The Advantage Travel Partnership has announced two further keynote speakers for its forthcoming conference in Benidorm, as well as the themes for the conference workshops.

Mark Palmer, Travel Editor of The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, and Professor Trevor Williams, former Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank, will headline the conference’s main opening plenary.

Palmer, a Fleet Street veteran, has nearly 40 years of national newspaper experience. In the early 80s, while working for a paper in New York City, he became the first Englishman to win the coveted Young Journalist of the Year award. On returning to the UK, he worked on Londoner’s Diary at the Evening Standard before being hired as a news reporter on the Sunday Telegraph, ending up as News Editor. He then joined the Daily Express as Executive Editor before moving to the Daily Mail 15 years ago, where today he is responsible for travel across both the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, in addition to the property, interiors, motoring and gardening pages. He has written two books – one about football, the other an official history of Clarks shoes, the company founded by his Quaker cousins.

Professor Trevor Williams is an economist who previously served as Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank for over a decade. From energy and climate to how companies use data, he analyses the key trends and policies that shape markets and brings clarity and cutting-edge thinking to the economic overviews.

Prior to his time at Lloyds, Trevor worked for the civil service before going on to work as an economist in the City for over thirty years. He covered specialities including equity and foreign exchange, forecasting and financial analysis.  Today he rotates as the Chair of the Institute of Economic Affairs Shadow Monetary Policy Committee where he keeps a close eye on the Bank of England’s decisions and direction of travel. He considers the impact of interest rates, monetary policy and quantitative easing and translates them into useful intelligence businesses can use to inform strategy.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO, The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “We are absolutely delighted that both Mark and Trevor have accepted our invitation to speak at this year’s conference. Mark has a great grasp on what UK consumers are looking for from their travel experiences and will talk about the increasingly important role that he sees travel agents playing. He will also give his views on why he feels that travel is so important in today’s world and the associated benefits.

“Trevor will explore the current trends, particularly in the leisure and business travel sectors, and what they mean to individuals and organisations, as well as demystify the complex world of economics making it easy to understand.  He will also share his thoughts on the effects of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic and the recovery of the economy in the aftermath.”

The conference’s seven dedicated workshops will be focused on a number of a wide range of topics that many of its members are currently facing and were chosen by the Advantage member steering group. 

From helping members stand out in a crowded job market and attract the best candidates, to motivating and retaining existing team members by creating a positive and inclusive work environment. There will also be a specific focus on how its members can better utilise apprenticeships and training programmes to bring in fresh talent and help develop its employees. These personalised sessions will offer delegates a targeted focused discussion on opportunities and challenges affecting SMEs businesses.

Lo Bue-Said, added: “We want to ensure that delegates not only get a lot out of the macro plenary sessions but that they also take away from the conference lots of insights and learnings on topics that they are no doubt facing in today’s trading environment.”

The workshop sessions will include:

The Travel Industry Talent Contest

A look at how members can bring Modern Apprentices into their business to fill resource gaps and enhance their team plus explore how training programmes can develop and motivate existing staff. Delegates will also hear from members that have already benefitted from doing just this.

You’re Hired!

Facilitated by a recruitment expert, members will learn the tricks of the trade, and look at ways to motivate their staff, ensuring they want to stay and grow. Plus, members tell delegates how they have diversified from the norm.

Closing the Net on Fraudsters

Travel fraud comes in many shapes and forms and costs affected businesses £’000s. In this workshop, members will explore some of the different types of fraud impacting the industry and look at the prevention tools and tactics they can use to lessen the risk of an attack on their businesses.

Marketing Hacks to Boost Your Business

A deep dive into the marketing tools and support available to members and look at some quick wins to boost new enquiries and increase the value of existing customers, using member case studies to bring the ideas to life.

A ‘Leisurely’ Approach to Maximising Income

In this fast-paced session, we will highlight some of the ways members can focus their operations to generate more income from their existing leisure sales and add £’000s to their bottom line.

How Can TMCs Seize the Day in This Post-pandemic Era?

The corporate travel ecosystem has changed, travel programmes look very different now, and new opportunities are being presented. In this session, delegates will hear from travel buyers and bookers with travel programmes of different sizes, to understand what they are looking for from their TMC now and in the future.

Looking for a MICE New Revenue Stream?

With demand for in-person corporate meetings and events growing rapidly, members look at how, without having a dedicated MICE team, they can still create client stickiness and support requests that meet the requirements of a hybrid working environment to grow revenues.

Click here to see the conference agenda for each day.

The Advantage Travel Partnership Conference is taking place between 20th – 23rd May 2023 at the luxury Melia Villaitana in Benidorm.