The tripcentral.ca

Tripcentral.ca is more than just a website. It is a traditional bricks and mortar travel agency with six retail locations in the Hamilton/Burlington area and Kitchener/Waterloo region. In operation since 1989, the company has grown to one of the largest travel companies in Ontario and employs over 50 travel experts. The business began in 1989 with a single location, adding a second office in 1992. We traded as a Carlson Wagonlit Travel franchise from 1995 to 2002. The company opened a 3,000 square foot 'Travel Superstore' in Lloyd D. Jackson Square, Hamilton where over 1,200 destination videos are available for rent, and over 4,000 travel guides, 500 maps and a complete line of travel accessories are on sale. On June 20th, 2001 the www.travelneeds.com website of 1997 was overhauled and re-launched at www.tripcentral.ca. At the beginning of 2003, the entire company including all retail locations began trading as Tripcentral.ca Each of the Tripcentral.ca locations is a fully staffed travel agency. Travel agents are available for walk-in traffic in shopping malls with free parking, or conveniently located downtown. Many customers, use our interactive website and communicate with Tripcentral.ca via the web or over the telephone. Our offices are linked via VoIP telephony which means you can reach a live person during our extended office hours. The Kitchener location has been in operation since 1952 under the Meissner Travel name, and recently received a business longevity award from the Region of Waterloo. As a long standing member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of South Western Ontario, the office has been awarded the prestigious "Business Integrity Award." In April of 2004 the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce awarded Tripcentral.ca with the Outstanding Business Achievement Award for Communication Technology. It is comforting for consumers to know that because Tripcentral.ca is located in Ontario, which has the most stringent travel legislation and regulation in the world, your funds are protected through the Travel Industry Compensation Fund when you purchase from us. Even if you are not a resident of Ontario and you book with us, you are protected by this fund. Residents in provinces other than BC, Ontario, and Quebec have better protection through Tripcentral.ca than through a local travel agent, as the remaining seven provinces and territories have no travel legislation. Our locations are all licensed with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) for which our registration number is # 4545158. Richard Vanderlubbe, Tripcentral.ca principal, has been on the TICO board of directors since 2001. Richard has served as Chair and Vice Chair of TICO, and currently is Chair through June 2004. He is also active in the Association of Canadian Travel Agents (ACTA) and held positions on the Board of Directors for Ontario since 2000, President in 2002 and 2003. Richard is also the current Chairman of the national Board of Directors for ACTA, representing Canada's Travel Agencies. As further evidence of the integrity of Tripcentral.ca two principals; Duncan Macintosh and Louise Gardiner are active in Rotary, an international service club bound by the principles of business ethics and service to the community.