Travel Convention insight

ABTA’s annual Travel Convention kicks off on September 21 in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. Chief executive Mark Tanzer gives an insight into what delegates can expect.

"Following the format of the last few years, the Convention programme will be developed around the pillars of ‘Our World’, ‘Our Industry’, ‘Your Business’. It will be forward looking, examining what is coming down the line, not just in terms of the technology but looking at the broader issues and trends.

‘Our World’ will provide the context for the other sessions, looking at what’s happening on the geo-political and economic front and changes in demographics and how this will impact UK consumers. Obviously we have structured the conference so that we can address any other issues that come up. For example, by the time the Convention takes place we will have the results of the Scottish Referendum. If that goes a certain way, it will be part of the discussions.

This year in particularly the rate of change is accelerating so fast and, due to the nature of travel, the technology element will be prevalent again this year. In recent years, our industry has changed very quickly from one where you were either online or offline to an industry where all businesses are a mix. Now it’s about being multi-platform, recognising that your customer might start off with a mobile, then want to speak to a call centre. The Convention will help delegates understand that evolution in customer behaviour.

The programme will also look at the new business models, such as the likes of airbnb and pier marketing, which have developed in the last 12 months. It will help delegates recognise that giving customers a huge choice is not enough. Customers don’t want choice, they want what they want. Today, it’s all about curated content and giving consumers a reason to go to your site. Rather than presenting a huge choice, businesses need to come up with an offer that is relevant to an individual so we will be looking closely at this major trend towards individual specification and personalisation.

As in previous years, we will have speakers and panelists who are actually building businesses. They will provide valuable insight into the challenges of being in business, from managing marketing costs and maximising search to dealing with technology. Seeing what other people are doing helps you to look at your own business and how you are doing things. In a world where everything is changing so rapidly, businesses need to know what they can do to manage that changing environment.

Of course, the Convention will also touch on the various changes in travel regulations and how this will impact business models, but this won’t be the subject of the Convention. I think people have slightly worn themselves out debating the various changes to the ATOL and the Package Travel Directive, and now they just want to see what is coming and how best to deal with it. That will come next year."