Taking place on Thursday (13 August) from 2 – 5.15pm, the seminar, sponsored by Virgin Voyages, will explore the grave state of the travel industry, what can be done to encourage people to start travelling, what the future holds for the sector and what more we can all be doing to #savetravel?
Kicking off the seminar will be a presentation by Tim Robinson, director of audit, tax and consultancy firm RSM as he sets the scene for a new travel industry and how businesses can best adapt to this new normal.
View the full agenda and purchase your ticket here
Following this will be a session dedicated to business travel, as a panel of experts including Clive Wratten, chief executive, Business Travel Association, Steve Barrass, chief executive, The Appointment Group and Gavin Sanderson, head of client development, Gray Dawes Travel, discuss how TMCs have responded and adapted, and how they are preparing for further rocky months ahead.
The afternoon will also include an interview with Shane Riley, associate vice president of international sales, Virgin Voyages.
The line set out to “shake up the cruise sector” and its first ship Scarlet Lady, launched earlier this year, showed it means business. But what does cruising look like in a post-Covid world? How can the sector reassure customers, and how is Virgin Voyages evolving its product to meet the health and safety requirements of would-be cruisers?
After a short break, the seminar will return with a session focused on low season travel. With Easter and now the summer season lost for much of the outbound travel sector, all eyes will be on the increasingly important shoulder seasons and whether they can provide a helpful – and much-needed – boost to bookings.
This panel, including Ged Brown, founder Low Season Traveller, Carol Hay, chief executive and founder, McKenzie Gayle (representing the Caribbean Tourism Organization) and Neil Sealy, head of trade sales, Exsus Travel will explore how to promote holidays outside of the peak season to boost your business.
The seminar will conclude with a more general discussion how the sector can unite and work together to #SaveTravel, following TTG’s campaign, which was launched to demonstrate to government the fragile state of the sector and the urgent need for specific support.
A panel featuring Luke Petherbridge, head of public affairs, Abta, Paul Charles, chief executive, PC Agency / spokesperson, Quash Quarantine and Debbie Flynn, managing partner, Interim Global Travel Practice Leader, Finn Partners explores what else needs to be done to get the message on the government’s desk, and what we can all be doing to #SaveTravel.
Tickets are priced at £5 (excluding VAT)
