The president of US homeworking agency InteleTravel will address the UK travel industry for the first time, alongside panellists from The Midcounties Co‑operative, Google, Olympic Holidays and Culture Trip, at a special Travel Weekly event on the Future of Travel Selling.
The event will be held at Google’s offices in central London on May 9 and will be an extended addition to Travel Weekly’s successful Business Breakfast series. It is part of a year-long calendar of activity to celebrate Travel Weekly’s 50th anniversary and its 10th year as an independent business.
Confirmed speakers include James Ferrara, president of InteleTravel; Alistair Rowland, Abta board member and chief retail officer for specialist business at The Midcounties Co-operative; Clare Tobin, chief executive of Olympic Holidays; and Andy Washington, senior vice-president for travel at Culture Trip.
Guests will also hear from Ruairidh Roberts, senior industry head at Google, who will present exclusive research on shifts in travel consumer habits, as well as from Travel Weekly managing director Stuart Parish and editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley.
Huxley said: “The changing face of travel retail has been something that Travel Weekly has reported on since it was first published as Travel News in 1969.
“Over the past 50 years, we have reported on the growth of the web and social media, debates over the merits of direct and third-party sales and service, and the rise of models ranging from home-based agents to affiliates and influencers.”
She added: “The future of travel selling has been a topic of fierce debate in recent weeks, with referral models, ‘unbonded’ agents and InteleTravel’s Abta membership featuring on our front page. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we are delighted that Travel Weekly continues to lead the conversation.”
Limited places are available for Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Selling event.