Australian-founded Travel Industry Mentor Experience (TIME) has officially launched in Canada, taking its mentoring program into its third international market.
The organisation marked its Canadian debut with a launch event at Intrepid Travel’s Toronto headquarters on 23 September, bringing together the inaugural cohort of mentees and mentors alongside founding partners.
TIME founder and chair Penny Spencer described the milestone as particularly meaningful after 17 years of growing the program.
“There are many things I do that make my heart sing, but tonight was very special launching TIME in Canada,” Spencer said.
“So much excitement and enthusiasm in the room. Next step for TIME and for Canada’s travel industry. Looking forward to the TIME Canada journey.”
Founded by Spencer in Australia in 2009, TIME pairs emerging travel industry talent with senior leaders through structured one-on-one mentoring. The program has since produced more than 500 graduates from over 250 companies and worked with more than 200 senior mentors.
It expanded into New Zealand in 2019, where more than 100 mentees have completed the program, with Canada now becoming TIME’s third country.
The inaugural Canadian cohort includes Kerstin Bellis, partnerships manager North America at Chimu Adventures; Lisa Elliott, group department manager at Collette; and Alfred Chow, partnerships and PR specialist at Explore Worldwide.
They will be mentored by Destination America director of commercial sales Sheralyn Berry; Air New Zealand national account manager Canada Katie Olsson; and Bains Travel leisure and culinary travel specialist and trainer Bernadine D’Souza.
The six-month program runs from September 2026 to March 2027 and includes 24 hours of one-on-one mentoring, alongside workshops and networking events.
Air New Zealand, Chimu Adventures, Collette, Explore Worldwide, Intrepid Travel and Travel Trends Podcast have come onboard as TIME Canada’s founding partners.
The organisation is already looking ahead to its next Canadian intake, which will begin in Toronto in March 2027, with Vancouver also set to join the TIME network.
