Interview: Abta to break with Convention on Love Island

The Travel Convention in Calvia, Majorca, this October will not only mark Abta’s 75th anniversary but also the travel “love affair” between Britain and Spain.

 

That is according to Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer who hailed the relationships of travellers, the industry and Spain with one another as “a great success story”. But he noted that in the industry: “We talk about travel in such a mechanical, way.

 

“We talk about product and distribution channels and AI, but when you travel around Spain you find people love that you to come to visit.”

 

He suggested: “It’s built on more than just pure economics. At the heart of the sector’s success is a kind of love affair between the UK and Spain.”

 

Tanzer added: “Connectivity is also part of the economic growth story. It’s not just about travel.”

 

He recalled that the mayor of Barcelona had told a recent meeting organised by the Spanish Tourist Office at the Spanish embassy in London that 500,000 US cruise passengers visit the city to start a cruise each year, supporting 14 direct air routes between the US and Barcelona. This in turn enabled business leaders outside travel to do business in Barcelona.

 

Tanzer suggested: “Without tourism, that connectivity wouldn’t exist.”

 

He added: “Majorca has great connectivity from all parts of the UK, and Calvia is an important destination for our members.”

 

Almost anyone who is travelled to Spain will be familiar with one part of the region of Calvia – Magaluf. But Tanzer noted: “Calvia is a bigger region than Magaluf, with a lot of development going on. The Convention is an opportunity for the mayor to explain his vision for the area and the steps being taken [to address] overtourism.”

 

The availability of flights and relatively short travel time to this year’s Convention venue is a bonus, as Tanzer said: “We want the Convention to be as accessible as possible for people who maybe haven’t been to the Convention for a while.”

 

He pointed out: “Everyone will stay in one of two good-quality hotels next to each other on the seafront, with the venue in between and all the events within a short distance, so with easy access to everything.”

 

Tanzer suggested: “We spend a lot of time talking to ourselves. The Convention is an opportunity to get a broader perspective.”

Crisis communications

Convention attendees can expect an object lesson in communications in a crisis with communications specialist Simon Lewis who hosts the When it hits the fan podcast alongside former Sun newspaper editor David Yelland.

 

Lewis previously worked as Buckingham Palace press secretary and at Number 10 when Gordon Brown was prime minister, so he knows a thing or two about crises.

 

Tanzer said: “Simon’s podcast is about communications and media handling in political and corporate crises, discussing how things have been handled badly or well.”

 

He noted: “So much of the news now comes through the prism of corporate communications and whether things are handled badly – the BBC is a classic example.

 

“The session won’t just look at the travel industry, but offer a broader view of various industries, situations and the increasing frequency with which these things come up. How do you deal with cyberattacks, for example?

 

The Convention will also offer the views of a leading political scientist and academic on the EU and the obstacles to, but also the opportunities in, rebuilding EU-UK relations under the current government.

 

Tanzer noted: “We may not be in the EU, but we’re still in Europe and Europe is changing.”

 

He argued: “The fact that the EU itself needs to change and is changing has been missed right through the period from the Brexit referendum of 2016 to today. We see the tensions around Hungary, and other EU states taking a more unilateral and even a pro-Russian approach.”

 

Political scientist Anand Menon, Professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College, London, and director of a think tank entitled The UK in a Changing Europe will address the Convention on its opening day to unravel what is happening.

 

Tanzer said: “We’ve taken an Anglo-centric view of Europe in Britain, but the cozy club that was the EU is kind-of under review itself. Professor Menon will set the macro-economic scene and the political dimension in which we operate, along with the changes happening politically.”

 

The Travel Convention 2025 will be held in Calvià, Mallorca, on October 6-8. For registration and full details, visit Abta’s website.