Event details
ABTA’s essential training day will provide practical guidance on preparing for, managing and recovering from a crisis.
Attend this comprehensive day to understand lessons of recent years, the changing travel environment and the impact it will have on your crisis management plans.
About the event
As recent years have shown, the travel industry can be unpredictable with crises taking many forms including extreme weather, geopolitical challenges and health outbreaks. A crisis management plan with action guidelines is essential in enabling you to respond in the correct way to a crisis to protect employees, customers and other stakeholders.
Hear insights into what the emerging threats to the travel industry are and what you can do to prepare for them. Learn about the support that is available to you, and travellers’ perceptions and expectations.
During this practical day you will look at your crisis management plan and ensure it meets the needs of your business and the ever-changing travel landscape. You will gain tips on how to communicate this with the business, your supply chain and other stakeholders, and how to ensure buy-in from senior management.
A practical exercise will provide guidance on reviewing and simulating your plan and the importance of testing.
During a crisis you will be responsible for providing a duty of care to both employees and customers, hear a legal expert outline your obligations under the Package Travel Regulations and the potential legal impacts as a result of inadequate crisis preparedness and response.
There will also be in-depth guidance on recovery after a crisis, focusing on how you can work with the destination on health and safety considerations and when is the right time to return. You will hear a presentation on the importance of looking after the health and wellbeing of your team, how to prepare staff and provide ongoing support post-crisis.
The agenda will include case study presentations from organisations who have experienced crisis and how they responded to support staff and customers in destination.
Sessions
- The changing landscape of crises, emerging threats and priorities for crisis management
- Extreme weather and how best to prepare and manage natural disasters
- An update on your legal obligations and responsibilities under the Package Travel Regulations
- Developing and modifying your crisis management plans
- Simulating and testing your plan
- Recovery after a crisis and working with destination to find the right time to return
- Looking after the health and wellbeing of your team.
Speakers
Moderator: Angela Hills, Head of Destinations, ABTA
Angela is the Head of Destinations at ABTA, with responsibility for destination operations, health and safety, crisis management and incident management. She is one of ABTA’s key points of contact for government representatives (UK, EU and destinations) on destination-related issues and projects. Angela is a regular speaker on behalf of the tourism industry at UK and international conferences, delivering health and safety, crisis and operational training to suppliers and Governments in destinations. In addition, Angela is a key industry stakeholder representative for EU and international committees for destination and safety related matters.
Angela has over 25 years travel industry experience having joined the industry in 1988, working in various management roles both overseas and in the UK, for a major UK tour operator. In September 1998 she was appointed as the Head of Health and Safety and Operational Support for the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) and International Federation of Tour Operators (IFTO). Since July 2008 when FTO merged with ABTA - The Travel Association, Angela has been responsible for destination operations, health and safety, crisis management and incident management within the Destinations & Sustainability department.
- Heather Pennock, Destinations Manager – Health, Safety, Crisis & Operations, ABTA
- Donna Mehmet, Senior Destinations Executive, ABTA
- Becky Pearce, Incident & Crisis Manager, TUI UK & Ireland
- Sarah Taylor, Director Consular and Crisis, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Catherine Crozier, Deputy Head of JOPP (Joint Overseas Protect & Prepare) and Protective Security, Vulnerable Communities, Homeland Security Group
- Jon Goodwill, Principal Consultant, Groundtruth
- Dipti Patel, Director, National Travel Health Network and Centre
- Su-Lin Garbett-Shiels, Deputy Director, Head of Crisis Management Department, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
- Patricia Charley-Leon, Director, St Lucia
- Claire Mulligan, Partner, Kennedys
- Natalie Fairchild, Customer Success Manager, F24
- Carol Mackenzie, Group Head of Crisis Management & Business Continuity, TUI UK & Ireland
Further speakers including industry crisis management experts to be announced.
Benefits of attending
- Understand the emerging threats facing the travel industry
- Get an update on your legal obligations and responsibilities
- Develop a sound crisis management plan to prepare for any eventuality
- Learn from the experiences of others and hear how others in the travel industry responded to crises
- Take part in a practical exercise to review, simulate and test your plans
- Hear how to work with the destination following a crisis and when is the best time to reinstate and promote the destination
- Get an understanding of the impact of a crisis on your staff and how to look after their psychological and physical wellbeing.
Who should attend?
The event is ideal for anyone working in the travel industry with responsibility for destinations, health and safety and crisis management including:
- Crisis management and operational teams
- CEOs and directors
- Communications and PR teams
- Health & safety teams
- Customer service and care teams
- Marketing and product teams
- Legal teams.
Event prices
ABTA members/Partners:
Early bird member rate - £249
Standard member rate - £279
Non-members:
Early bird non-member rate - £389
Standard non-member rate - £419
Early bird rates will expire on 30 August 2024.
This includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day, all delegate materials, presentations and an attendee certificate.
Make payment by credit or debit card.
View our booking terms and conditions here.
Discounts
- Book three places and get 50% off the third place.
(This discount will be automatically applied when you book online.) - If you are looking to book for a larger group please contact events@abta.co.uk for a bespoke discount.
*To qualify for the ABTA member/Partner discount you must have a current ABTA member/Partner number or your application must be in progress when the event takes place.
Non-members are welcome to attend. For information about becoming a member click here.
Sponsorship
Event partner
F24 is Europe’s leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for resilience. More than 5,500 customers worldwide rely on F24’s digital solutions, which support through all areas of resilience. Solutions cover business messaging and service notification, emergency and mass notification, incident and crisis management, as well as governance, risk and compliance.
F24 supports customers in virtually every sector ranging from energy, healthcare, industry, finance, IT, tourism and aviation to a wide variety of public organisations. Many years of international experience have made F24 experts in improving resilience with digital solutions.
For more information, please visit www.f24.com
For information on sponsorship opportunities please contact Sara Dolan on 07766 517 611 or email sdolan@abta.co.uk.
