Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) announce rescheduled events for Spring 2021
The Irish Travel Agents Association, which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, has announced provisional new dates for several events which have been rescheduled in line with current COVID-19 safety measures.
The ITAA are pleased to announce that the Annual Irish Travel Trade Shows have been rescheduled, with the first show due to take place in The Imperial Hotel, Cork on the 24th of March 2021, and the second in Hotel Riu Plaza, The Gresham Dublin on the 25th of March. Both shows are important events in the travel trade calendar, providing travel professionals with an opportunity to gain knowledge and exposure to new trends, products and resources available for their business. Attendees will also be able to learn more about their industry in order to better support clients and customers by utilizing all of the resources that the ITAA trade shows offer. Both events are kindly sponsored by Andalucía Tourism and the Spanish Tourism Office in Dublin, with trade show registration for the Dublin Show sponsored by Dublin Airport.
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 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 next March, 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 more opportunities for up-skilling and networking across both events next year.”
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 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 meet up with familiar faces, and perhaps a meet few new ones. We are releasing these dates for your diary so that we will all have something to look forward to once COVID-19 has subsided, however as this is a fluid situation, these are provisional dates. There will be regular updates in the coming months, so be sure to check our ITAA newsletter and websites for updated information.”
