DELEGATE numbers at this year’s ABTA Travel Convention are expected to be down on 2005 despite a return to a popular Mediterranean resort and spouses being allowed free registration for the first time.
Fewer than 350 of the 1,500 delegates in Marbella will be agents and none of the big four operators will host retailers. Last year in Marrakesh there were 1,600 ABTA delegates.
Thomson, which took 121 agents in 2005, has withdrawn from the event’s steering committee.
However, ABTA says the delegate profile reflects how the industry is changing. President Justin Flemming said he no longer sees it as ABTA’s convention but one for the entire industry.
“It’s time to stop being paranoid about how many agents come. Like it or not, they are no longer the main distributor of the product that operators are trying to sell. We need a critical mass of key decision makers.”
To date 1,003 delegates have applied for places, with more non-ABTA members than previous years.
Headline sponsor Fred Olsen Cruise Line will host 16 agents and Complete Cruise Solution 12, reflecting the importance of agents in the cruise sector.
ABTA head of corporate affairs Keith Betton is contacting small operators about hosting agents. “We are operating in a slightly smaller universe. For the first time in 20 years there are less than 6,000 agents in the UK.”
Six Thomson bosses will attend but head of third-party sales Jean Lally said it was inappropriate to remain on the steering committee when so little product is now sold through third parties. “The convention has always been a good networking event,” she said.
Next year’s convention will be in Tenerife.
See this week’s Travel Weekly for a preview of the convention.