NEWS CONFERENCE PREVIEW
responsible tourism and the need to build back better, he adds. “We all have a greater focus now
as we approach the COP26 climate change conference,” says Young. He highlights the uneven
distribution of vaccines around the world, and explains how G Adventures has been helping communities in destinations such as Peru to get tourism workers and their families inoculated. All these topics and more will
be on the agenda at next week’s conference, which aims to help agents capitalise on the surging demand – and growing reliance that consumers have on the trade. “Travel agents are inundated with
customers wanting to travel – clients need to sort passenger locator forms and PCR tests, so it is daunting to plan,” says Young. He points out how the agency
community has always been eager to learn more about touring
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and adventure, even during the lockdowns that forced Atas to cancel its 2020 conference. “We had a virtual conference
during the pandemic and themed awareness months earlier this year and the interaction was phenomenal,” he says. “Atas is growing stronger. More members are joining. And agents are keen to learn about the sector as they can see there are such diverse products. “The conference will get people
really excited and inspired – they can learn about suppliers and products; get marketing and sales tips; and new agents can get the support they need to be successful in the sector.”
Celebrating success Claire Brighton, Atas account director, says: “The Atas team is really looking forward to meeting all conference delegates in person.
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“We have worked hard since
March 2020 to keep agents, operators, tourist boards and other stakeholders in the touring and adventure sector in contact with each other – to liaise and learn about new rules and trends that emerged during the pandemic and to lobby with the rest of the travel industry. “It has been an unprecedented
challenge for the trade so we want this conference to celebrate the successes that we’ve seen and to help agents make the most of the recovery. “Our theme is ‘Learn. Experience.
Achieve.’ so there will be plenty of educational opportunities; chances to experience the excitement of a touring and adventure holiday; and lots of moments during networking and the trade fair that can lead to achieving more sales as the sector rebounds.”
EVENT SCHEDULE
The annual Atas showcase returns for real on October 19-20 with the theme of ‘Learn. Experience. Achieve.’ The venue is Birmingham’s
International Convention Centre, which successfully hosted the conference in 2017 and 2018. The event opens with an
evening reception on October 19, while October 20 will feature conference sessions, a trade fair and an evening of celebrations. There will be an awards
ceremony to recognise agents who have supported the sector with enthusiasm and dedication. The conference is held in association with Travel Weekly Group and sessions will be moderated by editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley. The headline sponsors are Visit Portugal and travel technology specialist Tigerbay.
touringandadventure.com
travelweekly.co.uk
14 OCTOBER 2021
11
an be a springboard’
PICTURES: Steve Dunlop
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