Agents motivated by AITO conference

The largest gathering of truly independent agents and operators in the UK travel sector took place earlier this month at the AITO Specialist Travel Agents domestic conference, held at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwickshire.

The conference programme included an array of networking opportunities, workshops and high-profile speakers addressing key industry matters. The achievements of AITO Agents were also celebrated, including the national winner of the AITO All Stars incentive scheme – Staffordshire-based Journeys A la Carte.

Conference delegate and travel agent, Claire Hunt of Journeys A la Carte, documents her experience of the conference.

"I always find the AITO Agents domestic conference a great way to exchange ideas and to learn as much as possible for the year ahead. The current ATOL reforms are a complex subject for me so to have Andy Cohen, manager of ATOL licensing at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), update us on the reform process and its complexities demonstrated that there is a transition going to happen and as an agent we need to be prepared. I was surprised to hear that software currently used by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is being looked at by the CAA, but find the idea of a website for consumers to check their protection an interesting proposal.

Lorraine Barnes Burton, CEO of the British Travel Awards, also shared consumer insight from its 2012 Travelvision survey. An interesting point showed that a vast majority of people aged below 35 prefer to research holidays on the internet but want to book with an agent with specialist knowledge, which means that is a large market segment worth focusing on.

A panel discussion about new marketing methods raised many useful points, including Peter Traynor from AITO operator Collette Holidays talking about its success with webinars, which I think is a great way to communicate with clients and something I am going to look into. Adding value has always been a key way to differentiate from our competitors and building stronger relationships with our operators is a great way to do this.

The market place at the conference was useful for meeting up with old and new operators and I came away with ideas of products and new experiences that I can promote on the ‘news and views’ section on our website. The combination of the business sessions, networking and listening to the key speakers opens up a range of ideas and helps us to discuss information that really matters to agents. Overall, the conference was a resounding success and I came away motivated by the conference’s ‘Do It Now’ message.

AITO Specialist Travel Agents (www.aitoagents.com) represents over 100 of the leading independent travel agencies in the UK, all fully independent, and all in the front line of the travel industry.