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Abta confirms final Convention speakers and poses workplace survey

Abta has confirmed the final roster of speakers for the Travel Convention in early October, with sports broadcaster Kirsty Gallacher and Team GB double World and Olympic medallist Emily Campbell completing the line up.

With just two weeks left to register for the Convention, Abta is inviting business leaders and managers to take part in a brief ‘World of work’ survey which will inform the Q&A with business leadership expert Blaire Palmer following her Convention presentation on the future of work.

Palmer will argue business leaders need to rethink how they lead given a growing tension between what employees want from work and what businesses need from employees.

Long-time travel industry leader Jo Rzymowska, a former senior executive at Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises and now an ndustry consultant and non-executive director at Hays Travel, will join Palmer on stage to question her on the changing nature of work and leadership.

The survey, to which Rzymowska will refer, can be completed here:

It asks those leading businesses or business units of any size:

  1. What is your current workplace setup?
  2. What have you seen in terms of flexible working requests?
  3. What has been the impact of these requests on your business?
  4. Have you seen an increase in people requesting time off or support for their mental health?
  5. How do you feel about potential changes to working practices set out by the new Labour government and their likely impact on your business?
  6. Have you made changes to working practices to incorporate AI?
  7. Are you supported by coaching, mentoring or other tools to help you adapt to new ways of working?

The session, on The Changing Face of Leadership and Work, will be on the second full day of Convention business – Wednesday, October 9.

The deadline for completing the survey is this Friday, September 27.  Convention attendees will be first to share the results and hear Palmer’s response and advice.

Attendees will also hear Kirsty Gallacher discuss her sports journalism and interviews with top athletes, and witness her in conversation with Emily Campbell to round off the Convention programme.

The Travel Convention will take place on October 7-9 at the Costa Navarino resort in the southwest Peloponnese of Greece. Registration remains open: abta.com/events/the-travel-convention

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