The three-day virtual event runs from 5-7 October. Sheena Whittle, head of The Personal Travel Agents, which has 164 homeworking agents, said: “The past 18-months have been a rollercoaster for the travel industry and the challenges thrown at our self-employed homeworkers have, at times, felt unsurmountable.

“That’s why this year’s conference has been designed to give the agents the tools they need to keep calm amid the chaos and to conquer sales as we emerge from the pandemic.  With travel starting to open up, our Personal Travel Agents have significant opportunities to sell and earn and they certainly deserve it.”

Homeworkers can join a variety of online workshops and The Personal Travel Agents will also announce a number of new initiatives. An agent panel and a supplier panel discussion are also scheduled.

Workshops will be repeated across the three days to ensure agents have multiple opportunities to attend. They include Confidence Booster, which will focus on techniques and tools to help agents to speak authoritatively to customers about the rules and regulations of holidaying post-Covid.

Another, Connecting with Customers, will look at a variety of customer personas, many of which have emerged during the pandemic. It will train agents on the right methods for handling each type successfully.

A third session, Mindset, will focus agents on how to take care of their mental health. There will also be a session to update homeworkers on the latest tools and trends in social media marketing as well as an Atol sales workshop.

The conference will close with “The Big PTA Kitchen Disco” and an awards presentation by suppliers to the top performing agents. 

Whittle added: “Our annual conference is always the highlight of the year. While holding it virtually doesn’t compare to the usual in-person gathering, in a sunshine destination, we know that our passionate and irrepressible PTAs will love getting together online for the workshops and will thoroughly enjoy the fun surprises we have in store.”