A joint Aito and Aito Specialist Travel Agents overseas conference will take place in November 2016 with the organisation seeking bids from prospective host destinations as it marks its 40th anniversary.
The timing of the event on November 24-27 marks a switch from the traditional June date and it is being revamped and billed as the Aito Entrepreneurs’ Conference.
This will follow an Aito Agents domestic conference to be held at a new venue – the Hinckley Island Hotel, Leicestershire – on the weekend of January 9-10.
The overseas event will be targeted at business owners of Aito tour operators and travel agents, together with affiliate partners, and will cover the complexities of running a travel business in today’s marketplace.
The new format follows feedback from delegates who attended the organisation’s joint conference in Córdoba earlier this year.
Aito chairman Derek Moore said: “For the past four years Aito has been experimenting with both separate Aito agents and tour operator conferences and combined formats.
“For Aito’s 40th year, it has been decided to move away from the concept of separate overseas conferences for agents and operators, and instead to focus on an approach that transcends the traditional labels of ‘agent’ and ‘operator’.
“The conference will be for travel professionals who run their own businesses, irrespective of whether they are an agent or an operator.”
He added: “Specialist tour operators and travel agents who have the knowledge and experience to sell niche holidays will have the edge in the marketplace with higher yield, greater customer loyalty and long-term business security. “Our Aito specialist travel agents sell both locally and nationally. Our Aito tour operators sell both nationally and internationally.
“Both sectors of our travel industry are venturing into new areas of business and it is important that Aito provides the foundations for them to succeed and prosper, no matter the type of travel business they run.”
Aito Specialist Travel Agents chairman Gemma Antrobus (Haslemere Travel), said: “Our retail travel agents are no longer simply traditional shop keepers – they are entrepreneurial business owners working within a complex and competitive travel arena.
“It is important that they attend entrepreneurial events such as Aito’s overseas conference to innovate, to network and to expand their horizons in order to grow their businesses.
“The Aito agent/operator partnership is built on fostering trust and co-operation for the benefit of both parties – neither can perform to the maximum without the other.
“Aito agents will continue to stage its hallmark Aito domestic conference in January, which focuses on sales networking and training for agents and operators alike.”
She added: “January 2016 will see Aito Specialist Travel Agents, tour operators and affiliate members meeting for the 15th time for the largest gathering of members of the independent travel sector in the UK.
“Rather refreshingly, whilst many conferences struggle with numbers, this event sees growing numbers every single year. We are therefore moving our host hotel yet again, as our attendance levels have grown so significantly.
“It’ll be a jam-packed weekend of networking and learning, during a time when we are all super-charged for the peak booking period and can then put everything we have learnt into practice as soon as we return to our offices on the Monday morning.
“What better time to have our domestic conference than during the first month of Aito’s 40th anniversary year? I’m very much looking forward to celebrating Aito’s birthday during a time when the association is going from strength to strength.”
The keynote speaker is Ben McBean, a double-amputee who will share his story with delegates.
Early bird registration for the domestic conference is now open for Aito agents and operators.