Karryon Luxury Takeover March 2024 side lock up
Karryon Luxury Takeover March 2024 side lock up
Home Travel Industry Hub

SUSTAINABILITY & SLOWMO: ETG Connect Consultant Conference

Express Travel Groups annual Connect Consultant Conference was recently held at the Amora Jamison Hotel, Sydney and provided Independent Travel Group, italktravel & cruise and Select Travel Group consultants with an opportunity to network, learn and engage.

Express Travel Groups annual Connect Consultant Conference was recently held at the Amora Jamison Hotel, Sydney and provided Independent Travel Group, italktravel & cruise and Select Travel Group consultants with an opportunity to network, learn and engage.

The theme for this year was geared towards the environment and sustainability.

Karry On - Connect Consultant Conference

The conference kicked off with a cruise across Sydney Harbour to Clifton Gardens Reserve in Mosman for a beach clean-up conservation activity with the Surfrider Foundation, who are dedicated to the protection of Australia’s waves and beaches through Conservation, Activism, Research and Education or C.A.R.E.

Susie Crick, National Chairperson, Rise Above Plastics Campaign Director and South Coast Branch President showed that on the surface of what appeared to be a pristine beach was in fact deeply littered and polluted with plastics. The Rise Above Plastics Mission is devoted to reducing the impacts of plastics in the marine environment through awareness and education on the dangers of plastic pollution.

 

What else went down at the conference?

Karry On - Connect Consultant Conference

Kahoru Mizuta Japan Holidays, Emily Cai BE Travel Services, Yanyan Boyce Thomas Travel, Ruby Chen Mekong Travel & Tours Australia

Express Travel Groups Executive General Manager Ari Magoutis provided a company update and talked about the rise of the second city traveller who are seeking less crowded and less-visited destinations and the slowmo traveller. “Slomo is the new fomo” he said.

“Travellers are opting to spend more time immersing themselves in one destination or including the journey, not just the destination, as part of the holiday experience, which in turn helps lessen the environmental impact of travel”

Ari Magoutis, Express Travel Groups Executive General Manager

Major partners Expedia TAAP showcased their technology developments and the ease of itinerary creation, with Globus Family of Brands following the slomo trend introducing consultants to their new style of 2020 touring that focuses on spending more time in one place.

Karry On - Connect Consultant Conference

Luke Roberts Travel on King, Sara Batchelor italktravel & Cruise (ITT&C) Bribie Island, Joanne Sachse ITT&C Warrnambool , Nathan Burke Cover-More Travel Insurance, Amber Pagett Travel on King, Denae Grant ITT&C Bribie Island, Stephanie Zeigelaar ITT&C Warrnambool, Andrew Spotwood Cover-More Travel Insurance, Josselyn Layton ITT&C Bribie Island.

Cover-More Travel Insurance spoke about the importance of policy wording and how this can make a big difference to the level of care provided which resonated loudly to all.

Guest speaker Marisa Galante – Learning and Development Manager at The Travel Corporation – presented a consultative sales process toolkit for consultants to implement a customer-centric service and sales philosophy, leaving consultants with a key message to embrace change and reconsider unconscious bias.

Karry On - Connect Consultant Conference

Creative Cruising rounded out the presentations with an update on current cruise industry trends before consultants enjoyed a celebration dinner with a night of prizes, delicious food, drinks and dancing.

Ari Magoutis said, “Our Connect Conference provides such a valuable opportunity for our consultants to connect with each other and our preferred partners, to not only keep up to date with the latest product knowledge and industry trends, but to take away palpable learnings that they can implement into their daily business routines.”