Day two of the Travel Counsellors Conference, kicked off at 8.45am at the Lyrath Estate Hotel, Kilkenny, with great excitement when Emma Ballan surprised TCs with the winners of the Epic Universal Challenge. Aer Lingus and Do Something Different teamed up to bring nine lucky TCs to Orlando this May and as Ivan Beacom (Aer Lingus) took the stage to thank TCs for their support, Harry Potter – who strangely resembled Graham Hennessy (DSD) – wandered throughout the crowd announcing the lucky winners!
The deserving winners are Katharine Prior, Linda Tiernan, Deborah van Coller, Criona Buggie, Sinead Daly, Maeve Doherty, Sarah Appleton, Nicola Brown and Brenda Murray-Flynn!
Taking the stage after the big announcement, was Jon Bauer, Travel Counsellors Chief Technology Officer (CTO), who spoke of the importance of investing in technology, how they plan to adapt Phenix (internal booking system) to TCs feedback, the advancement in AI and how Travel Counsellors will be embracing this new technology.
Next up, Bernie Whelan moderated a panel with Mave Doherty, Emer McDermott, Kathy O’Sullivan and Lorraine Lawless on stage, discussing the benefits of working in teams, allowing TCs to take time off when needed, knowing their customers will be well looked after.
After a short coffee break, delegates returned to the McCurdy Suite, where numerous Travel Counsellors took to the stage to tell their own personal cancer survival stories, as it was announced that Travel Counsellors Ireland will be partnering with Breakthrough Cancer Research Ireland as their charity partner, in 2024. Cathy Burke advised that the company will be matching all monies raised or donated, by Irish TCs in this new partnership. Orla Dolan of Breakthrough Cancer Research Ireland gave an impressive update on how funds raised are helping with cancer research and the amazing stories of new treatments available.
Next up, Cathy Burke was joined by Brenda Murray-Flynn, Susan Ryan, Andre Bedford and Robert Kiernan to discuss Business Growth and how the TCs balance family-life and personal difficulties with growing their business year-on-year.
MSC’s Suzanne Rowe took to the stage next to give a brief update on their newer ships and what’s coming next. As one of the Headline Sponsors, Suzanne reiterated the importance of working with Travel Counsellors and how much their business and support means to MSC.
Jenny Wade of Explora Journeys, part of the MSC Group, was up next, speaking about this stunning new luxury cruise brand, tantalising the TCs in attendance. Explora 1, Explora’s first ship, launched August 2023 and exciting is building as Explora 2 is due to launch in August 2024. Stay tuned to ITTN, for more on Explora Journeys!
The fabulous lunch, was kindly sponsored by MSC Cruises in the Yew Restaurant and it wasn’t long before we were back in the McCurdy Suite. The TCs were joined by all suppliers in attendance at the conference for another quick business update by Cathy.
The TC Travel Market got under way at 2.30pm and we have a beautiful meal to look forward to this evening, followed by Awards and plenty of dancing! Follow ITTN on social media for more updates later this evening.
