Irish Travel Agents Association announce upcoming events for Autumn 2020
The Irish Travel Agents Association, which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, has announced provisional new dates for several events which are to take place in Autumn 2020 including the rescheduling of events that were postponed following safety concerns after the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19
The ITAA are pleased to announce that the Annual Irish Travel Trade Show has been rescheduled in 2020, with the first show due to take place in The Imperial Hotel, Cork on the 30th of September, and the second in Hotel Riu Plaza, the Gresham Dublin on the 1st of October. 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 and associated 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 Tourism Office in Dublin.
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 COVID-19. These events, organised on behalf of the 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 very necessary measure in the interests of safeguarding our members, suppliers and visitors. We are delighted to announce that these shows have been rescheduled to go ahead in late September and early October, as we are looking forward to seeing all of our partners again and making new connections too.”
He continued, “We’re looking forward to welcoming professionals from all levels of the travel trade, with more exhibitors to meet and expand opportunities for up-skilling and networking across both events this Autumn.”
Another popular event scheduled for the Autumn is the ITAA Annual Conference, which is taking place this year in Évora, Portugal from the 15th to the 18th of October. The Conference provides travel industry professionals with many valuable opportunities to liaise with fellow professionals, 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 final 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 an extremely 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 schedule 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 website for information.”
