AITO has decided to keep its joint overseas conference next year and is looking for countries to host the event.
The trade association said the conference will be revamped and re-branded the AITO Entrepreneurs’ Conference.
Like the annual conference in Spain this year, it will target both AITO tour operators and travel agents but in 2016 it will be held from 24-27 November instead of June.
Chairman of AITO, Derek Moore, said: "For the past four years, AITO has been experimenting with both separate AITO Agents and Tour Operator conferences and combined formats.
"For AITO’s 40th year, it has been decided to move away from the concept of separate overseas conferences for agents and operators, and instead to focus on an approach that transcends the traditional labels of ‘agent’ and ‘operator’. The conference will be for travel professionals who run their own businesses, irrespective of whether they are an agent or an operator."
Chairman of AITO Specialist Travel Agents, Gemma Antrobus (Haslemere Travel), said: "Our retail travel agents are no longer simply traditional shop keepers – they are entrepreneurial business owners working within a complex and competitive travel arena."
AITO Specialist Travel Agents’ next domestic conference will take place in Leicestershire, from January 9-10, 2016.
