ITTN is at Travel Centres Conference 2023: Seeing the Wood for the Trees. The conference was officially opened by the President of the ITAA, Angela Walsh with a quote that reminds us why we love the travel industry:
“Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer”
Saturday morning saw the full set of delegates attending the conference which totals c. 200 agents and suppliers.
Dominic Burke welcomed the master of ceremonies for the morning, Eoghan Corry. He highlighted that both the Chief Executive of the ITAA, Clare Dunne, and the President of the ITAA, Angela Walsh, are part of the Travel Centres family and introduced Angela to the stage.
Angela Walsh – President of the ITAA
The morning agenda saw the incoming president of the ITAA, Angela Walsh, officially open the conference. Angela urged delegates to be involved, to listen, to get the most out of the conference and to reach out and connect with the other partners and members here over these few days.
She shared “Today, we find ourselves in a world where there has never been such an appetite for travel. However, as we all know, our industry has faced many challenges and will continue to do so.”
“As part of this conference, I think it is important to recognise these challenges and how together, we can successfully face and overcome them.”
“It has never been more important to be part of something or somewhere where people can work together to find the answers. As, in reality, everybody here in the room is probably facing the same challenges.”
“…to ensure that we maximise these opportunities, we must all learn to embrace a culture of change. And more importantly, a culture of sharing.”
“A customer may not remember what they bought, or what it cost but they will usually remember how they were made to feel”
Angela relayed “A customer may not remember what they bought, or what it cost but they will usually remember how they were made to feel” and how this goes to the heart of the travel business.
In travel, “we don’t sell flights, and we don’t sell hotels, cars, insurance. We sell an experience.”
She added, “And if we provide these experiences to our customers through excellent customer service, we ensure that these customers will come back again and again, and they will recommend us to others.”
She ended with the apt quote “Travel is the only thing that you can buy that makes you richer”.
