Travel Counsellors will host more than 1,750 delegates in Manchester this month for the company’s biggest-ever annual conference.
The Travel Counsellors Global Annual Conference, taking place from Friday, November 24, until Sunday, November 26, at Manchester Central Convention Complex, will be one of the largest events hosted by a travel company in the UK, the homeworking franchise said.
Steve Byrne, the company’s chief executive, said: “This year marks an important milestone for us as we’re proud to host a record number of attendees, including over 1,000 travel counsellors and their partners along with over 200 suppliers all united under our ‘One Team’ ethos.”
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‘One Team’, this year’s theme, is said to underscore the “power and strength of the Travel Counsellors community”.
Across daytime conference sessions and evening events, delegates will receive updates from the company’s support team and hear insights from experts and guest speakers.
Bubbles and Brunch, a new feature in the agenda, will give agents the chance to meet gold-level colleagues, welcome new members of the franchise and speak to sponsors.
During the gala dinner on the Saturday evening, outstanding contributions will be recognised while entertainment is thrown.
The Travel Market event will showcase products and updates from supplier partners, numbering more than 200. The headline sponsors will be Silversea, Celebrity Cruises, Bedsonline, Accor Hotels, Travelsphere & Just You, Intrepid and Disney Destinations.
Travel Counsellors wants to make this year’s conference its most sustainable yet by asking guests to embrace a four-part pledge.
This includes eliminating single-use plastics, achieving carbon neutrality (by paying for emissions to be offset following the event), ensuring no waste is sent to landfill and having 15% lower like-for-like carbon emissions compared with last year’s conference.
Travel Counsellors said: “This marks just the initial step in the company’s sustainability focus for the event, with surplus food finding purpose through a donation to Open Kitchen, the adoption of rPET recycled plastic lanyards, and the implementation of a fully digital registration system.”
A seminar on sustainability will be held on the Friday, hosted by the company’s sustainability lead.
Byrne said: “Our independent business owners don’t just handle bookings. They build personal connections, crafting tailor-made travel experiences by caring more than anyone else, all empowered by our digital personal platform.
“As we gather for our global annual conference, it’s the perfect occasion to celebrate this collective success across all of our international markets after a record-breaking year, share industry insights and look forward to the incredible opportunity we have ahead of us.”
“Furthermore, in our journey to travel more responsibly, we are dedicated to educating our community and our customers so that we can ensure that our impact is as positive as possible for both the planet and its people.
“This commitment extends to this year’s annual global conference where sustainability is at the forefront of our agenda encapsulated by our four-part pledge.”