Delegates and speakers share their thoughts about the event and the industry:
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Thursday, 14 June 2007
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Guest blogger # 5 - Joanne Roche
Joanne Roche, managing partner, Training For Travel:
"Sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to tell us they enjoyed our DVD and especially to Danny Waine for his very kind comments regarding our potential for Eurovision! Managerial role gladly accepted!
"When the Training For Travel team got together to decide on the theme for our sponsor slot leading to 3 minutes of fame, we decided that the only way that we could make an impact would be to look at the sponsorship format differently.
"I, like Danny have sat through conference sessions and sponsorship promotional slots (ours included last year) growing increasingly dismayed when the audience have become disinterested during the sessions because of uninspirational delivery. Unlike my esteemed fellow sponsors, TFT suffers from the problem of anonymity. We wanted to rectify this and to show off our absolutely fantastic asset - that is, our staff.
"How fortunate we were to have Liz Jackson following our 3 minutes - an inspirational example of what can be achieved with positive thinking and not succumbing to the excuse that you can't do it.
"Liz reduced me to hopefully discrete tears - here is a person who has overcome unimaginable difficulties to achieve so much. Liz delivered her story with humour and integrity and demonstrated that you can be self-deprecating without losing respect.
"When Bev and I asked our wonderful team to star in our DVD, they could have said "no, can't do it, won't do it" for fear of failing and making complete fools of themselves (the Tufty Club pitiful display in the water volleyball was enough!).
"But no, our fantastic team embraced the challenge (worryingly, some seemed to positively thrive in front of the cameras!)and delivered a light-hearted performance to meet the audience head on and were not frightened of making fools of themselves.
"A sleepless night was had by all prior to the DVD being shown and red faces when the opening notes began - followed by a sense of pride that we had the guts to do this in front of a very discerning, experienced and serious audience.
"There was a serious point to our DVD, believe it or not and that was that training is viewed slightly cynically; that it is the same format pedalled out again and again and so of therefore limited use.
"What we attempted to show was that we challenge the traditional ways of thinking and tailor our delivery to bring the best out of the people we train. We seek to add value by thinking outside the box and by understanding what is important to each organisation we work with.
"We are also committed to the importance of professionalism in the industry and although there are many ways of reaching this goal, qualifications do have a very important part to play.
"Danny articulated what I also think in his comment -there was a wasted opportunity to really address this vital issue in the session this year. I vote that it is put back on the agenda for next year - what does everyone else think?"
Sunday, 10 June 2007
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Guest blogger # 4 - Danny Waine
Danny Waine from Perfect Weddings:
"This year was my second visit to the ITT, although no longer as a student but now working 24/7 (which I´m assured is the norm for the travel industry), I´d been counting down the days until it was time to fly out to Gran Canaria.
"Things couldn´t have got off to a better start, as the guy at check-in at Manchester Airport saw my company name ´Perfect Weddings & Honeymoons´ printed on the ticket, took a quick glance at me and my colleague Rich, put two and two together and made five...
"I know that Gran Canaria is a mecca for gay and lesbian couples but the fact that he upgraded us to extra legroom seats free of charge, as a "honeymoon treat" was rather amusing and a great start to the week.
"The conference itself has excelled the experience of last year; well organised, blessed with good food and even better weather. No longer drowning of sweat in the Omani heat, this week I even managed to get through with dry clothing to spare. A number of frustrating but equally stimulating points have been raised over the past couple of days.
"As ever, the green debate raised its ugly head (not my favourite subject!); but finally in the summing-up of the conference, Tim Hames spoke sense and rightly pointed out that if you stop people travelling then it could wreck a destination´s economy and its peoples´ lives - an issue always overlooked by the green lobby. Bill Bryson encouraged people to take responsibility and clean litter on roadsides and railway embankments - as if our slow, expensive, and usually delayed trains aren´t bad enough the state of the stations and railtracks are a national disgrace.
"One session that I had been particularly looking forward to was Prof. Rhodri Thomas and his findings in to research in to Travel and Tourism graduates intention of joining the industry.
"Although there were some startling results; such as the few students who actually know what ITT stands for and around three-quarters of employers claiming to value someone with a degree - yet many still not offering worthy-enough career opportunities; but once again sadly this failed to spark the debate which is desperately needed. A swift glance around the room showed heads inside magazines and the odd hangover-induced person nodding off.
"Although this short-sightedness by some was picked up on by Ian Pearson, the Futurologist, in an earlier session who said that employers must invest in their staff and lose their arrogance, as what has happened in the past, whether successful or not, does not necessarily guarantee success in the future.
"The flip-side to the disheartening results of the research was the fantastic speech given by Liz Jackson of Great Guns Marketing. As an aspiring entrepreneur, it was an honour to sit intently for the whole session and listen to someone speak so passionately and enthusiastically about what one can achieve if you´re prepared to work hard enough.
"She spoke great sense but with a comic undertone that last night´s Aussie act Tim Michin would have been proud of. Liz left you with the feeling that anything is possible, if you believe in yourself and deservadly received the biggest round of applause of the week, well almost...
"The biggest ovation was actually for a sponsors Ad screened between two sessions. It was the girls from Training for Travel, and their take on the Sugababes hit ´Push The Button´.
"If this ad hasn´t already been leaked to YouTube then it should be! and if the girls haven´t already applied for Eurovision next year then I´d like to offer myself as their agent, free of charge! It´s a dead cert for Europop stardom.
"As the show draws to a close and I get ready for a week of recovery in bed once again (oh no, I´m not a student anymore!) all I can say is, roll on ITT 2008!
But sales are flat...
Okay, so the closing party was "awesome", "best I've ever seen", "worth the trip" - in fact, yet to hear a single negative comment about the entire evening.
The local authorities and tourist board clearly pulled out the stops for an incredible show, featuring dancing, music and a spectacular fireworks display. [See a few pictures taken on a camera phone]
The travel industry can be guilty of hyperbole on occasions, but most delegates agree that there have been very few gala events as impressive as last night.
However, superb nights are often followed by sore heads and moments of reflection.
The content during the conference sessions was very good this year, particularly on the first morning, many delegates say.
In fact, almost all the presentations were upbeat, motivational, inspiring (especially from Liz Jackson). Debates about some of the important issues, however, have been restricted to conversations away from the conference hall.
Indeed, the reality for many travel companies in 2007 is this: sales are flat, again.
One delegate said last night that the dip last year blamed on the World Cup in Germany was not a dip - it was a trend.
Lead-in times are much shorter for many package holidays, for example, (down from six months in previous years to sometimes just a few weeks), making it a nightmare for operators to forecast and put the revenue on the bottom line, months ahead of the actual trip.
There are real problems with some areas - the Canary Islands, ironically, in particular. ["Why fly almost five hours from the North of England to Tenerife when you can reach the Caribbean in seven for a few extra hundred quid."]
So despite a superb conference, many are worried - very worried - about the market.
"We will certainly lose a few operators this year," another delegate said last night.
Interestingly the threat to the market is no longer being blamed on the online companies. Everyone is in it together...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
The local authorities and tourist board clearly pulled out the stops for an incredible show, featuring dancing, music and a spectacular fireworks display. [See a few pictures taken on a camera phone]
The travel industry can be guilty of hyperbole on occasions, but most delegates agree that there have been very few gala events as impressive as last night.
However, superb nights are often followed by sore heads and moments of reflection.
The content during the conference sessions was very good this year, particularly on the first morning, many delegates say.
In fact, almost all the presentations were upbeat, motivational, inspiring (especially from Liz Jackson). Debates about some of the important issues, however, have been restricted to conversations away from the conference hall.
Indeed, the reality for many travel companies in 2007 is this: sales are flat, again.
One delegate said last night that the dip last year blamed on the World Cup in Germany was not a dip - it was a trend.
Lead-in times are much shorter for many package holidays, for example, (down from six months in previous years to sometimes just a few weeks), making it a nightmare for operators to forecast and put the revenue on the bottom line, months ahead of the actual trip.
There are real problems with some areas - the Canary Islands, ironically, in particular. ["Why fly almost five hours from the North of England to Tenerife when you can reach the Caribbean in seven for a few extra hundred quid."]
So despite a superb conference, many are worried - very worried - about the market.
"We will certainly lose a few operators this year," another delegate said last night.
Interestingly the threat to the market is no longer being blamed on the online companies. Everyone is in it together...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Guest blogger # 3 - Andy Washington (again)
Andy Washington, sales director at Cosmos, emails again (thoughts on the first day):
"The conference sessions are due to begin at 9 , But by the look of some people they've only just got in from the night before! Work hard/play hard!
"The sessions kick off with the introductions of local officials followed by Prof Richard Scase's view on the Global Remix and customer demographics.
"This guy needs to slow down otherwise he'll blow a gasket. He rattles off an entertaining and informative presentation which suggests men and women are far happier being single or divorced.
"Jeff Gazzard puts his stance forward in session 2 for saving the environment. His 15 minutes are summed up much clearer by Dermot Blastland with a follow presentation in 2 minutes.
"There is clearly a lot of work for the industry to do to tackle and influence climate change iin a positive way and Dermot's passion for this subject is inspiring.
"Manny is up next to tell us how Cook's will take on the world and how they will do it. Unfortunately he can't really tell us because quite rightly he had a loyalty to his own staff first and they will be briefed on the 18 June.
"Manny's honest shines through but 10 minutes before this session we all received the news about the new TC board and some shock waves swept through the audience.
"Next up Richard Reeves who gives more marriage counselling. It pays to be single they keep telling us! I thought this was a travel conference.
"The marriage made in heaven though was the water volley ball competition in partnership with the travel inndustry. Oh dear, the view from my balcony has just been ruined!
"Surely the winning team would be the team that actually could get the ball over the net. I'm not sure this event will be back, but it's more liekly than some of the random comments from some speakers!
"All in all a good and entertaining day. I've had some excellent meetings too, so trust me there is lots of work being done too.
"Now where's the bar, more networking to do before another early start!"
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