Abta has revealed the full agenda for its 2022 Travel Convention, which will take place in Marrakech next month (October 10-12).
The latest addition to this year’s line-up is Michael Bayley (pictured), president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean International, who will offer a global perspective on this year’s theme, Travel’s new landscape, with a particular focus on what’s next for the cruise industry.
The event will feature a range of keynote speeches, panel discussions and live Q&As, exploring how the changing economic landscape will affect people’s appetite for holidays, the sustainability agenda, how to market effectively, and how to overcome the current recruitment challenge.
There will be insights from PwC about how the cost-of-living crisis will affect consumer spending, followed by a panel discussion between Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel; Richard Singer, chief executive of Ice Travel Group; and Garry Wilson, chief executive of easyJet Holidays.
Abta and Deloitte will launch a Climate Action Guidebook and sustainability will also be addressed by Intrepid Travel’s chief executive, James Thornton, and a panel discussion on visions for a sustainable travel industry featuring Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK; José Puyana, regional director for Europe at ProColombia; Susan Deer, director of industry relations at Abta; and Matt Callaghan, customer and operations director at easyJet Holidays.
Guest speakers include Eleanor Mills, founder of Noon, who will be revealing the attitudes and spending patterns of midlife women; Jenk Oz, founder and chief executive of Thred Media, talking about how Gen Z tick; and travel influencers, Hand Luggage Only, who will explain how to incorporate influencers into the marketing mix.
Mark Tanzer, Abta chief executive, said: “This year’s Travel Convention once again brings together a brilliant line-up of speakers from across our industry and the wider business world, including many whom the travel sector does not normally get to see at industry events.
“I’m really looking forward to each speaker’s expert insights as to how together we can embrace the new landscape for travel at this critical time for our industry.”