Business Programme
The Travel Convention is recognised as the forward-looking event in the travel calendar, with the business sessions providing a broad spectrum of topics and insights designed to shape and prepare your business for what lies ahead.
The Convention’s business sessions consistently score highly in the post-event surveys, but don’t just take our word for it, you can view feedback from the 2018 sessions here.
Each year, some of the industry’s most recognisable players take to the stage to share their views on the industry, while external experts deliver thought-provoking content around new trends, business practice and innovations coming down the line. The programme also includes guest speakers who inspire us to change the way we think and behave.
The theme for this year’s business sessions is Brave New World which we’ll consider through the lens of what’s intriguing? what’s inspiring? and what’s challenging? More >>
The speakers and their topics will be announced via Convention e-News throughout the lead up to the Convention – once announced, the session details can be viewed on this page, with links to the speakers’ biographies.
Sessions Announced To-Date
| Every Second Counts In today’s noisy world, it is becoming increasingly hard to connect with customers as businesses compete for consumer attention. Facebook now defines a video view as three seconds and the Interactive Advertising Bureau a viewable impression when at least 50% of an ad appears on screen for more than one second. This attention-deficit, particularly among the younger generation, will require Travel businesses to use creativity to communicate messages in a matter of seconds – but how can you capture attention, humanise your brand and make lasting connections in such a short time frame? And what should Travel brands be doing to engage with millennials and Gen Z in A Brave New World? Jo McCrostie, award-winning Creative Director at Global, the Media & Entertainment Group, and Somi Arian, Founder of Smart Cookie Media, will explore the benefits of thinking outside the box and daring to adopt imaginative strategies when connecting to audiences. | Somi Arian Jo McCrostie |
| The Rise of the Conscience Traveller Our customers are choosing to travel for different reasons and we are seeing the rise of the conscience traveller, as environmental concerns increasingly influence holiday choices. Travellers are asking more questions about the social and environmental impacts of their stay before making a decision about where to visit. Millennials and Gen Z travellers are looking for more sustainable holiday experiences and ways to travel that reduce their carbon footprint, and there is an increasing demand for destinations and companies to implement good animal welfare practices. In this session, we will talk to a range of travel companies about the moves they are making to address the rise of the conscience traveller and the many ways that customers, travel companies and communities can all benefit from responsible tourism. | José Aragão Simon King Tony Roberts Richard Sofer Nikki White |
| The Future of Travel in a Brave New World As we approach the close of this year's Travel Convention, industry leaders will share their views on the future of travel. From innovating through products and technology to re-imagining their approach to sustainability or reinventing the experiences they offer the holidaymaker, the panel will discuss some of the exciting innovations that are coming down the line and what we can do differently to grow and prosper. | John Bevan Lucy Huxley Stuart Leven Garry Wilson |
| The Science of Body Language Did you know that a person’s body language can reveal what they are thinking? From gestures and facial gestures to the use of eye contact and space, non-verbal body language can play a crucial role in communication. Behavioural psychologist, Dr Peter Collett, has analysed the actions of politicians and celebrities ranging from Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Barrack Obama, Angela Merkel and Kate Winslet, to name but a few. In this session, Peter will decode the fascinating intricacies of body language and speech around the world as he shares the clues to understanding people’s deepest thoughts. | Dr Peter Collett |
| Face to Face with Andy Duncan 18 months into his role as the new CEO of Travelopia, Andy Duncan will share his travel-outsider vision for the business; give his perspective on this year’s business theme – Brave New World – and we’ll be talking to him about the experience he brings to Travel from his roles with Channel 4, Camelot, HR Owen, and the BBC. | Andy Duncan |
| Making Global Local The experts in product innovation and adaption designed to ensure continued appeal to audiences around the world is Disney, whose theme park and resort concepts in Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo enjoy their own unique identity while remaining authentically Disney. This session will see Philippe Gas, the President and Managing Director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan, take you behind the scenes at the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’. From offering subtly different selections of food, rides and layout to cater for local needs, to navigating international laws and legislation or dealing with staff around the globe, Philippe will explore the opportunities, challenges and pitfalls for global companies looking to establish themselves as a part, rather than an interpretation, of a culture and its people. | Philippe Gas |
| Brave New World In this session, Paul Flatters, the Co-Founder and CEO of Trajectory Partnership, and Sarah Morris, an Associate at Trajectory Partnership, will draw on their experience of macro trends analysis to highlight new challenges and opportunities facing businesses and make the case for being brave in responding to them. A key focus will be on meeting the needs of the new generation of travellers who are just about to join the market. This is a generation that has grown up in an age when the benefits of globalisation have been called into question like never before. This generation know they are powerful and they are not afraid to use their power, often deploying the latest tech tools in doing so. Earning their trust will require brave new strategies for travel businesses. | Paul Flatters Sarah Morris |
| A New World Order With access to some of the key figures across business, politics and leadership around the world, The Telegraph's Europe Editor, Peter Foster, will reflect back on his predictions when he addressed delegates during the 2017 Travel Convention. He will also share his views on the ever-changing political landscape,the shifting face of nationalism and the opportunities that a post-Brexit world will present. | |
| Go Beyond Victoria Gosling OBE, the CEO of GB Snowsport, has had an outstanding career. Having played a pivotal role in spearheading the Invictus Games in 2014, and then as the CEO of the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, she is an advocate for achieving the seemingly impossible. From her journey through the Royal Air Force as Group Captain, to her ambitious vision to lead Britain to become a top five nation in winter sport by 2030, Victoria has operated in numerous challenging environments. Her closing address will empower you to be resilient, brave and willing to challenge the status quo. | Victoria Gosling |
| In Conversation with Julia Longbottom As the Director for Consular Services in the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Julia Longbottom is responsible for the delivery of the UK’s consular services globally. She has experience working in various Asia-focused roles within the Diplomatic Service and has worked overseas in Tokyo, Warsaw and The Hague. In conversation with Chris Ship, Julia will share fascinating insights from her experience of working in Japan as well as talking about the FCO’s role in helping British people in difficulty overseas; how they are working to reduce the number of preventable incidents abroad and their preparations for the travel-related implications of Brexit. | |
| Retail Therapy: East Meets West With the rise of ‘new retail’, where shopping is no longer the same as buying and no two consumer experiences are the same, retailing in travel today combines bricks and mortar, technology enablers and human intelligence to deliver a physical, digital and human experience to customers. Given the incredible changes in the way business and leisure travel is distributed, and with cultural needs and expectations different from one territory to the next, how can travel companies embrace the complex world of Travel retail where on and offline differentiation is a thing of the past? Champa Magesh, who prior to her new global role was Senior Vice President of Retail Travel for Amadeus in the Asia Pacific region, is ideally placed to explore retailing in the 21st Century including the latest tech trends in the East and what the West can learn from them. | Champa Magesh |
| Customer Happiness and Sustainable Change Patrick Marsden is Head of Travel at MaCher, the environmental and social consultancy. He will present pioneering psychological research about happiness during the customer journey, and explain how much customer experience can be enhanced by adopting sustainable strategies, such as removing single use plastic products. He will also talk about the vital role an industry network can play in driving sustainable change. | |
| New Money Over the past year, some of the world’s biggest tech firms have showed increased interest in the potential uses and application of cryptocurrency. With Facebook announcing plans to launch Librawithin a year, effectively allowing up to 2.4 billion users to send money to others or make purchases easily and cheaply, Yahoo purchasing 40% of the Japanese crypto exchange, Taotao, for anestimated 2 billion yen ($19 million) and Google launching new crypto-related search tools, ‘new money’ is set to be propelled into the mainstream. Alistair Pritchard, Deloitte’s Lead Partner for Travel, will explore the possible impacts of new money on the travel industry, and what we will have to do to evolve and adapt to take full advantage of the opportunities it provides. | Alistair Pritchard |
| Lost in Translation Japan is notorious for its complex etiquette. From knowing when to bow and take your shoes off, to how to accept a gift or exchange business cards, the nuances of its culture can appear mystifying to an outsider. Award-winning British novelist and broadcaster, Marcel Theroux, will provide an intriguing session on Japan’s unique customs as he shares his experiences travelling throughout the country in search of the Japanese aesthetic principle 'wabi-sabi’. | |
| Innovative Thinking With personalisation key and new technologies transforming the experiences available to consumers, what is the future for innovation in travel? In this year’s business sessions, we will hear about new and exciting initiatives from Dr. Dee Waddell, IBM Corporation’s General Manager for the Global Travel and Transportation Industry. Dee has held this position at IBM since 2015, and in 2018 picked up an iconic World Travel Awards accolade for the company as it was named The World’s Leading AI Travel Provider. In Tokyo, he will discuss how adopting new and exciting approaches, pushing boundaries and driving change is paramount. | Dr Dee K. Waddell |
| It's Now or Never From rising sea-levels and acidic oceans ruining natural landscapes to hotter temperatures threatening to shorten winter sport seasons, climate change is set to transform the travel industry. This session, led by strategist, writer and broadcaster, Dr Gabrielle Walker, will explore the key threats our industry faces, the shifting flows of tourism and the exciting new technologies and initiatives starting to emerge. | Dr Gabrielle Walker |
| Protecting Our Planet and Our Industry There is no doubt that the travel and tourism industry has to flex every institutional muscle it has available in order to reduce the speed of global warming. In his session, Tim Williamson, the Customer Director at Responsible Travel - an activist travel company offering over 6,000 responsible holidays from 400 holiday providers around the world - will address what our industry urgently needs to do now to protect our planet, our industry and shape a better future. |
Stay tuned for updates!