12 Aug
2020

ABTA’s Travel Convention returns for 2020 as a virtual one-day event this October

For the first time ever, ABTA’s flagship annual conference, The Travel Convention, will take place as a virtual one-day event, bringing the travel industry together at this critical time.

This year’s event will be held on Wednesday 14 October 2020. 

There will be thought provoking content around the future of travel and tourism, with keynote speakers, business sessions, a range of specialist workshops and networking opportunities delivered to delegates via a virtual event portal. The portal will allow delegates to access the business sessions and specialist workshops, either live or on demand for up to a month after the event, network and request one to one meetings with other attendees and receive live technical assistance throughout the day. The business sessions will be broadcast from a virtual studio in central London, with Chris Ship, the Royal Editor at ITV News, returning to moderate for the fifth time.

The Travel Convention programme is developed around three key pillars: Our World, Our Industry and Your Business. This year’s theme is ‘Rebuilding Confidence in Travel’. 

In Our World, hear about the Government’s approach to restoring confidence in travel and how Brexit will impact the industry. A panel of economists will explain what is happening in the economy at a macro-level, whilst commentators and industry speakers will examine how consumer expectations are changing as a result of Covid-19.

In Our Industry, hear insights on how to operate travel in a world with Covid-19. A range of speakers will explore what is happening throughout the customer journey, including in destinations, to encourage the return of safe travel. 

In Your Business, there will be a focus on sustainability, diversity and inclusion, digital transformation and new ways of working - as getting these things right will help to build confidence in our industry. Interviews and panel discussions with industry leaders will focus on the different ways in which travel businesses have adapted to the new climate created by the Coronavirus crisis, and other current events, and how they are promoting confidence to their customers to start travelling again.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

  • Moderator: Chris Ship, Royal Editor, ITV News 
  • Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC
  • Yael Selfin, Chief Economist, KPMG
  • Dr Paul Redmond, Author, The Graduate Jobs Formula and Director of Student Experience and Enhancement, Liverpool University
  • John Bevan, CEO, dnata Travel Europe

The list of confirmed speakers is available on the Convention website and the full speaker line up will be released in September. 

Delegates can register via The Travel Convention website. Early bird fees for ABTA Members and Partners are currently £79 while non-Member fees are £199. The early bird rate is available until 1 September. The full delegate list will be available via the website in due course.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said, “We took the difficult decision a few months ago to postpone this year’s Travel Convention in Marrakech to 2021, but we look forward to welcoming our delegates there in person next year. 

“In the meantime, with the start of the recovery presenting so many challenges to businesses, it has never been more important for us to come together to discuss the future of travel and how we can rebuild confidence in customers. From our virtual studio, we’ll be delivering high-level business sessions, practical workshops and time for networking. It will be unlike any other Convention before it – and we look forward to seeing our delegates there.”

For more info information and to register, please visit www.thetravelconvention.com.

Notes to editors
ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for 70 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers travel with confidence. 
The ABTA brand stands for support, protection and expertise. This means consumers have confidence in ABTA and a strong trust in ABTA Members. These qualities are core to us as they ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members. 

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today's changing travel landscape by raising standards in the industry; offering schemes of financial protection; providing an independent complaints resolution service should something go wrong; giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA has more than 4,300 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined annual UK turnover of £39 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the British public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.