United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
ITM Conference attracts 30% more delegates
Attendance at this year’s ITM Conference in Edinburgh was up 30% from 2006 with over 400 delegates.
Focusing on the theme of responsible travel management, keynote speakers included Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who extolled the virtues of a modern aircraft fleet in the fight against Co2, and Jonathon Porritt of Future Forum, who gave his informed view of the challenges that lay ahead for the travel industry.
Nicola Spence, Director ITM, Graham McKenzie TravelMole, Premiership trophy , MUFC, and Derrick Shaw , ITM Director
This was followed up by an intensive debate in three separate break-out sessions headed by Bernard Harrop of IG management, Sarah Worthington of HMRC and Tim Woodhouse of Agresso Software.
“The conclusion from the audience was that CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility – is not just about being ‘green’. It incorporates duty of care, supply chains, safety and, of course, the environment,” said Graham McKenzie, managing director of travelmole.com, who moderated one of the break-out sessions.
“Most delegates felt that they needed more clarity on Co2 emissions and that a continuing education programme should be put in place.
“Despite some delegates denying the existence of man–made global warming, it was felt that something needed to be done and Jonathon Porritt in his presentation left people in no doubt about the seriousness of the situation.
“In all cases, ITM members felt that adopting a strong CSR strategy was just good business sense and that legislation would inevitably force everybody’s hand down this path.”
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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