Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, is the latest speaker to be announced.

ABTA has revealed the full agenda for the 2022 Travel Convention, the UK travel industry’s most forward-looking event, which will take place in Marrakech from 10-12 October.

Driven by this year’s theme, Travel’s new landscape, an impressive list of guest experts and leading figures from across the travel industry and beyond (see full list in notes to editors) will tackle the challenges, lessons and opportunities facing travel businesses in 2023 and beyond.

Through a range of keynote speeches, panel discussions and live Q&As, important topics to be explored include how the changing economic landscape is set to impact people’s appetite for holidays, the sustainability agenda, how to market effectively to a variety of customer profiles, and how to overcome the current recruitment challenge.

One of the newest additions to this year’s line-up is Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, who will offer a global perspective on this year’s theme with a particular focus on what’s next for the cruise industry.

Further highlights from this year’s programme include:

• New insights from PwC on how the cost-of-living crisis will affect consumer spending, followed by a panel discussion between Dame Irene Hays, Owner and Chair of Hays Travel, Richard Singer, Chief Executive Officer of Ice Travel Group, and Garry Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of easyJet Holidays, to reveal their thoughts on the current economic outlook.
   
• Leading decarbonisation in travel – the launch of new Climate Action Guidebook from ABTA and Deloitte. The sustainability agenda will also be addressed by Intrepid Travel’s CEO, James Thornton, and a panel discussion on visions for a sustainable travel industry featuring Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, José Puyana, Regional Director for Europe at ProColombia, Susan Deer, Director of Industry Relations at ABTA, and Matt Callaghan, Director of Customer and Operations at easyJet Holidays.
   
• A range of guest speakers will offer their perspectives on the latest travel marketing trends, including Eleanor Mills, Founder of Noon, who will be revealing the attitudes, spending, and preoccupations of midlife women, Jenk Oz, Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of Thred Media, talking about what makes Gen Z tick, and travel influencers, Hand Luggage Only, who will explain how to incorporate influencers into the marketing mix.

The full agenda can be found at thetravelconvention.com/business-sessions.

Beyond the business sessions, networking opportunities include a variety of evening parties and the nightly Convention bars, plus a day for excursions and activities including a golf tournament and ABTA LifeLine’s charity cycle ride.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive at ABTA – The Travel Association said:

“This year’s Travel Convention once again brings together a brilliant line up of speakers from across our industry and the wider business world, including many whom the travel sector does not normally get to see at industry events. I’m really looking forward to each speaker’s expert insights as to how together we can embrace the new landscape for travel at this critical time for our industry.”

Fees for ABTA Members are £750, while fees for ABTA Partners and non-Members £850. For more information and to register, visit www.thetravelconvention.com.

Notes to editors
The full line up of speakers for this year’s Travel Convention are as follows (in alphabetical order):

• Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive, Airlines UK
• Christine Armstrong, writer, consultant & founder, Armstrong Associates
• Michael Bayley, President & CEO, Royal Caribbean International
• Ben Bouldin, Vice President EMEA, Royal Caribbean Cruises
• Matt Callaghan, Director of Customer Operations, easyJet Holidays
• Susan Deer, Director of Industry Relations, ABTA
• Lewis Goodall, journalist, broadcaster & author
• Hand Luggage Only, award-winning travel duo
• Dean Harvey, Managing Director, Kuoni/Der Touristik
• Giles Hawke, Chief Executive Officer, Cosmos Tours
• Dame Irene Hays, Owner & Chair, Hays Travel
• Lucy Huxley, Editor-in-Chief, Travel Weekly
• Rick Jones, Partner – Corporate Finance, Head of Travel & Leisure, P
• Dominic Kennedy, Senior Vice President Revenue Management, Distribution & Holidays, Virgin Atlantic
• Suzanne Korff, Director of Marketing & Communications, Princess Cruises UK & Europe
• Lisa McAuley, Owner & Managing Director, Silver Travel Advisor
• Eleanor Mills, Founder, Noon
• Alice Morrison, Scottish adventurer, presenter & author
• Jenk Oz, Social Change Activist, entrepreneur, founder & CEO, Thred Media
• Alistair Pritchard, Lead Partner, Travel & Aviation, Deloitte
• José Puyana, Regional Director for Europe, ProColombia
• Eleanor Scott, Travel Director, Strategy, PwC
• Richard Singer, Chief Executive Officer, Ice Travel Group
• Rt Hon Rory Stewart OBE, former cabinet minister, academic, writer & diplomat
• Carol Rose, Senior Sustainability Manager, ABTA
• Alistair Rowland, ABTA Chair & CEO, Blue Bay Travel
• Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive, ABTA
• James Thornton, Chief Executive Officer, Intrepid Travel
• Garry Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, easyJet Holidays
• Moderator: Chris Ship, Royal Editor, ITV News

About ABTA
ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for over 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 around 4,000 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined pre-pandemic annual UK turnover of £40 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the UK public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.