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This year’s ABTA conference combined inspiring speakers, networking opportunities and the chance to learn from the experiences of others, making it the best I have attended yet

Jo Rzymowska

Having been in the industry for 15 years – nearly one of the ‘old codgers’ as Peter Long referred to himself in his session – and attending numerous ABTA conferences, I can truly say I have just attended the best one yet.

As JMC sales and UK operations director Denis Wormwell wrote in this column last week:”I hope everyone goes home after the weekend having had a great time”. I certainly have.

Why? Because all the elements came together.

The content of the presentations, Alastair Stewart’s facilitation and all the speakers were second to none.

Day one focused on e-commerce and new media channels. The research showed the consumers’ desire for travel is greater than any other product or serviceon-line.

As Malcolm Preston from PricewaterhouseCoopers dem-onstrated, the Internet is like an avalanche, you can’t stop it and it will only gather momentum. It may not be the ultimate but it should be seen as an opportunity to develop business, rather than a threat.

For me, Tim Waterstone of Waterstone’s book stores is one of the most inspirational speakers I have had the opportunity to listen to. He gave us food for thought about the importance of strong leadership and investment in people.

As Sir Tom Farmer from Kwik-Fit said, a successful business is about ‘people, people, people’.

Despite late nights, the conference centre was packed both mornings. This is testament to the fact the industry has an appetite to learn from the experiences of those outside it.

The ABTA conferences also give us opportunity to hear from the giants of our industry and to ask questions, if not during the sessions in one of the evening venues.

Speaking of which, networking is as important as the business sessions. There were several hot spots to do just that, the notable ones being Fashion Nightclub and the bar at the Kipriotis Hotel.

Kos, you did us proud – great conference centre, warm and friendly people and mostly good weather. My only criticism – not enough taxis. Now there’s an opportunity for sponsorship next year.

It’s been a turbulent year in the industry but the ABTA convention left us with enthusiasm to embrace these changes and recognise new opportunities.

As the old adage says ‘the sum of all the parts is greater than the whole’.

This year all the parts came together to make it the best ABTA yet. And yes, the well packaged male dancer on the stage at Fashion Nightclub was one of those parts.

“The conference gave us enthusiasm to embrace changes in the industry”