The 2023 Worldchoice Conference is being held in the Radisson Blu in Little Island, Co. Cork. The Worldchoice car was front and centre showing how to arrive in style. The conference started with a tasty “Grab & Go” Breakfast sponsored by KelAir Campotel and opened with Carol Anne O’Neill addressing the delegates at 9.30 am.
Carol Anne welcomed all Worldchoice members, preferred trade partners, media partners and President of the ITAA, Angela Walsh with special mention to those that travelled that little bit further such as Atlantic Travel from Letterkenny, Donegal which got rapturous applause.
“Grow your Mind – Grow your Business”
Carol Anne addresses the members – “2023 has been a consistent and stable year. Trading has been good” with growth and sales targets achieved.
“The world of travel is changing at a rapid rate and for us to focus on the future growth of travel we need to focus today on our own mindsets. Growth can mean different things in terms of your business. It may mean growth in your revenue or margin. It may mean growth marketing research or the marketing channel you use. It may mean growth in your teams’ skill set, knowledge base or development.”
Carol Anne explained that our industry faces never-ending challenges and we need to have the right mindset to overcome these. To support delegates with this frame of mind, David Meade, guest speaker at the conference, will deliver “Growth Mindset” (sponsored by Air Canada & United Airlines) followed by Mark Kelly discussing “The World of AI” (sponsored by Sunway).
Special Mention
A lump in my throat developed as Carol Anne spoke about those we lost this past year, in particular, “three remarkable and dear colleagues” – Caroline Browne from Phoenix Travel, Suzanne Kiernan from Ask Susan and Robbie Smart from Bedsonline. Carol Anne described them as real friends to everyone here today and how this isn’t just an industry but a community. She asked that “we remember them and applaud them for the contributions they made”. A glassy-eyed audience clapped and reflected on the heartfelt loss.
