ABTA Travel Convention Wraps Up in Greece – Video Highlights

“As the ABTA Travel Convention ends, I would like to once again thank our hosts, the Region of Peloponnese, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and all of our sponsors from the United Kingdom which made this year’s event possible”, Mark Tanzer, CEO of the Association of British Travel Agents, said on Wednesday at the end of the convention held at Costa Navarino in the Peloponnese.

ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer.

The convention kicked off in style on Monday, October 12, with a welcome party in the historic town of Pylos, hosted by the Region of the Peloponnese. Delegates were treated to a pageant of Greek culture and history, local cuisine, folk dancing and traditional musical entertainment, ensuring a warm welcome to the Peloponnese. The host party on Tuesday night, sponsored by the GNTO, launched a few surprises and made the party one to remember.

Mark Tanzer: We are impressed by Costa Navarino

“The last few days in Costa Navarino at the travel convention have provided delegates with a packed programme of inspirational and thought provoking workshops and presentations, to help enable them to steer through the ever-changing environment in which we all must operate”, ABTA’s CEO said in an announcement after the convention.

Risk and resilience were the twin themes of the convention and expert speakers from inside and outside the industry gave delegates insights into how to make flexibility, agility and managing the unexpected, intrinsic to travel professionals’ relationships with both their customers and their colleagues.

A number of themes emerged over the course of the business sessions: how to get the most out of your team, by expecting the best from them as well as offering it to them; why globalisation is offering opportunities for business as well as challenges; how innovation is core to business growth and we should never confuse unfamiliarity with risk.

Among the highlights of the convention was the presentation of the Holiday Habits Report 2015, which outlined the findings from ABTA’s annual research among UK consumers to better understand their holiday habits.

According to Mr Tanzer, feedback from delegates on the hospitality shown by the Region of the Peloponnese and the GNTO “has been incredibly positive.

“We have all been extremely impressed by Costa Navarino, which is a sustainable resort of the very highest quality”, he said.

At the end of the travel convention, ABTA announced that Yas Viceroy, Abu Dhabi, will be the destination for the 2016 Travel Convention to take place October 10-12, 2016.

ABTA 2015 Travel Convention – Video highlights

Watch highlights of the both the first and second day’s business sessions, and find out what delegates had to say about this year’s event.

Day 1

Day 2