Irish Travel Agents Association announces new dates for events postponed due to COVID-19
The Irish Travel Agents Association has announced provisional new dates for several events that were postponed following safety concerns after the worldwide outbreak of Coronavirus. The ITAA, which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, has rescheduled a number of its events to take place in the Autumn.
The ITAA are pleased to announce that the Annual Irish Travel Trade Show has been rescheduled, with the first 
show due to take place in The Imperial Hotel, Cork on the 2nd of September, and the second in Hotel Riu Plaza, the Gresham Dublin on the 3rd of September. These shows provide travel industry professionals with an opportunity to gain knowledge and exposure to new trends, products and resources available for their travel agency business. Attendees will also be able to learn more about their industry in order to better support clients and customers by utilizing all the resources the ITAA trade shows offer. Both events are kindly sponsored by Andalucía Tourism and the Spanish Tourist Board.
In March, the board of the Irish Travel Agents Association made the difficult decision to postpone this years’ annual Irish Travel Trade Show, due to rising concerns surrounding coronavirus. These events, organised on behalf of The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) by Business Exhibitions Limited, attract over 100 exhibitors from Ireland and abroad, and over 300 travel trade visitors each year made up of licensed travel agents and their staff.
Pat Dawson, CEO of the ITAA, said, “We were very disappointed to have to postpone the sixth annual Irish Travel Trade Show in Dublin, and our first show in Cork, however, this was a necessary measure in the interests of safeguarding our members, suppliers and customers . We are delighted to announce that these shows have been rescheduled to go ahead in early September, as we are looking forward to seeing all of our partners again and making new connections too.”
He continued, “Following steady growth each year, we’re expecting this year’s events to be bigger and better than ever before. We’re looking forward to welcoming professionals from all levels of the travel trade, with more exhibitors to meet and more opportunities for up-skilling and networking across both events this September.”
Another popular event which has been rescheduled is the ITAA Annual Conference 2020, which will take place in Évora, Portugal from the 15th to the 18th of October. The Conference provides travel industry professionals with many valuable opportunities to network and up skill, as well as learning more about the international travel trade. There will also be plenty of entertainment, great food and wonderful cultural experiences.
The conference will consist of three days in Évora, with an option for golfers to arrive early on the 14th of October. The itinerary will include delegate transfers to and from Lisbon airport, golf, lunch and dinner venues, as well as a range of other activities. There will be a special dinner for delegates on the day of the Conference, with a Gala Dinner on the last evening of the trip.
ITAA CEO Pat Dawson said, “The Annual Conference provides us with an opportunity to meet up and share ideas and experiences in order to learn from each other. We are very much looking forward to holding our conference in Évora and working to prepare a successful and enjoyable event for our delegates from all over the world.”
He continued, “These last few months have been incredibly stressful for the Irish Travel Industry, with many businesses under immense pressure due to travel restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ITAA are delighted that we can reschedule these important events in order to get out and see old familiar faces, and perhaps a few new ones. We have released these dates for your diary so that we will all have something to look forward to once COVID-19 has subsided. As this is a fluid situation, there will be regular updates in the coming months, so be sure to check our ITAA newsletter and websites for information.”
