New Canada Conference Offers Agent Training for All

A new two-day educational conference dedicated to the profitability of Canada’s retail travel professionals and suppliers promises to fill a gap in the industry by bringing the agency community together in an unbiased venue.

The conference – called Travel MarketPlace – will take place June 26 to 27 at the Hilton Toronto Airport. Co-sponsored by Travel Market Report and sister company Acclaim Meetings, it is designed for frontline travel sellers as well as agency owners and managers.

“It’s important that agents come together as a community, with suppliers, to discuss the trends and how to keep up with them, so as an industry we are as professional as we can be,” said Anne Marie Moebes, executive vice president of Acclaim Meetings and co-publisher of Travel Market Report.

Filling a need
The nonpartisan educational conference is being promoted as the only event of its kind currently being offered in Canada.

“There’s been a lack of agent education in Canada outside of conferences by the different travel agency groups,” said Moebes, a former travel agency owner.

Travel MarketPlace aims to fill that need through a combination of dynamic keynote speakers, agent-focused training, frank roundtable discussions, and networking with colleagues and suppliers.

Conference attendance is open to members of all travel agency groups. The program is designed to complement the offerings of agency groups, while providing a solution for unaffiliated agencies.

On the agenda
Educational workshops will address issues critical to the profitability of travel agencies and of frontline travel sellers.
 
“We are passionate about helping the Canadian travel agent community flourish,” said Moebes.

Among topics on the agenda are sales and marketing, including a top presenter on basic and advanced social media; legal and liability issues, including how to prevent fraud;  boosting profitability by charging fees; management training for entrepreneurs; RFPs for meetings and incentives, and working with suppliers.

Consumer trends will also be in the spotlight, including a program on generational marketing and how to target different age groups. Another consumer-focused session will examine how to succeed in niche travel, including putting together special interest groups and pinpoint selling.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to get tips from their peers on best practices and hear high-level panel discussions with C-suite executives from leading tour operators and cruise lines. Also planned is a panel discussion among the executives of travel agency consortia and marketing groups.

Travel MarketPlace also will feature educational programs geared to suppliers, including sessions on how to market to travel agents and the importance of ROI for agents and suppliers.

The right time
The strength of Canada’s travel market makes this an ideal time to launch a conference dedicated to Canada’s travel professionals and suppliers, said Moebes.

Canada now ranks seventh in international tourism expenditures, and Canadians take 32.3 million trips annually outside of the country, according to Global Tourism Watch 2013, a report by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).

Travel by Canadians this past January was the strongest it’s been in the last five years, up 2.7% over January 2013 and nearly 18% over January 2010, according to the CTC’s Statistics Canada International Travel Survey.

“Canada is a hot source market for the entire industry due to the uptick of travelers originating there,” Moebes said. “Travel MarketPlace was developed to help travel agents meet – and profit from – that growing trend.”

Industry support
Travel MarketPlace is supported by key members of Canada’s travel industry. Among its early backers was ACTA, whose members receive discounted registration. (See sidebar.)

“When ACTA was approached about Travel MarketPlace, we eagerly supported becoming actively involved and providing our members with relevant and informative sessions,” said David McCaig, ACTA’s president and COO.