're so enthusiastic when you meet them, they're like, I tell all my friends to join. And um and they use us kind of repeatedly because we do have that combination of local and global deals. Um, and I guess what I see in Canadian trends is you know, we do have much a very different uh flight situation than our American counterparts. In America, it seems like enviably easy to find flight deals and you have your choice of airlines. Um, in Canada, we are very limited as far as our flight options, and that um definitely changes the way Canadians pick travel. So, for example, um, it's also further to get everywhere. So, where our American counterparts might love a four-day getaway, that's actually uncommon. Our Canadian members tend to pick a week or more for their trips. They travel much longer periods because it takes so much longer to get anywhere. So what they're looking for maybe fewer um like flight-based short getaways, maybe a couple of longer trips every year. And then when they are taking these short getaways, they tend to be drivable trips or train trips. That's the big passion that I'm seeing this year, a real interest in train travel.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

And train travel, Susan, uh train travel with reference to staying within Canada. So you're still seeing a demand for travel regionally, domestically, uh there in Canada, yeah?

SPEAKER_01 8:36

When I um looked at the survey results from uh the domestic survey that we did earlier this year and the one we did last year, the biggest change was a drop in interest in road trips and a commensurate increase in interest in train travel. Um and I think that Canadians are more interested than ever in seeing different parts of Canada that they haven't seen before as well. Um so yeah, that's a real phenomenon.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

And just on this topic, this is one of the things that Gabe had actually called out, and quite rightly just about Canadians traveling domestically. But over the course of this series, we've been focused on the U.S. picks and the Canadian picks for the best bets destinations. So just as a bit of a recap for all of our listeners, you know, we started with Arizona, Finland, Savannah, and Chicago, which were all U.S. picks, and then we had Columbia and Niagara on the Lake uh as two of the Canadian selections. And then last week's episode, we had Chile, which is uh on the U.S. list. And so you know, a great collection of global destinations and also domestic for American travelers and domestic for Canadian travelers, at least with Niagara on the Lake. But I just given that those were the two that we focused on, Colombia and Niagara on the Lake for Canadians, tell us, Susan, what are some of the other destinations? Because I uh both domestically and internationally that you're seeing a lot of interest from Canadians this year.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Like America, we do have Saudi Arabia on our list. We have Saudi Arabia on our list, and there is, there are more flight routes uh from Canada to Saudi Arabia than ever before. Um we have Mexico. We look at um all-inclusive vacation options in Mexico with Marriott Bonvoy because Canadians love an all-inclusive getaway. Um and there's a lot of reasons for that. Probably the same reason everyone loves them, plus the certainty upfront about what you're gonna be paying and that you're not gonna be dealing with exchange rates um the whole time you're traveling. So honestly, like Canada is probably the biggest consumer of all-inclusive vacations. Um so we've got that. We have um Albania on our list uh as a really up-and-coming uh destination, similar to Croatia and Greece, but without the crowds and uh with much cheaper pricing. So those are the three. We don't have we have only five on our list this year, so those are the ones that we are selected.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

And I love to hear what you have to say about those all-inclusives in Mexico. Americans also love the all-inclusive concept, which I think has actually evolved over the last five to plus years. I think if you haven't been to all-inclusive, it's it's a lot less about quantity and it's more about quality, uh, I think across a lot of these Mexican resorts, but still there is that convenience factor across the board that that makes all-inclusive so um so interesting. And then what Saudi Arabia, which is that crossover one for both US uh and Canada's lists, uh, what have what's been the response for you, uh, Susan, with that Saudi Arabia pick? Because here in the US, we've seen remarkably quite a bit of sort of eyebrow-raising delight uh to see uh a destination that is a little exotic, uh is is still evolving, is still sort of modernizing itself with these very long-standing uh and strict in some cases traditions. But what have uh you seen from our the Canadian audience and their response to Saudi Arabia as a destination of note uh this year?

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Yeah, I think it's it's similar. There's a lot of surprise, um and there are a lot of like long-held ideas about Saudi Arabia that uh people you know know certain things about the country that I think there are other things that our showcase brings to life that were much less known. Uh, you know, the the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all the uh the history, and then the emphasis on you know modern developments, modern resorts, and sustainability. So I think it's it's definitely something that Canadians don't know a ton about and hopefully know a little bit more about after our best bets campaign.

Best Bets Recap And New Canadian Hotspots

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Well, you highlighted too the challenge for Canadians with air. We don't have the super low-cost airlines, and sometimes it's more expensive to fly within Canada than it is to fly to Europe. That's something that comes as a popular refrain amongst Canadian travelers when they're looking at prices to go to Vancouver versus London, for example. Yeah. Um one of the things you mentioned was Mexico, and what and one of the inspirations for me in this entire series has been traveling to Mexico. I've as a Canadian, I've actually never been to Mexico. Um I'm traveling there next week with my family, and we're actually chose a Marriott Bonvoy property, uh, the Planet Hollywood, near Cancun, uh, which uh after having collaborated together on this series and looking at Travel Zoo's website and specifically looking at the options. My family, uh, we have two kids that are in their first year university. They really want to do a sun holiday. My wife works in a hospital, she wants to do a sun holiday. And it even gave us the idea of doing sun holiday as a theme for season seven of Travel Trends. So it's amazing how, you know, professionally and personally, I've been inspired by this series. And I I um the one thing I just wanted to ask you though about uh Canada specifically, just to stay on this topic, is that you know, given the capacity now that's opening up for places like the Middle East, because now, you know, um uh with the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney coming back and announcing new air routes after being in Qatar, all of a sudden Canadians are waking up to the opportunity to travel there on some pretty premium luxury aircraft for the people that can sit up the front of the plane, but also for anyone that's just interested in those destinations there, direct flights. And um, so that but but also there are other domestic places within Canada. We just had uh Niagara on the lake, but I'm also keen to know some of those other domestic spots that might be on your list since I always get the Travel Zoo flash deals, and so I'm often getting these deals to go Prince Edward County, or like I'm looking at little getaways, and so I also want Canadians to know about those as well because there's it's not just the international destinations, it's also some of the things that are closer to home that you guys specialize in as well.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Yeah, I just spent the weekend in Muskoka and it's freezing, it's the middle of winter. Uh, and I had a fantastic time. It was really gorgeous. I went to, they have a dark sky preserve where you can see the stars. Um, I never would have like thought, oh, winter getaway uh in Muskoka because it seems to be a summer destination. But you go there, Travel Zoo has amazing deals. Um, the prices are so low, and the people were so friendly and happy to see you because you know they're not getting the same quantity of winter tourism. Um I think that we think we tend to think, oh, summer it's the best time, it's the only time. But uh Canada and winter is pretty fantastic. But as far as like the further flung destinations, two of the most popular places are on like the opposite ends of the country that are, I think, are both fantastic for tourism. Vancouver Island, um, you know, whether you want to go to the coast, uh, you want to go to somewhere like Parksville, you want to go to Tofino for the waves, or Victoria for some of the kind of you know, quaint British-influenced um city life. Uh, or you go to the other side to Nova Scotia and uh, you know, discover Halifax, eat some lobster, drive around, you know, go to obviously Prince Edward Island has been popular with tourists for years and years for very uh obvious like likely reasons from Anna Green Gables to the incredible beaches. Um I think both those ends of the country are really where Canadians are showing a great interest in traveling. If they are not staying close to home, they want to go to one of those uh two coasts.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

You know what's cool, Dan, is that as a travel zoom member here in the States, I'm based in in Los in Southern California. So I get deals that are catered to me as a South Southern California traveler. But as a member, you get to sort of get access to the Canadian uh content, to the UK content, what our French and German counterparts are doing as well. And I love perusing that the Travels of Canada website for this very reason, uncovering parts of that country that as an American traveler sometimes are in the shadows of the Vancouver's and the Toronto's. But it it's sort of uh even if if I'm not necessarily booking immediately, I'm it's it's expanding my horizons. I'm realizing that here is my neighbor to the north with an amazing uh amount of travel opportunity that I did not know existed before. Um and Susan, one of the things that we as American travelers are aware of is the fact that our dollar currently, and for quite a while now, has flexed a little bit of muscle against the Canadian uh currency. Uh I think that also has kept Canadians perhaps more focused on keeping things domestic. Uh, there's a little bit of politics, I'm sure, that is sprinkled in there, but I think the the fiscal reality is driving a lot of this behavior as well. Are you seeing that in fact the desire to for value to stretch the travel dollar is in fact keeping Canadians looking at opportunity within their borders?

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Yeah, I wondered that when I saw the drop in interest in road trips, uh, because I think a lot of road trips were to the United States. Um, and maybe and train trips tend to be a really Canadian thing. Uh, you're not you're much less likely to cross the border on a train. Um so I do think people are staying closer to home.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Yeah. I wonder if some of your travel partners up there are seeing this as a pretty uh neat opportunity. I was in in Honolulu recently where the some of the hotel folks there were lamenting the fact that they're seeing a decrease in Canadian travel. And so they're they're pivoting quite quickly and trying to attract a greater American audience until that uh sort of evens out. But certainly domestically, it would seem to me that for Canadian uh travel brands, this does create some opportunity now that they've got a a captive base of locals and regional travelers that they can more effectively through through uh partnerships with like Travel Zoo uh to reach quite quite efficiently and quite effectively.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

I think that Canadians are more interested than ever in discovering places they've never been before in their own country. So yeah, you've you've you're exactly right there, Gabe. There's a real opportunity for Canadian um you know hoteliers and resort areas to attract a whole new audience of Canadians who maybe thought it was you know easier or cheaper to go somewhere else. They're staying, they're exploring their own country now.

U.S. Trends: Road Trips, Route 66, And 250th

SPEAKER_00 18:45

And Gabe, you obviously brought up a really important point too for Americans traveling into Canada, the value of the US dollars to the Canadian. There are already good deals on Travel Zoo Canada, but they're that much better when you're buying them with American dollars. And so even you, uh Susan describing some of the places within Canada that Canadians are familiar with, obviously, Americans the same, discovering places in Canada that they should travel. And throughout this whole series, Gabe and I have been very focused on that cross-border opportunity. I mean, speaking of Chicago, that's a destination that both Gabe and I want to get back to in 2026. That was a fascinating episode because there's, you know, with the Obama presidential library opening, and there was so many unique developments. I've been to Chicago three or four times, but that episode opened my eyes and Gabe's as well, to the reason that we need to see Chicago in 2026. Same with Savannah, and I've got many great family members that are in Atlanta that have family in in Charleston, and we traveled down to Hilton Head each year, and so Savannah's often a place that we stop in. So, like that obviously really appealed to me. But Gabe, you know, we've been all over the world. We both want to go to Finland and hang out in Asana. That was definitely a huge highlight. You discovered Columbia. I redisc I just recently discovered Chile, you know, your homeland, and a place that I can't wait to get back to. Um, but I'm very keen to talk now about the Americans. Let's get into some of the like beyond the destinations we've highlighted on this series so far, which again are those three domestic destinations with Savannah, Arizona, and Chicago. And one of the things that was a real highlight about the Arizona episode is Route 66, the 100th anniversary. And we specifically explored, for anyone who's watched cars, you know, with one of the most extraordinary parts of Route 66. And we thought it was pretty cool that we're going from Chicago via Arizona, and Gabe's right there near the end of Route 66, near Santa Monica. But let's talk about some of the other American destinations that are on the list domestically and internationally, that uh that American travelers are clearly uh putting on their travel list for this year.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

So, what's interesting, I think, where where as Susan is seeing Canadians perhaps um shy away from from road trips in 2026, leaning toward that train travel experience. I think this is a year where we're seeing, predicting that the the good old-fashioned, nostalgic American road trip is back. And I think it has a lot to do with what you just mentioned. Uh we've got a couple of major landmark events, the Route 66 100th anniversary. So now we've got 2,448 miles from Santa Monica to Chicago, uh, including that beautiful stretch there through Arizona as we as we delved into uh recently, uh, that now Americans are starting to think, you know what, maybe for that spring break getaway, maybe for a couple of times this summer, we do hop on this historic route, relive what the uh the novelty that was the automobile back uh several decades ago, and this brand new road that allowed us to travel the country was all about. And of course, the 250th anniversary, we're still very, very young, but for us it's a big deal. Uh, 250th anniversary of the USA also sparks interest in visiting some of these landmark destinations in the Northeast are national parks, and that again incentivizes this idea of road tripping. So I think that uh also. I think American destinations are seeing, in some cases, a bit of a slowdown in the influx of international travel, uh, incentivizing them to promote their destinations to a domestic and a regional, uh, a drive market audience as well. So I think this is going to be a year where road tripping is back in the U.S. in certainly in a big way. Um, the fact of the matter is that we're still not at that 50% mark, guys, of Americans actually having a valid passport in their hands. It's about 47, 48% of Americans have that passport. So um I'm waiting to get to that 50% mark so we can we can say that most of us now are ready to hit the road uh and go. But I think uh again, we're seeing some higher interest in destinations uh south of uh of the equator. So I think South America uh and and being able to uh although Colombia is on the Canadian list, Americans love this idea that, hey, it's only it's the the fight's quick and nonstop out of certain markets like Dallas or Miami or LA to get to places like Colombia and Chile. I think South America is a bit of a hidden gem for a lot of Americans. It's a lot closer than they might imagine. It's easier to get there. You know, when I returned to Chile uh after 22 years uh and got to go back and visit my family uh several months ago, it was an overnight flight. I hopped in uh on the plane after dinner. I woke up for breakfast with my family the next day. So that ease of travel and reminding folks that the there's access to these destinations, I think, continues to feed this desire to look beyond our borders. But I think at the end of the day, this could be just a really big year for travel within the U.S. So states like Arizona, as we spoke about, cities like Chicago, uh, cities like Savannah, which of course are both nostalgic and forward-looking at the same time, um, are going to hold a lot of appeal for American travelers in this uh in this year.

Cross‑Border Value And Canadian Coasts

SPEAKER_00 23:50

And Susan, what from your perspective, what are you seeing for Americans? What else, uh, given what Gabe just highlighted there that we've covered over the series, what are some of the other standout domestic places? Because we have talked extensively about the 100th anniversary of Route 66, but specifically the 250th anniversary of the US. And so clearly there are a huge interest in domestic travel. So tell us what are what are some of the other domestic travel destinations that you're seeing interest in for Americans this year, and if there are some other international destinations that we haven't covered yet that are also worth noting.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Well, I'd love to see Americans come to the Niagara region and you know, see Niagara on the lake as well as um Niagara Falls. So many people come to Niagara Falls to see this stunning Canadian side of the falls, and just a short drive away is the one of the most adorable towns in Canada. Like it's just such a beautiful place with all the 19th century, you know, um uh architecture and so on. Um so are you talking about Americans coming to Canada or Americans traveling anywhere? Yeah, anywhere. It it we do get a lot of uh visitors obviously to Canada from the U.S. And Americans are still very much welcome in Canada. Um and you know, we would love to have people coming to the same places they've been coming every year. Whistler, I'm hearing more and more about from Americans, even people in like California will be like, oh, I'm going to Whistler this year because it's easy to get to, it's very affordable, and the conditions are fantastic. Um I would say like Canadian ski destinations in British Columbia and Alberta are really very popular this year, I'm finding.

SPEAKER_02 25:30

What are you finding, uh Susan, uh, around appetite for Asia? Uh Singapore is on the uh on the American uh best bets list, uh almost as a perfect sort of uh initial entry point into Asia for folks who may not have traveled to Asia before. We know that Japan is still extremely hot here for Americans. So now we've got a couple, and then Japan was on our list for 2025. So we're looking at these sort of gateway entry points to Asia, uh romantic, uh exotic. We've we know about them, we've heard about them, um, even if we've not been there, and this is sort of that nudge, right? To finally say, hey, it's this is the time to go to Japan, and for 2026, Singapore may be that uh that uh that call for you to kind of enter that Asian uh market for a variety of reasons, from culinary uh to to cultural to historic. Um what but what about Canadians? Are you seeing that that's uh an area where you either you're seeing more airlift out there, that there is a sort of increased interest in Asian destinations?

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Definitely, and a very similar trend with Japan being one of the most popular places in the last few years. Uh Vietnam, uh Cambodia, and Thailand, whether you're seeing them all together or one or two places, those are consistently very popular with Canadians uh for obvious, you know, for so many reasons. And uh you you you hear a lot about people going back. So maybe they did a group tour to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, and then they really liked Cambodia, so now they're taking a separate trip just there. Um, you know, South Korea is is up and coming as well. That was on our best bet best list once. And um, you know, it could be again because it's definitely there is increasing airlift, there is uh much more awareness of all the places you can go and the amazing things you can see there.

SPEAKER_02 27:16

And most of these travel opportunities for Canadians are in the form of uh air-inclusive packages, right? That's probably the most efficient way to sometimes we'll see on the Travel Zoo websites um some fantastic luxury bargains, if you will, at these five-star resorts where you can it's some of these price points are just unbelievable. Uh I think they could be they they're the a great uh sort of launching pad for very immersive experiences in these exotic eastern sort of southeastern Asian destinations. Um but are you seeing most is it mostly these sort of uh curated, air-inclusive, resort-inclusive, activity-inclusive packages that Canadians are gravitating toward?

SPEAKER_01 27:55

I do see a lot of those packages, but the partners we work with are very flexible as far as extending the time that you might like fly in and fly out. So one thing I love to see is when someone arranges a package, so they're gonna maybe do a tour of you know Vietnam, but then they're going to take one of take advantage of one of Travel Zoo's fantastic like five-star resorts in Thailand, and they're going to spend five nights there as well before they return home. And I'd say, you know, kind of a hallmark of Travel Zoo's partners is they've been working with us so long, they're really amenable to um personalizing these itineraries. So you can why why not do both? You know, do it all.

Asia Momentum: Gateways And Packages

SPEAKER_00 28:36

For sure. And Susan, one of the things I want to talk about for all of our listeners is advice from yourself as the head of publishing on when best to travel, especially when it comes to the deals that are available. One of the things I've highlighted to our listeners on both the Travel Trends podcast and over the course of this series is that Travel Zoo's database, from my experience as a marketer, attracts a lot of affluent travelers. So they may be deal-oriented, but they're not budget focused. So they book luxury trips, and if they see good value for money, they jump on it. So when we think about value for money, whether it is a more affluent traveler, or if it is a budget-conscious traveler that is trying to stretch their dollar as far as possible, whether it's an American dollar or a Canadian dollar, let's talk about what timing is right for finding those deals, whether it's the shoulder seasons or if they have flexibility with their uh with their dates that they can travel. You've mentioned obviously new air routes. Obviously, that's a big factor to try and put these packages together that Gabe was just asking you about. That's that's key. A lot of people want to know is air included. If you wouldn't mind, take us through some advice from your vantage point, being across all of these deals uh for our travelers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:47

Sure. Certainly the number one thing is, as you mentioned, uh shoulder season or off-peak travel. And what uh appeals the most about that to our members, you know, it maybe started off as noticing the fact that the rates were so much cheaper. But what we're seeing is more and more interest in the quality of the experience you can have when you visit uh a really desirable destination when there are fewer tourists around. Um, you know, people are looking for that kind of more authentic experience. Um that is something that you see a lot of the off-peak. Um but shifting away just from the price to maybe the also the temperatures, you know, if you go to Italy in the summer, uh, you're going to be very hot, maybe too hot to climb up some of those uh those hilltown uh peaks, you know. Um but if you go in October, November, or you know, March, uh you'll still have much nicer weather than you're gonna have uh back home, but you're not gonna be boiling. Um and of course, you know, the trend that's been going on for a while of trying new places that are sometimes referred to as dupe destinations. Um that uh like I mentioned, Albania was on our list. And you know, you you could refer to that as maybe a dupe destination for places like Croatia, in that it's got a ton of coastline, it's got the cities, it's got the history, it's got you know the food. Um, but again, it's it's gonna be cheaper and uh less crowded. Um, you know, I went to Iskia this year on a travel zoo, last year on a travel zoo deal uh versus say Capri, which I know is gonna be more crowded, much more expensive. Um those are some ways that um people are saving money in Canada. And then, you know, they're they're just also being there, you mentioned how travel zoo people jump on killer deals. And again and again we see people saying, you know, I know I want more trips, but I haven't booked it yet. And if I'm seeing one big trend is that people are, maybe um the period between when they're planning their trip and when they're actually going is is getting um smaller and smaller because yeah, they're they're um we've seen a drop, say, from like 45 days in advance for even for a Canadian hotel down to you know 30 some days because like people are taking longer to decide when they're gonna go away. So they're they're seeing killer deals and they're jumping on them. And I think that's the thing. The these amazing deals, um, you just need to stay tuned to them and stay open to them. And even if it's somewhere you haven't thought of before, maybe you see maybe that's why the deal it has come into your life right now, because you're you're meant to go to this fantastic place.

SPEAKER_02 32:20

Serendipity. The the travel gods are look are smiling down on you. Uh, that's interesting. Uh in the States, similar thing. This uh it's there's more of this last minute, maybe maybe it's not impulsive, but there is the people are waiting longer to book, uh, which can be frustrating, I think, for for hoteliers and for a lot of travel brands trying to plan out their season. Uh, but I do think that it speaks to the fact that Americans um uh also are feeling a little bit more comfortable with with waiting a little bit longer and and being a bit more perhaps impulsive in deciding, yes, I am going to uh, in fact, going to travel. Um, I think a lot of travel companies are also trying to correct that ship a little bit. You Disneyland, for example, if you want to go, there you've really got to reserve your the date, even if it's and they open those dates about, I think, 180 days in advance. So they want you to really map it out, plan ahead uh instead of on a whim showing up at the gates. Odds are you'll still be able to get in, uh, but not guaranteed versus scheduling that visit a couple of months out. So it's an interesting sort of tug and and and pull, if you will, uh but uh yeah, travelers are, I think, feeling more comfortable with making those last-minute decisions. And real quick, you mentioned the the shoulder seats. I think for those of us who travel quite a bit, it's it's a long-held sort of favorite secret of ours to sort of travel when these uh when the crowds are thinner, uh, more bang for the buck. But it's also become a wonderful part of the sustainability story where the impact that we impart on a destination is is easier to manage when we spread out the crowds. And let's face it, from a personal standpoint, it's that much easier to make that connection with the folks on the ground, to get to know the folks who run that bed and breakfast, who own that business. It's that much easier to do when there are fewer people around you trying to get that face uh time with those folks as well. So I think this the sustainability uh story uh and the way we're trying to connect that to different aspects of travel is helping to drive that shoulder season message uh quite nicely, uh, both I think in Canada and the US.

How To Find Value: Shoulder Seasons And Dupes

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Yeah, you're gonna get a really warm reception uh in some of these places uh because they're just really happy to have your business at that time of year. And as you said, Gabe, they have more time for you. So it is this authentic experience that people are looking for.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

The other thing I want to ask you too, Susan, is that given travel trends obviously is the the theme of our overall show and getting insights from someone in your position who has a unique vantage point on the types of trips that people are booking in 2026. And what I mean by that is the style of travel. So we've talked a bit about rail and crews. Clearly, some of those people that can take advantage of deals are retirees that can jump on a last-minute travel opportunity. But many families with young kids are stuck with, and like us, you know, it's spring break, and so you have to travel that time of the year. And so, but people's travel styles is something that has continued to change. Wellness is a big factor. Um, also shorter getaways, you know, traveling for business and being able to then have your wife or husband join you to have a weekend. Uh and so shorter getaways, it's one of the things that we've certainly seen at travel trends, is that many people are not just holding out for that one big trip a year. They're trying to do a trip every three months and have something to look forward to, even if it is a weekend in New York or that, you know, a week a weekend in LA or San Francisco, uh, in addition to that trip to Hawaii or that trip to Europe or that crew. So tell us a bit about some of the other travel styles that you see people really gravitating to this year in USA or Canada.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Well, I think you're absolutely right about the more frequent trips and the sheer variety. Like a lot of Travel Zoo members tell us they're going to be taking three or four trips, you know, or five trips a year. And it's always a combo. There, some will be within Canada, some will be international. Um, so there's that. I I see, you know, among people who are still in the workforce, now that people can work remotely, um, you see a combo of like, I'm on vacation for these days, but I'm working from my vacation destination on these days. Um, and you know, that makes a lot of sense, especially as you mentioned, for families. Sometimes your kids are uh on break and maybe your spouse can get that, get a whole week off. You can only get three days. Uh, I think our employers generally are more flexible at understanding that you can do your job even you know from a beach you know, if you have the good Wi-Fi. So combining work and um travel is definitely a big trend we're seeing. Um and I think just caring a little bit, like as you said, Canadians uh or Travel Zoo members and Canadians, they they love a good deal, but um, the definition of like what a deal is is it's not just about the maximum savings. Um, you know, people are planning for their trips by maybe um changing the way they spend money at home. Like if you're really prioritizing your travel, I talk to people who say, I don't actually eat out in my expensive city because I know I can, you know, I'm planning to go to Italy and I can have like two or three really fantastic meals for the price of one meal out here in my home city. And they're making these kind of conscious choices to prioritize uh travel. Maybe they're prioritizing their vacation time as well. They're kind of hoarding it up for um, you know, special trips instead of just taking a day here and a day there. So those and also people care a little bit more, I think, about uh how they're gonna get to where they're going. I know there's they're much more sensitive to um like extra fees and to things like um uh seating on their airplanes. Like it's one thing to have economy seating and to know you're gonna be taking economy, but when an airline, you know, as happened recently in Canada with an airline where they shifted their configuration so that the the main economy seats no longer had the ability to recline and they had reduced kind of the space between the rows, the outcry was huge and immediate, and the airline had to roll it back. So, you know, I think there's there's a lot more awareness of what you're going to get as part of your travel experience. And sometimes people just say, it I'm not gonna, I I won't take it. It's not worth, it's not worth a bargain if it's going to be misery on an overseas flight or so on.

Booking Behavior, Sustainability, And Authenticity

SPEAKER_02 38:45

Yeah. The people have spoken. Uh you touch on an important point, uh, Susan, that um uh I just wanted to pick your brain a little bit more on because uh travel zoom does an ex it does a lot of surveys throughout the course of the year uh across different uh travel uh subjects uh to sort of really kind of gauge what's the kind of content that we sort of we should prioritize or start focusing on. But part of what I think makes the travel zoom membership so valuable, and I think what is so important to those of us on the other end of that conversation, understanding what's going on, you know, what's the kind of content that's really gonna resonate, is the ability to keep lines of communication open. So surveys is one thing, but the fact of the matter is that uh, as you know, Susan, amazing customer service uh uh availability uh for Travel Zoo members. So if they've got questions, or certainly if issues arise, uh there's there is a physical connection to a human being they can they can access social media in a very effective way for us to to connect with uh with Travel Zoo membership. We have a wonderful uh uh uh group on uh on the on Facebook, Travel Zoo Nation, uh, where there's an amazing amount of conversation going back and forth, and then those of us in the Travel Zoo uh ecosphere get to respond and and and play off of that. How important is that, Susan, uh as we come up with these curated best bets lists, when we come up with these weekly top 20 uh you know lists that we put out to our members, is that ongoing conversation, uh real sort of face-to-face, voice-to-voice conversation that we're able to still have with those millions of people uh that are out there uh traveling?

SPEAKER_01 40:16

I think it's more important than it has ever been because of um the influence of kind of social media and AI on the negative side of you know not being clear what's what's a real listing, what's a real recommendation, and what's just um what's a what's fake, maybe AI generated reviews on a um on a hotel site or Instagram, you know, influencers who are all promoting the exact same place. I think um a trusted voice is more important than ever. And as some of the media sources, like you know, um I did used to write for the New York Times and and they wouldn't take anything, you know, they were very picky about not having it known that you were traveling for the New York Times. You know, you had to keep it all secret because so that you could get a real experience. We there are so few media uh resources like that now that I think a voice like Travel Zoo that really does make a point of researching the offers that we're putting out is more important than ever. And then you know, having a robust customer service element and having the membership, because it is a member-based organization, you have members talking to members on our, you know, on our like Facebook group, the Travel Zoo Nation, um, and exchanging information about uh specific hotels, or I'm going to this destination. What do you think? And people who've been there will come out and say it. There's a lot of value in um the membership and the you know, the backup you have from both our own customer service representatives, but also our whole audience of other members who are really dying to help share their fantastic experiences with you.

Workcations, Trip Frequency, And Airline Reality

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Well, that's exactly what I want to discuss because when this series started, I had shared uh with Gabe that my dad was a huge uh fan of Travel Zoo and he would always send me Travel Zoo deals. Um my dad was the inspiration for starting this podcast because he he sadly passed away. But I stepped to the corporate world to take care of him, as our listeners know, and I'm so glad I did because ultimately I started this podcast and um and it wouldn't have happened otherwise. And so, but the interesting thing for me over all those years was that when I was working in the travel industry, you know, for more than 20 years at an executive making decisions on marketing, working with Travel Zoo, I'd get the validation from my dad that he was booking deals. And I would always see whenever we did a uh top 20 deal with Travel Zoo, whether it would be like for African safaris or river cruises, we would see an incredible amount of booking activity. So we we loved our partnership and our relationship with Travel Zoo. And I know you've got so many companies that work with you. But what I want to do is I want to highlight for any of our listeners that are not yet Travel Zoo members, some of the values and benefits of becoming part of Travel Zoo. Because I've been mentioning it in my intros, because it for me for me, it's very uh it's real, it's genuine, it's sincere. I got all of our team members at Travel Trends memberships for Travel Zoo, not because um I got any discount. We paid for our memberships because even the cost of the membership for my team members, it's worth it in the savings they'll get on any book any travel through Travel Zoo, it's worth becoming a member. And one of the things I've been highlighting, Susan, throughout, is I because I've always loved my top 20s, I always love getting that list. And when I started to learn more about Travel Zoo, I've discovered that, oh, you can you know buy half a list or a quarter of a list or target on different markets, and that's as an advertiser, I realize how savvy you could be by putting a great deal together that didn't exist in the marketplace. So uh you working with your team to make sure that it's true it was truly validated. Um talking to Jonathan, like we're talking to you, it's like you I know how much effort the team goes through to make sure that these deals Are vetted properly and that they are like exclusive or you know you can't get these deals elsewhere. But one of the things I've been highlighting to our listeners to become a member is that you get access to the top 20 early. So you have like the first crack at available inventory that might sell out. But I'd love to hear from your vantage point what are some of the reasons that you see people become Travel Zoo members? What are some of the reasons that they love being Travel Zoo members because they're taking advantage of these deals? I'd I'd love for you to share that. I'd be really interested to know.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

Well, one thing I like to see is because it is a kind of a membership-based organization, almost like a fenced organization, companies that might not otherwise uh make a really want to make a really um inexpensive rate available to the general public, uh, will make it available to Travel Zoom members because they don't have to worry, oh, someone's you know, gonna see that we've offered this room for$99 when it's usually, you know,$250. Uh, and then the next time they're gonna be badgering our you know, front desk to get that rate. They know that uh it's only gonna be seen by this small audience of Travel Zoom members. So we get deals that literally are just not available anywhere else. Um and would would never even exist if it weren't for Travel Zoom membership and the relationship we've built up with them over the years. So they know they can trust, um, they can trust us to market their deal to uh really you know, uh travel enthusiasts. Um that's a huge part of the value. We have member days in which we um four times a year get some of the like the very best offers of the year exclusive for uh club members, and um we negotiate the extremely good deals that are often, you know, not there's not a huge amount of availability. So, as you mentioned, being the first to see them is gonna be really important as far as um snapping up the most desirable dates and bookings. Um I think the thing is there's this entire behind the scenes team of people that is working to find Travel Zoom members exceptional value in trips and also exceptional inspiration. Um and it's not just we got, you know, we just didn't just like search the internet and throw a bunch of stuff onto a top 20. Every single deal is carefully researched and tested against um, you know, competitors in the market. It's tested against booking it on your own. And if it's not a better value, then we're not gonna run it. So, you know, in a world with so much travel noise and so many travel advertisements, you can just go to this one place and know, oh, I don't actually have to uh re-research this deal because they've researched it for me. Um, and I know I can trust that if it's on Travel Zoo, it's gonna be the best in market.

SPEAKER_02 46:51

And Dan, one thing that's pretty cool as Susan knows is that as Travel Zoo employees, uh they they each get a stipend every year to travel and specifically book and experience the Travel Zoo deals and come back with very pointed feedback. Um it's usually it's it's great, but this is a great opportunity for uh those folks on the inside to uh perhaps look at language on that uh on that uh travel zoo uh ad or promotion that perhaps could be uh done a little bit differently to better highlight an experience uh at that particular resort, uh, or or flag certain things with the partner to improve or make sure that the a certain experience uh becomes uh more um dependable when Travel Zoo members go. So there is this actual not just this research, but the real you know, you know, foot feet on the ground type of analysis that's kind of going on amongst the hundreds of employees uh pretty much every single uh you know week of the year.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

And also our reviews of hotels, um, you can't just write a review of a hotel on Travel Zoo. The only way you will have access to our review platform is if you've actually purchased and stayed, and then we get the information that you've stayed, and then we send you a you know request to review your stay. So if you see reviews on Travel Zoo and or you see a ranking like you know, a five-star ranking, those are all legitimate stays. There's no way to mess with that. Another thing is um, you know, customer services reading the comments, and if people do say, you know, the yes, this is an ocean view, but it is you know quite far from the ocean, we'll go in and we will like put that information into the write-up about the hotel so that like we're actually looking at the reviews and we're adding that feedback to our um you know information so that people who subsequently book will have the the clearest picture of what they're actually going to get.

Trust, Community, And Human Vetting At TravelZoo

SPEAKER_00 48:48

Yeah, that's fantastic, Susan. And I'd I I've gained a lot from this conversation. I was always keen to speak to to you, and obviously, it's always great to hear from Gabe and even just hearing the two of you now talk about working at Travel Zoo. Clearly, Gabe's been there since the very beginning, as our listeners have heard. You've been there 10 years. Most of my friends and colleagues at Travel Zoo have been there for similar 10 years or longer. So the fact that you do have such great tenure amongst your team uh really says something about the type of people they're able to bring into the organization, that they love travel, they're very passionate about it. We've seen that throughout this entire series, not only with Jonathan Jones, when we kicked off with him, which obviously is your U.S. counterpart, um, but Andrew Young as well. And so uh it's wonderful to meet you. I'm so glad we got a chance to spend this time together and you got to share your insights. We're definitely going to be continuing our collaborations with TravelZoo. And so I look forward to that as well. But just before we close off, uh, I want to make sure that all of our listeners, US or Canadian, can follow up to either connect with you, the team, and also just be able to get access to uh all the deals that we've been highlighted. So, Susan, if you wouldn't mind, share all the best places for people to do that, to become a member and take advantage of these deals. And well, otherwise look forward to hopefully speaking to you again in the future.

SPEAKER_01 50:03

Oh, it's been so wonderful speaking to you. And if, you know, no matter where you are in the world, if you put like travelzoo.com into uh your computer, it it will geolocate you and send you to you know um the Canadian site if you're in Canada or the US site if you're in the US. So uh just go ahead and use travelzoo.com for um all your you know your searches. Uh you can find us on social media and on Facebook. As I mentioned, this fantastic group, TravelZoo Nation, is uh very popular. But we also put a lot of our you know fantastic offers out on um Instagram, you know, TravelZoo Canada is our handle in Canada for like uh Instagram. And you know, I just think browsing around our site is a great, it's a mini vacation in itself, and subscribing to the top 20 will definitely make your week a lot more exciting uh and a lot more fun and get you dreaming about your next trip.

SPEAKER_00 50:58

Definitely. And just one thing Susan just made me uh think of is that when we saw spikes for travel booking, it was typically like after the Super Bowl, after a long weekend, and it's usually at lunchtime because people are thinking about you know their next holiday. They need that escape. And so uh I find that so fascinating just about consumer behavior. But uh again, I look forward to continuing the conversation. I appreciate the insights you share with us today. But thanks again, Susan, for joining us. Great to meet you.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

Thank you so much, Dan. It was wonderful to meet you. Thanks, Gabe.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

Thank you, Susan. And Gabe, this brings us to the wrap-up of our 10-part series. Can't believe it. Well, I can't believe it either. I'm glad there's gonna be uh more opportunities for us to collaborate and we'll share some more details with our listeners on that soon. But I just wanted to really say a special thank you to you. I mean, from episode one, when we kick things off, to now episode 10, I feel like our dynamic has just continued to evolve. We get that much warmer. We've like, I I think there was somewhere around episode three or four where we shared a really good laugh. I think it was the Finland episode about saunas, and then all of a sudden, from that moment on, um, it's been just such a joy and a pleasure to have this opportunity to record with you. You're so knowledgeable about the industry, you're out there walking the walk and talking the talk every day. Uh, I see you on LinkedIn news programs, and I mean, you're such an important figure in uh the U.S. media, and I'm glad you were a part of this series. So thank you so much for joining us. I would love for you to share your last word on this and also what you're hoping our listeners can take away from this 10-part series.

SPEAKER_02 52:30

Well, it's it's been such a treat, and it's been such a fast 10 weeks, to be honest with you, when we were getting this off the ground with you, we were gonna cover so much grant, and we have covered uh so much grant. I think that what I'm hoping, and and I've seen a lot of feedback when we post these episodes on LinkedIn or across different social platforms, I get the feedback. Man, I I I uh I'm so glad you you touched on this destination. I hadn't been there for years, I want to go back, or uh, I had never been here, and uh now I think I I really want to go. And the last very pointed questions about detailed parts of the conversation inside these episodes or people are tuned in. I think the big takeaway here, whether it's that uh, you know, five uh item list of uh best best destinations out of the Canadian Travel Zoo team or the 10 part list out of the US team, uh the world is your oyster. This is a reminder uh that whether it's a short road trip to a domestic destination or a far-flung flight around the globe, uh the world is accessible to us. And there's so much, uh there's so many reasons to consider just getting up off the couch, walking out the front door, and discovering something new. I think for you, I'm thinking Finland is definitely on. We both were really struck by Finland. Chile, to me, I'm I think I'm gonna be going back in April to Chile, in large part because of the conversation that it has inspired me to not wait another couple of decades before I go back to visit my homeland and uh and visit family. I the list has inspired me to look at uh at Singapore. Uh I've not done Asia all that much, so maybe this is my excuse to kind of get back into uh into that market. And I think I'm gonna be enjoying a lot of domestic traveling within the uh the U.S. uh because Pennsylvania, Savannah, Chicago, Arizona are on are on that list. So a reminder again for our American friends, tons to do within uh this beautiful land of ours. So yeah, this has just inspired me to keep going, Dan. And I and I'm gonna bump into you at some point at one of these destinations sooner rather than later, I hope.

Why Membership Matters And Exclusive Access

SPEAKER_00 54:24

Well, we've made the commitment to do Niagara on the Lake together. So that has to happen. That's right, that's right. Is US, Canada, you being in Southern California, myself being in Toronto, the perspectives we've both shared uh from both sides of the border, the fact that there's more that unites us than divides us, and we've been very conscientious of that over the course of the series because the reality is people travel, they love traveling, and the the experience you have in destination does not uh match the headlines you're seeing on the news. So Americans are welcome in Canada, Canadians are welcome in in the US, and obviously many of our destinations have been international as well, which Susan highlighted on this episode just how thrilled people are to see you in destination, especially those American travelers that all of a sudden they're like, they're so thrilled to see American travelers. Every country's always keen to see Canadian travelers, that's why we all have to wear our flags on our backpacks. Um but nevertheless, we uh we've spoken a lot about that over this episode of these episodes, and I think that's been pretty special. So, yes, I just want to say thank you to you. Thank you to the Travel Zoo team, thank you to all the listeners that have joined us through these episodes. If there's any of you you've missed, please go back and check them out. Please post comments. Like uh Gabe mentioned, there's been some wonderful response to these episodes, especially from a lot of these tourism boards that are you know very keen to be able to showcase why their destination is the place to travel to in 2026 and has been selected uh for all the right reasons to be a best bet destination. They're on this list for a reason. So check them all out and make sure that, yeah, you can find clips and highlights on our social channels, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn at Travel Trends Podcast. And of course, you have to become a Travel Zoo member. A dollar for the first month. There's no reason not to subscribe to Travel Zoo, become a member, book one trip, and it'll pay back uh more than tenfold for the deals you're gonna get. So I look forward to seeing many travel trends listeners becoming Travel Zoo subscribers. And obviously, it's th it's wonderful too that Travel Zoo subscribers have been now discovering our podcast. So yeah. Yeah, thank you for this partnership, and uh, I look forward to to many more. But yeah, on behalf of Travel Trends and Travel Zoo, thanks so much for joining us, and we'll look forward to seeing you on the road in 2026.