ABTA revamps convention – chief admits it has ‘lacked focus’

ABTA’s annual convention is to focus less on frontline travel agents and more on managers and owners.

The event is being revamped and renamed The Travel Convention, organised by ABTA.

It will run between a Wednesday and a Friday instead of over a weekend as previously.

The 2007 convention will be held on November 28-30 in Tenerife at new Magma
Convention Centre in Costa Adeje.

ABTA claims the repositioning and renaming supports its vision “as the trade association for the travel industry of the future”.

Chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Our Convention has always been unique because it is open to anyone in the industry, but because of that, it sometimes lacked focus.

“We have made changes to the Convention to reflect the radical changes in the industry and give it broader appeal.

“We still want to keep the doors open to any travel business and hope other industry bodies will also come on board.

“Agents are at the frontline of our industry and therefore will be key delegates at the Convention.

“But we believe those who get most out of the Convention are the managers and owners of businesses, and we will be focusing on them in terms of business sessions and networking events. The Travel Convention will be the essential event for everyone who wants to build their travel business.”

The Tenerife Tourism Corporation is providing 200 hotel rooms for agents, which will be available to principals wishing to host agents. ABTA will match the free rooms with free registrations.

ABTA aims to attract at least 200 new “management-level” agents to the event and claims the convention will still have more agents attending than any other travel trade event.

Twelve hotels in Arona and Adeje will be used and delegates will have to make their own flight arrangements for the first time to get to and from Tenerife South airport between Tuesday November 27 and Friday November 30.

The business sessions will have a travel industry focus, according to ABTA, with speakers interviewed by BBC Radio 2 broadcaster and Panorama presenter Jeremy Vine.

More free time for informal networking will be offered by starting the Convention Centre sessions at 10.00 and finishing at 16.30.

The Talk Zone will not clash with any other sessions to enhance the
networking opportunities, ABTA said.

The Convention website – www.thetravelconvention.com – has been revamped
and will provide a year-round forum for debate, so that question can be
put forward and aired before the Convention, as well as a number of new
features to be introduced.

There will be a single host destination ‘Mega Party’ on the Wednesday evening, which will be preceded by cocktail parties in each of the convention hotels, enabling delegates to meet fellow guests staying in the same accommodation, ABTA said.

Golf and tennis tournaments and a football match will be held on the Tuesday prior to the event.

On Thursday night delegates can attend private events, followed by a late night cabaret evening.

The event will end on Friday at midday after a brunch with a guest speaker replacing the traditional farewell party.

ABTA has been holding the convention annually since 1951.

by Phil Davies