Set your sights on adventure

The B2B conference, for which TTG Media is once again trade media partner, takes place on January 18 and 19 at London’s Olympia, and focuses on soft adventure and beyond.

The event brings together operators, agents, destination management companies (DMCs), tourist boards and other relevant organisations for a packed agenda of seminars, workshops and pre-scheduled marketplace appointments.

Lyn Hughes, editor-in-chief of Wanderlust magazine, said: “ATC 2017 was a great leap forward, with it growing to two days, and the introduction of the Adventure Travel Awards and a supplier marketplace. For 2018, we’ll be taking it up another level again, building on the new features of 2017 and with the widest programme yet of talks, panels and networking.”

On the Thursday, product managers and contractors from tour operators and retailers will meet suppliers for a series of 15-minute face-to-face appointments at the marketplace. The Thursday programme also includes some seminar content, and culminates in the presentation of the Adventure Travel Awards 2018 – including a category for agents – at an evening drinks reception.

On the Friday, a full day of conference content will include the results of the annual Adventure Travel Conference survey, inspirational speakers, and break-out sessions on business issues, with networking drinks to close.

Tour operators and retailers attending Thursday’s marketplace can attend Friday’s conference free of charge. Tickets for other delegates to attend Friday’s conference currently start from £110 (early-bird rate), or £165 to attend both days.

Pru Goudie, associate conference manager, said: “Interest in exhibiting at the marketplace and attending as a buyer has been so great this year that we have had to open registrations earlier than planned. We already have several buyers registered who did not attend last year, but we’d love to welcome even more new buyers, and particularly retailers looking to work directly with DMCs.”