Travel News June 2018
HERE was a good turnout of Northern Ireland travel agents at the 2018 Advantage Travel Partnership held in Miami recently. Renowned CBS travel journalist Peter Greenberg was an acclaimed personality speaker at the conference which ran from May 10 to 13. Peter presented a “good, bad & the ugly” front- line report on what is happening on the global stage of travel and tourism and then continued as a panel guest in the session entitled: ‘Big Change, Little Me’.
The session focussed on the constantly evolving political and economic story and the changing consumer need, and featured Advantage’s own retail and consumer expert, Advantage Chairman, Steven Esom. Another popular speaker at the conference was American TV reality star Jerry Springer. As the 2018 conference in Miami came to a close, Advantage Travel Partnership's newly appointed CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said announced the consortia will be heading to the Andalusian city and port of Cadiz, in southwest Spain in 2019 from May 17-20 The conference will be held at the Cadiz Conference Centre, a former striking tobacco factory that has maintained many original features, located in the old town. The conference centre is
surrounded by cobbled streets, with the town hall and cathedral nearby, as well as charming squares and an abundance of tapas restaurants and bars. Chief Executive Officer, Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “As the Advantage conference is a yearly event in many members’ calendars we chose Cadiz as the 2019 venue because it offers a juxtaposed experience to Miami.
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Good turnout of NI agents at Advantage event T
“Cadiz is historical, traditional and a wonderfully European destination. The nearest airport is Jerez with a direct daily flight from Stansted airport and a thirty-minute transfer time. Delegates can also fly direct to Seville or Gibraltar. Miami has been a resounding success and we look forward to welcoming Advantage members in Cadiz!”
Advantage Tour Finder launched
ADVANTAGE Travel Partnership launched the Advantage Tour Finder to help agents compare more than 10,000+ tours worldwide at its conference in Miami.
Members will be able to source detailed tour information, itineraries and pricing with the platform customisable by tour type, duration, cost, destination and operator. Designed and powered by TourHound, Advantage members will have exclusive use from the end of May 2018 for a limited period.
Advantage members will have free access to the Advantage Tour Finder via the Advantage members’ intranet site. For members who have an appetite to drive touring and adventure enquiries, TourHound have created a white label platform that can be placed on an agent’s website or Facebook page, for a small monthly fee, that will search and compare. Advantage Tour Finder is mobile, tablet and desktop compatible. Analytics will also be available to help track trends, based on searches and responses. John Sullivan, Head of Commercial, Advantage Travel Partnership, commented: “We are incredibly excited to give our members, for the first time, a search tool suitable for Facebook that also backlinks to members’ websites.
Terry and Damien Murphy, Terra Travel with Sandra Corkin and Julie Anne Vaughan, both Oasis Travel
RIGHT: From left, Jullie Anne Vaughan, Ian McMichael, Sandra Corkin, Brian Gillespie, Gary Corkin and Alison Hamilton
“Working closely with TourHound, Advantage Tour Finder has been designed for travel agents who do not have a large technology development budget but do want an intelligent and easy to use platform that can be built and installed within a few hours”.
The Northern Ireland representatives who attended the Advantage conference in Miami recently
Paul Gallagher, Downe Travel, Terry and Damien Murphy, Terra Travel, Scott Parker, Feherty Travel, Trevor and Cheryl McAvoy, Laser Travel, Stephen and Delia Aston, Clubworld Travel and Jonathan Adair, Northern Ireland Travel News at the Advantage conference in Miami
Orlando training
BELOW: Jet2holidays sponsored a boat trip for the Northern
Ireland delegates at
the recent Advantage conference in Miami
VISIT Orlando, in association with its partners at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando Resort visited Belfast to host one of its series of travel agent training evenings.
The 2018 Visit Orlando Roadshow showcased the latest updates on the world- famous theme parks and resorts, along with many new attractions and experiences coming to Orlando.
Joy Hamilton of Thomas Cook was the lucky winner of a place on the 2018 Visit Orlando VIP Super Fam. Colin Denny won a Seaworld Goodie Bag & Restaurant Vouchers, Sarah Mulholland of Reliable Travel won a Universal Interactive Wand & Goodie Bag, Amanda Pollock won a £50 Gift Voucher for Belfast Disney Store, Sheila Rafferty of Terra Travel won Two Tickets for Boggy Creek, USB Drive and Charger Port and Adam Williams, Travel Solutions won a Power Bank & Amazon Voucher.
LEFT: Winner of Superfam Trip at the Visit Florida Roadshow was Joy Hamilton, Thomas Cook
Gillian McVeigh, Carly Smyth, Henry Gowan, Michaela Gray, Seaworld Parks & Entertainment and Dave Cole, Universal Orlando
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