Abta has confirmed this year’s Travel Convention will be a virtual one-day event on Wednesday October 14, hosted by ITV News royal editor Chris Ship for the fifth time.
Dnata Travel Europe chief executive John Bevan is among the first speakers confirmed, along with World Travel & Tourism Council president and chief executive Gloria Guevara and Dr Paul Redmond, Liverpool University director of student experience who has enlivened the last two conventions.
KPMG chief economist Yael Selfin will give an economic overview as the convention once more examines ‘our world, our sector and your business’ in light of this year’s theme – ‘Rebuilding Confidence in Travel’.
Business sessions will be broadcast from a studio in central London and Abta promises a range of specialist workshops, networking and one-to-one meetings via a virtual event portal. All sessions and workshops will be available live or on demand for up to a month after the event.
There will be sessions on restoring confidence in travel and how consumer expectations are changing as a result of the pandemic, along with insights on how to operate in a world with Covid-19 including how destinations are encouraging a safe return of travel.
The sessions on ‘Your Business’ will focus on sustainability, diversity and inclusion, digital transformation and new ways of working – with the usual mix of Interviews and panel discussions with industry leaders.
The full speaker line up will be released in September. Registration is via The Travel Convention website, with an early bird fee of £79 for Abta members and partners and £199 for non-members available until September 1.
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said, “We took the difficult decision to postpone this year’s Travel Convention in Marrakech but look forward to welcoming delegates there next year.
“In the meantime, it has never been more important to come together to discuss the future of travel and how we rebuild confidence in customers. It will be unlike any convention before.”
To register, visit the travelconvention.com