Travel News March 2022


The Advantage Travel Partnership and NI Consort Travel Group Celebrate 10-Year Partnership


Detroit Signals Commitment to UK and Irish Markets


It has been a busy time for Detroit- 2022 kicked off


with the city celebrating the annual Martin Luther King Jr Day. Detroit has a special connection with him, two months before the celebrated march in Washington where Dr King gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, he held what was then the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. history with 125,000 people marching down Woodward Avenue Detroit, as part of the Detroit Walk to Freedom. The city proudly looks back and his legacy but is also looking forward. Against the background of transformation for the city


NI Consort Travel Group Celebrate with Advantage F


EBRUARY marked 10 years since the Consort Travel Group in Northern Ireland joined The Advantage Travel Partnership, and both groups


have been reflecting on the benefits the partnership has brought in supporting independent travel agents in Northern Ireland.


The Consort Travel Group was originally set up


in 1985 by a network of 16 independent travel agencies with the sole purposes of increasing earning potential through collaborative buying power and improving the professionalism of its members. n 2012 the group took the decision to join with a


larger consortium to support their head office functions and further enhance their commercial relationships, and chose The Advantage Travel Partnership. David Moon, head of business development at Advantage said: “Over the last 10 years we have forged a very strong relationship with our Consort members in Northern Ireland. Whether it be attending our regional meetings, annual conference or utilising the many products and services we offer; Consort members have truly engaged with what we do here at The Advantage Travel Partnership. Our business development team have also worked very closely to build individual relationships with each Consort member to provide a bespoke service to them. On this milestone we would like to thank all of the Consort members for their continued support,


and we look forward to working even more closely with them in the future.” Sandra Corkin, managing director of Oasis Travel in Northern Ireland said: “It has been 10 years since the partnership between the Consort Travel Group in Northern Ireland and The Advantage Travel Partnership was formed. We have been very impressed at how Advantage has supported our group, as well as each of our business individually. We have benefitted not only from market leading commercial terms with a broad range of suppliers, but also expert operational advice on all areas of our businesses, ranging from financial help to shop refurbishments. Furthermore, their marketing support has not only ensured that we keep in regular contact with our existing clients, but also provided opportunities for us to grow our business and increase sales. We have enjoyed the many networking opportunities offered by attending Advantage events and their conferences, giving us the chance to network with other members from around the UK and our preferred supplier partners. We have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with Advantage over the last decade, and we look forward to building our future with them by our side.” As a small gesture to help celebrate the anniversary, Advantage sent all of the Consort members a bottle of champagne, and a tin of chocolate truffles, with tin representing a 10th anniversary.


and its people, they have signalled commitment to the UK and Irish Markets in 2022 to ensure international tourism continues to be part of the story of this great city. Promoting understanding and breaking down barriers. Jennifer Ollinger the International Marketing Manager at the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau said, “We are delighted to be working with our partners


in the UK and Ireland on projects to support the travel industry, with opportunities for marketing, supporting events and bringing Detroit to the forefront of the minds of international travellers in this vital market” This year sees the city marking the next chapter


of its amazing regeneration, with the refurbishment and expansion of the Motown Museum nearing a conclusion, it will see the Museum re-opening in time for the mid-summer season. Opening of several brand- new hotels, completion of final phases of the riverfront and the projected completion of the Michigan Central Station redevelopment in Corktown are just some of the highlights anticipated over the course of the next several months.


Jennifer went on to say, “Being able to set a marketing budget is remarkable


after the last 2 years but it demonstrates that the city has serious intentions and values our UK and Irish partners, we are therefore excited by some of the opportunities that our representation have developed on our behalf and look forward to welcoming friends to Detroit” The opening up of air corridors into the US following


the pandemic and the easing of restrictions make it an ideal time to support travel professionals with training, and co-operative marketing through Detroit’s UK and Irish representatives Cellet Marketing and Public


Relations Limited”


TRADE NEWS 43


Tourism NI Welcomes The Return Of Flagship Business Networking Event


TOURISM NI has announced the face-to-face return of its Meet the Buyer trade event after two years of delivering the event virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The annual flagship b2b networking event will host operators from over 16 global markets at ICC Belfast on Tuesday March 29.


Delivered in partnership with Tourism Ireland, Meet the Buyer attracts a wide range of international tour companies and opens up the window of opportunity for local businesses to showcase their tourism business and attend one-to-one appointments with a pre-qualified group of overseas buyers.


Eimear Callaghan, Tourism NI’s Business Solutions Manager, said: “I am delighted that our flagship b2b event Meet the


Buyer will return to a face to face format for the first time since 2019. “It marks a very important step in the recovery


process for Northern Ireland tourism businesses who are committed to international visitors, “Whilst both our Virtual Meet the Buyers were very successful, nothing replaces that personal engagement and conversation and it provides us with an amazing opportunity to remind our international operators of the super experiences, hotels and visitor attractions that Northern Ireland has to offer.” Eimear added:


“I would encourage any Northern Ireland tourism


business that is committed to international markets to express their interest ahead of the deadline. We look forward to extending a giant welcome to both industry and operators on the 29th March.” To be eligible to participate in Meet the Buyer businesses must be based in Northern Ireland, have sufficient capacity to facilitate tour groups, focus on international markets and have development plans in place and are registered with Tourism NI’s Good to Go scheme.


Tourism businesses interested in registering for


the event or seeing the full eligibility criteria can go to tourismni.com/meet-the-buyer-2022–icc-belfast


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