The Advantage Travel Partnership has today announced two keynote speakers for its flagship conference taking place in Costa Mujeres, Mexico from the 15^th - 18^th May 2024. The conference will feature a three-day programme of events incorporating a wide range of relevant and inspirational keynote speakers, alongside dedicated business travel and leisure travel content relevant to both sectors.

Simon Ferguson, Senior Vice President at Modaxo, will address delegates on the major IT trends impacting the global travel and business landscape and offer insights into how independent businesses can respond. Modaxo is a global provider of technology to public and private transportation as well as aviation. The business enables the global movement of people, powering transportation technologies for cities such as London (TfL) New York, Atlanta, Mumbai and Singapore.

Simon Ferguson has over 20 years’ experience leading businesses in the travel and technology sectors. In 2005 he founded & launched Travolution, the first media brand for the digital travel sector, and in 2009 he became CEO of Travel Weekly Group, leading a management buyout to establish it as an independent business. During 9 years at Travelport he led its operations in both Europe and the US, relocating to Atlanta, Georgia in 2018 where he now lives. He led Travelport through many significant changes including several acquisitions, a move into digital payments, and driving strategy around IATA NDC. He was part of the senior leadership group that took Travelport public, listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Adventurer, author, and motivational speaker Jamie McDonald has also been confirmed as a speaker.  Something of a Superhero, and named Adventureman, Jamie is unique in his ability to keep going, even when times are tough. Since defying the odds to beat a debilitating childhood condition, he’s proved it beyond all doubt twice, breaking two of the toughest endurance Guinness World Records on the planet in the process.

Some of Jamie’s achievements include becoming the first person in history to run the 5,000 miles from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast without the aid of a support crew, battling -40°C temperatures, a frostbitten nose, and numerous potentially challenge-stopping injuries to completing yet another solo 5,500-mile cross country spanning run across American coping with desolate +50C deserts, dodging rattlesnakes and mountain lions.

In his latest adventure in 2023, Jamie visited the seven Modern Wonders of the World in the fastest time securing another Guinness World Record. Throughout the journey, spanning four continents, nine countries, 13 flights, and various modes of transport, including 16 taxis, nine buses, four trains, and even a toboggan, Jamie covered 22,856 miles in just 6 days, 16 hours, and 14 minutes.

Julia Lo-Bue Said, CEO, The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “We are delighted to have secured two great speakers for this year’s conference.  Simon is well-known to many across the industry and attended his first Advantage conference back in 2003 in Paphos. He is passionate about technology and its impact on people and businesses, and his extensive first-hand knowledge of IT and the industry is second to none. I am confident that delegates will take learn a great deal from Simon’s global overview of the tech world and also take away some real practical learnings for their own businesses.

“Jamie has an amazing story which is both humbling and hugely motivational. Having achieved so much in his career, often in the face of adversity, Jamie has raised more than £1 million for charity and in 2019 was awarded the Pride of Britain ‘Fundraiser of the Year’ and continues giving back helping other sick kids in need through the charity he founded, Superhero Foundation.”