Prestige Travel Programme Manager for Canada and the US Denise Hunn is celebrating 30 years in the travel business.
Prestige Trade Relationships Manager Joe Lavers said Denise is ‘one of the most recognisable and respected names among travel agents and her passion for Canada is well known’.
“Her career has taken her across the country – both professionally and personally – from the rugged coastlines of Newfoundland to the peaks of the Rockies,” he said.
Denise began her career in June 1995 as Operations Manager at All Canada Travel & Holidays (part of the Hoseasons Group), before becoming General Manager of the Canada programme at All America Holidays.
In 2009, after All America Holidays ceased trading, she was recommended to Prestige Travel by a travel agent and went on to launch Prestige’s Canada programme.
The first Prestige Travel Canada brochure was released in November of that year, laying the foundation for what has become one of the UK’s leading Canadian specialist programmes.
Denise said: “I’ve travelled extensively throughout Canada on personal holidays, product development trips, and by escorting agent fams.
“I’ve been to virtually every province and lived in Calgary, Alberta for 13 years. I hold joint UK/Canadian citizenship, and I feel incredibly fortunate to share my love for Canada with agents every day – I truly believe I have the best job in travel.”
Denise has just returned from leading an agent fam trip to Newfoundland and has launched two more fams for this October – one to Whistler and Vancouver, and the other to Ontario, including Toronto, Niagara Falls, Kingston and Ottawa.
“Showcasing destinations first-hand to agents is vital,” she said: “We continue to invest in our educational programme to reward the agents who trust us with their clients and help them sell Canada with confidence.”
Joe added: “We call Denise ‘Miss Canada’ because what she doesn’t know about the country isn’t worth knowing. Her passion is infectious – it flows through to our reservations team, whose knowledge, enthusiasm, and authenticity are second to none. We retained our entire Canada team through COVID, and that depth of experience is thanks to Denise’s leadership and dedication.”
