Top of the World Travel Success is in the details

A commitment to excellence sees Top of the World through its first 25 years

By Alayna Ward

Top of the World Travel was born at a kitchen table, midwifed by three friends wanting to take the next step in their careers. “We all worked in the travel industry and it seemed like a natural progression,” says Susan Mercredi, company president and co-owner. “We approached the Nunasi Corporation to partner with us and it all just came together. We’ve been going strong ever since.” Twenty-five years later, Top of the World Travel has seen many changes. For one thing, the company’s ownership structure is different. Nunasi Corporation is no longer a partner and the company is now 70 percent Aboriginal-owned. One of the three original partners moved on, and Mike Olson, formerly with First Air in Yellowknife, bought a share in the company, joining Mercredi and co-owner Cindy Romanow a year ago, and bringing with him 18 years of northern airline experience.   

The travel business in 1991 was very different from today’s. Then, many leisure travellers booked their trips through an agency, and most corporations and governments managed their travel in-house. Now, leisure travellers book their own vacations online, although Mercredi has noticed a returning trend to agencies. “Travel agents are actually gaining in popularity because people want that personal relationship,” says Mercredi. “You just don’t get that type of service from a computer.” Much of corporate and government travel is now outsourced, and about 80 percent of Top of the World’s business comes from that market segment, including the mining sector’s shift rotational travel. It’s a demanding market to service due to the scheduling and complexity. Attention to detail and knowing customer travel preferences are crucial to getting it right. Missed flights can mean missed meetings or conferences, and for mining travellers, late arrivals to work or going home. When cancelled flights cause airport chaos, customers rely on Top of the World’s agents to sort it out. “It’s comforting that you’re never traveling by yourself if you’ve got a good travel agent,” says Cindy Romanow. “We just fix it.”

For corporate clients, Top of the World books air tickets, hotels, cars, and meeting rooms, changing tickets as needed, often at the last minute. The company’s management reporting system can track a corporate client’s entire travel function, providing customized reports detailing employee trips taken, costs and any other needed data. “Our system is second to none,” says Mercredi. “We can design reports to meet our customers’ specific management needs.” Growing numbers of business travellers take mini-holidays at the end of their business trips. Top of the World’s new venture, Touch the Arctic Tours, works with tourism partners to offer packaged tours across the North to business and leisure travellers. “We can build tour packages for people wanting to see more of NWT, Yukon or Nunavut,” says Olson. “We want to promote northern tourism.” Air Canada added the icing to the company’s 25th anniversary cake by bestowing a Circle of Excellence Award in 2016 – their top performance award in Canada.  Fewer than 50 travel agencies earn this award in any year. Mercredi reflects on their quarter century of success: “We’re just regular people who work hard, have a great team that we really value, and believe in our customers.”    YKCI

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