Conference Programme 2018

F OTA I S L A N D R E S O R T

Travel Centres

2018

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Table of Contents

2 Sponsor Acknowledgements 3 Programme Details 5 Awards 5 Supplier Workshop 6 Changing the Face of Travel 7 General Information 9 Advisory Board 11 Speaker profiles 15 Your Entertainment 17 Testimonials and Photos

from 2015 conference

As the trading environment for traditional ‘bricks & mortar’ travel agents becomes more challenging due to factors such as increasing price transparency, greater traveller independence, reducing customer loyalty and the rise of the ‘sharing’ economy, we thought it long overdue that we conduct our own SWOT analysis on what are the perceived threats and opportunities as seen by travel agents themselves so that we can make Travel Centres and what we do on members behalf, more relevant to them.

Increasing anecdotal evidence supports the fact that consumers are returning to travel agents — although not necessarily to purchase the same products or services that they’ve done in the past. The onward growth of cruising plays very much into the hands of travel agents as the product’s complexity does not immediately lend itself to being sold directly to consumers online but rather depends on the expertise of someone who knows their way around what is, effectively, the new package holiday!

And it is because of the increasingly pivotal role that the cruise sector will play in the rehabilitation of the traditional travel agent as we move forward, that has prompted us to put together an experienced panel of cruise experts for our final session of the owners/managers conference on Friday afternoon!

Always at your service!

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Sponsors 2 x economy tickets to Minneapolis or Montreal* Friday Pre-Dinner drinks ‘Silent Disco’, Saturday Night, conference bags Gala Dinner Wines Luxury weekend for two/recovery packs place on fam trip to Tbilisi, Georgia* Saturday Refreshment Breaks Friday Refreshment Breaks ‘Magic Mirror’ Saturday Night Complimentary Crepes 2 x economy tickets on Qatar global route network* Saturday Lunch (Caribbean Theme) Friday Dinner Wines Pre-Dinner Drinks, Saturday Owner/manager lunch, Friday (see also, below)

Sponsor Acknowledgements† Events such as this depend on the generous sponsorship that underpins much of the content featured over the course of the two-day programme.

Although all our suppliers have contributed to the central funding that covers much of the main running costs, these suppliers in particular have dug deep into their pockets in order to show their appreciation for the business that you, our members generate for them year round. It is therefore only right and fitting that we should acknowledge them here.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Publisher’s Note: Whilst care has been taken in compiling the information contained in this manual, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. © Travel Centres 2018.

*Certain restrictions/blackout dates may apply. Only agents eligible for this draw. †Travel Centres would also like to acknowledge the support of the following two companies: Hertz — Discounted car rental for conference weekend, Travelport — ‘Changing the face of travel’ — Agent makeovers. Tayto sandwich packs

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Friday 9th November* 10.30 — 11.00 Registration — Tea/coffee/biscuits on arrival (sponsored by James Villas) 11.00 — 11.30 Delegate welcome & Year Review (closed session) — Smith Suite 11.30 — 13.30 S.W.O.T. session (closed session) — Smith Suite 13.30 — 14.45 Lunch — Fota Restaurant (sponsored by Travelport) 14.45 — 16.00 ‘Personal Performance’ — guest speaker, Declan O’Connell 16.00 — 16.15 Refreshment Break (sponsored by James Villas) 16.15 — 17.15 Panel Discussion ‘The future of Cruise’ — moderated by Eoghan Corry 17.15 — 17.30 Open Q & A 17.30 — 19.45 At your Leisure 19.45 — 20.30 Pre-dinner drinks (sponsored by Amadeus) — Club House Library 20.30 — 22.30 Owners/managers dinner — Club House. (Dinner wines sponsored by Sunway)

*Morning sessions closed to Travel Centres members only. Afternoon presentations open to all.

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Saturday 10th November 10.15 — 11.00 Registration 11.00 — 13.30 Speed-dating workshop — Smith Suite 13.30 — 14.30 Lunch (sponsored by Royal Caribbean) — Fota Restaurant 14.30 — 17.00 Speed-dating workshop — Smith Suite 17.00 — 19.45 At your leisure 19.45 — 20.30 Pre-dinner drinks (sponsored by Spanish Tourist Board) — Breakout Area 20.30 — 22.30 Gala Dinner (dinner wines sponsored by Crystal Ski)

Table Plans for Gala Dinner Blank table plans for the Gala Dinner will be displayed on notice boards in the main function room throughout the day on Saturday.

Please fill in your name on one of these table plans no later than 15.45 as the completed or partially completed table plans will be collected at 16.00. If your agency has four or more staff attending, a table plan with your name details will already have been prepopulated.

22.30 — 23.00 2018 Awards, ‘Changing Face of Travel’ and prize-draw 23.00 — 01.00 Dancing to Brass & Co. 01.00 — 03.00 ‘Silent Disco’ (sponsored by Celebrity Cruises)

Tayto ‘Revival’ packs, (sponsored by Travelport)

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AWARDS As in previous years, there are 11 separate awards up for grabs across six different categories, together with one single award for ‘Supplier of the Year’.

All the agent categories have been voted on by our supplier partners and reflect evaluations based on a combination of overall sales performance in 2018, year-on-year improvement, marketing initiatives and product knowledge/engagement in training amongst others. The ‘Supplier of the Year’ award is based on a detailed online evaluation of all current preferred suppliers based on eight different criteria such as product quality, price competitiveness, problem resolution etc.

For 2018, we’ve commissioned Irish designer Brendan O’Donnell to create a bespoke trophy using natural materials such as oak and brass which we are confident will make a bold statement when displayed in the offices of this years’ award winners. On graduating in Industrial Design from NCAD in 2001, Brendan spent 10 years working in furniture design & project management, building a wide range of skills & knowledge before following his ambition to design & make the finest pieces of both his own designs & that of the architects, artists & designers who commission him. His typical work includes custom lighting, bespoke furniture and sculptural steel work. Working in mixed media including: solid wood, metals, glass, plastics & composites.

Based in his studio workshop outside Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Brendan creates his designs using everything from vintage restored hand tools to the latest in Cad/Cam software operating CNC router and CNC laser machines.

Supplier ‘Speed Dating’ Workshop The cornerstone of the conference each year is the speed-dating workshop that takes place on the Saturday. The challenge each year is trying to ensure that all conference delegates fully engage with their supplier partners throughout the day so that, ideally, all agents visit all suppliers in equal measure. What tends to happen is that agents only end up visiting those suppliers that they already do business with, thus defeating the whole point of learning about new preferred suppliers that have been added to the portfolio.

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As there will be more suppliers in attendance than there will be available speed-dating slots in which to visit them all, agency staff are encouraged to split up across the room so that, collectively, they get to meet more suppliers/exhibitors within the allocated time. Each agent will be provided with a passport when registering in the morning and each passport will contain details of all exhibitors participating in the room, listed in alphabetical order. Each agent will have to have their passport manually time-stamped at each desk by the supplier/exhibitor in question. The order of exhibitors/suppliers within the room will, however, be completely random. All passports must be personalized by writing in your full name and agency in the spaces provided on the front. They must also be time-stamped, every time you visit an exhibitor desk. Passports must be surrendered at the end of the afternoon by placing them in the boxes provided as these will be used to choose some additional, random winners of some great prizes that will be raffled off during the gala dinner.

Changing the Face of Travel make-over’ prize One of the most innovative additions to the Travel Centres conference weekend in recent years has been the introduction of Travelport’s ‘Changing the Face of Travel’ business card draw where four lucky winners are selected at random to have a complete makeover done by a professional makeup artist. Aside from the obvious benefit to each of the recipients, the purpose of this conference feature is to reiterate the significant role that Travelport play in literally changing the face of travel in Ireland due to their industryleading role in empowering travel agents through the functionality of their GDS platform and other complementary and innovative technologies.

Anyone interested in getting their make-up done by a professional make-up artist should ensure that they hand in their business cards to Tara Hynes from Travelport who will be in circulation throughout the day, during the course of the speed dating.

Travelport will pick 4 winners at random at 4pm to get made up for the night ahead by make-up artist par excellence, Lisa Gibson. You need to be in the room when your name is called out as otherwise, we will move on and select another business card!

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GENERAL INFORMATION Check in

Closed Forum

Please note that check in at the hotel is not before 12.00 noon so if you are arriving on Saturday, please proceed directly to registration and either leave your luggage in the car (if using own transport) or leave in the care of the porter (if arriving via public transport). All luggage will be kept in a secure location until such time as you are in a position to check-in later — i.e. after 5.30 p.m. when the supplier workshop finishes.

Please note that the morning sessions on the Friday are closed to nonmembers, trade press and suppliers but all are welcome to attend all presentations in the afternoon which starts immediately after lunch.

Punctuality As we are working to extremely tight schedules, it is important that every agent delegate and exhibitor observe the times allocated for each event throughout the conference weekend such as closed sessions, workshop segments, presentations and meals etc. This will ensure the smooth running of the event and a better overall conference experience for all concerned. Please note that we are experimenting with nondefined refreshment breaks throughout the Saturday workshops this year — i.e. tea/coffee/biscuits will be available at designated stations in the workshop area throughout the day so at to maximise productivity amongst participants and avoid unnecessary logjams.

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Remembering your table number Anytime you break for refreshments or lunch over the course of both days, we recommend that you leave your conference bag containing all your paperwork, notes and giveaways on the seat that you have been occupying and just remember the number of your table so that when the workshop resumes after each break, you can collect your belongings and move to your next table. Remembering your table number immediately before each break will help us streamline our proceedings throughout both days.

Interim Presentations Because of the fast pace of the individual speed-dating sessions on Saturday, we have scheduled two interim presentations (one immediately before lunch at 13.45 and one mid-afternoon) to help punctuate the day and allow exhibitors (particularly those working on their own) to take additional rest breaks. Each presentation will be made from the stage area and be a maximum of 15 minutes in duration.

Suggestions A lot of thought and planning goes into arranging each year’s conference but we’re always receptive to new suggestions as to how we can improve on the delegate experience and make the content of these weekends more relevant to your business. Ideas on a postcard please. (Better still, just email them!)

Testimonials Some of your colleagues will be absent from this year’s event and for a variety of reasons. If you enjoy yourself this weekend, then we’d like to hear from you so we can share your comments/observations with those who perhaps take a little bit more convincing that such events are both relevant and worthwhile.

Conference Hashtag# Help us promote this year’s conference through social media by tweeting your comments and observations to the Twitterverse at large by using the following designated hashtag #travelcconf. Our colleagues at TravelMedia.ie will be monitoring all communications and the best tweet or Facebook posting will receive a nice prize, courtesy of Travel Centres!

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ADVISORY BOARD The advisory board comprises eight member agents who, between them, represent the interests of the general membership and who, in conjunction with the management team, define the policies and supplier preferences of the group. The board positions are voluntary so board members donate freely of their time and expertise throughout the year in order to help drive the collective agenda of members. The board meets periodically throughout the year. The advisory board currently consists of the following members: Carolyn Davis, Liberty Travel, Letterkenny In 2002 and with over thirty years experience working in the travel and hospitality sectors in the UK, Cyprus and Ireland, Carolyn established Liberty Travel in Letterkenny. The agency has since grown in size and reputation to become Donegal’s leading travel agency. Her team of six staff has vast experience and love to travel themselves, bringing a wealth of knowledge to the client. Carolyn has embraced digital marketing and social media and identifies this as an important strategy for the way forward. Carolyn is the ‘Travel Section Expert’ for Highland Radio, Irelands leading independent radio station.

Maria Dilworth, Blackpool Travel, Cork Maria has been involved in the travel industry since 1976 and opened the doors of Blackpool Travel in 2000. After many years of living and breathing travel, Maria took a sabbatical from the industry 9

and earned her BCL Law Degree from UCC and practised as a solicitor specialising in Employment Law. Maria made a return to the travel industry in recent years and favours America and Spain as her holiday destinations!

Linda McNamara, Ace Travel, Newcastle West Linda opened Ace Travel 20 years ago to service clients in the West Limerick area and has grown over the years to become one of the top agents in the Munster area. Ace Travel has won several awards over the years and has a fantastic staff which offers professional and friendly service thus retaining clients year in and year out. Linda enjoys travelling and has undertaken some excellent trips all over the world. She also enjoys a good game of hurling whether at local level or the All Ireland finals.

Declan O’Connell, Lee Travel, Cork Declan has been in the Travel Industry since 1975.

Based in Cork City with offices in Midleton, Youghal and Ballincollig, Lee Travel now employs 26 people.

Declan is a former board member of the ITAA and strongly believes in the future of the travel agent. He enjoys travelling very much and has recently clocked up his 60th country with a few more to go.

Michael Bowe, Bowe Travel, Thurles Michael Bowe Jnr. is the 4th Generation of the Bowe family to run Bowe Travel. First established in 1906

by Michael’s great- grandfather — it has continued to thrive down through the intervening decades and is based in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Michael was reared in the travel industry and like the rest of us, loves to travel!

Michael Geraghty, Cavan Travel, Cavan Cavan Travel was established in February 1988 by Michael and his wife Margaret, so is celebrating 30 years in travel in 2018. His second office — Virginia Travel, was subsequently opened in November 2011 – great timing! Michael now employs seven staff between the two offices. Michael has been involved with Travel Centres since its inception.

Italy is Michael’s favourite holiday destination.

Tom Britton, Marble City Travel, Kilkenny Tom started in the travel industry in 1995. He is managing director of Marble City Travel, Kilkenny.

Since 2010 Marble City Travel has increased its staffing from 3 to 10 with continued growth into 2018 planned. Marble City Travel have been the recipient of several award categories in recent years at the annual Travel Centres conference and Tom describes himself as a ‘cruise anorak’, having completed over 20 cruises in recent years Clare Dunne, The Travel Broker, Dublin Clare began her travel career with Aer Lingus in 1979 and since then has experienced many aspects of the travel business. She established her own independent travel company The Travel Broker in 1994, providing corporate, leisure and incentive travel services to a wide range of customers, in Ireland and abroad, offline and online. She has also developed and taught several ‘What Do Travel Agents Do’ introductory courses for job seekers.

Clare has served as President of Network Ireland both in Dublin and Nationally. She served as President of ITAA from 2012-2014. Clare is currently a member of the board of ITAA, on the committee of Clontarf Business Association and on the Advisory Board of Travel Centres. She is also an active member of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and North Dublin Business Network.

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SPEAKERS With traditional tour operating coming increasingly under threat and being replaced by ‘Dynamic Packaging’, the new package holiday is beginning to look increasingly like a cruise because it mimics so many of the ‘advantages’ that were once associated with land-based holidays offered by tour operators such as: ĢĢGuaranteed departures ĢĢSupplier acts as principal ĢĢRepresents value for money ĢĢProduct increasingly inclusive of many components normally associated with land resorts such as flights, transfers, accommodation, meals, entertainment, drinks etc. ĢĢHigh basic commissions ĢĢSophisticated training programmes ĢĢExtensive consumer marketing ĢĢTrade-focussed and dependent Notwithstanding the high year-on-year growth that cruising in general continues to enjoy in the Irish market, figures still clearly show that some agents continue not to 11

engage with and embrace cruising as a massmarket product that has a lot to offer both them and their customers. This year, for the first time ever, Travel Centres has decided to place cruise front and centre of its deliberations in our Friday afternoon forum for owners/managers and have assembled an impressive panel from the world of cruise.

The last business session on the Friday afternoon will take the form of a panel discussion in which eight cruise experts will field questions from seasoned travel journalist and arguably Ireland’s most travelled man — Eoghan Corry. In this session, each of the eight participants will be afforded 3-5 minutes to articulate their respective messages to travel agency owners and managers and explain what unique value propositions their respective brands bring to the market and who, perhaps, they see as their ideal customer. Participants will then answer probing questions from Eoghan, in his role as moderator of the session, before finishing up with a general Q&A with the audience.

Eoghan Corry Moderator Author and journalist Eoghan Corry has been editor of Travel Extra since 2002. He is the lead commentator on travel on Irish television and radio and travels to more than 30 countries a year in pursuit of experiences, news and information about the industry. He has won awards in several countries for his coverage and contribution to the travel industry, including the lifetime achievement award at the Irish Travel Industry Awards in 2016.

Stuart Byron Director of Insights, International Royal Caribbean International Stuart joined Royal Caribbean in January 2018 as Director of Insights for the International business, responsible for turning data in to actionable insight that further enhances both

short term decision making and long term strategy. Stuart is also currently supporting the business as Interim Sales Director for UK & Ireland.

Whilst new to travel, Stuart brings with him a wealth of experience from within the FMCG industry. Initially joining PepsiCo as a Regional Sales Manager, before moving in to National Account Management and latterly leading the Insights agenda with priority business partners.

Stuart then moved to Johnson & Johnson where he led the development and implementation of commercial & category strategy across EMEA as Customer Director for the Pharmacy business. Before starting his commercial life, Stuart was a Captain in the Royal Horse Artillery.

Michael English: Head of Business Development UK & Ireland, Celebrity Cruises From the mountains to the sea – Michael keeps setting his own personal objectives higher and higher, from

base camp to camp 2 on the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest to Island Peak in Nepal and Africa’s highest mountain — Kilimanjaro.

Earlier this year Michael broke his previous personal record, summiting in Ladakh, India at over 23,000ft — the toughest and most rewarding challenge he has completed to date.

Celebrity Cruises has also enjoyed its most successful trading year in Ireland and Michael looks forward to sharing details of that success with you during the conference. Michael started his cruise career with Royal Caribbean where he was responsible for charters and incentives before going on to head up Royal Caribbean Sales Team. 10 years ago, he was delighted to accept the role of Head of Sales for Celebrity Cruises and setting up the first dedicated sales team for Celebrity Cruises in the UK & Ireland.

Leila McCabe Head of Distribution, Tui Ireland.

Leila’s career in Travel spans nearly 25 years and

has encompassed the full range of distribution channels, including Retail and Corporate.

Initially, Leila worked overseas as a representative, and while this role fed into her adventurous side, it also represented one of the biggest learning curves of her career and a role she thoroughly enjoyed. Back home, with a passion for tour operating, Leila joined Panorama/ Thomas Cook as their Sales Manager, before taking up a similar role in 2012 for TUI. At TUI, she is responsible for managing all the distribution requirements of their mainstream business in Ireland including Marella cruises. Her remit is wide and varied, but her primary focus is working closely with Tui’s trade partners both North and South.

Katie Noviss Business Development Manager, Holland America Line Katie joined Carnival UK in 2005, working in the Sales Team for P&O Cruises, Cunard, Princess and Ocean Village, supporting the sales team for 12

the North of England, Ireland and Northern Ireland with administration and sales support.

After being promoted she moved to into sales account management, looking after the West of England. She left Carnival UK in 2010 to work in National Press advertising in London, selling classified advertising for the travel sector of the newspaper. In 2012 Katie moved back into the cruise industry, joining the Sales Team at Holland America Line and Seabourn. Katie works in the Carnival UK head office in Southampton and is the Business Development Manager for Tour Operators, Ireland and Northern Ireland. She married her husband Sam in 2017 and they live in the South of England with their dog Morty. Katie is really looking forward to meeting you all at this years conference, and working with you in 2019.

Stephens Sands General Manager, Ireland, Riviera Travel Stephen Sands has worked in the Irish Travel Industry for over 30 years in various Retail and Tour operating roles from Religious Tour Operating to Area 13

Sales Manager in Budget Travel. Stephen specialises in staff training and focuses on the customer journey from client engagement through to quality product delivery and customer interaction management. Stephen represents ‘Riviera River Cruises ‘ in Ireland - the UK’s market leader in River Cruising, which offers more than a dozen inspired itineraries on Europe’s most popular waterways. Since its inception in 1984, it has been consistently recognised by both consumers and the travel industry itself for outstanding service, quality and value. Riviera have achieved Which?

Recommended Provider status for five years, most recently in February 2018 in the River Cruise operator category and in May 2017 were named Which? Travel Brand of the Year 2017.

Peter Shanks Managing Director UK & Ireland, Silversea Peter has over 30 years experience in the travel industry. Starting at Cosmos Holidays with a range of roles covering all aspects of tour operation,

Peter then joined Thomas Cook as Commercial Director looking after all commercial relationships with suppliers. Peter then joined retailer Going Places and went on to become Managing Director at an exciting time when they had 800 retail shops across the UK. In 2002 Peter joined the Carnival Corporation where he had a number of senior roles with Cunard, Ocean Village and Princess Cruises.

Peter became President and Managing Director at a time when the line introduced Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. Peter left Cunard Line in 2014, spent three years working with Imagine Cruising before joining Ultra Luxury Cruise Line Silversea in early 2018. At Silversea Peter is responsible for UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa and is based in London.

Steve Williams: Director of Sales UK & Ireland, MSC Cruises Steve Williams has worked in the industry for more than 30 years spending his first 15 years in retail travel in various roles for brands such as TUI, Thomas

Cook & Travelbag before progressing into account management for First Choice Holidays looking after the independent travel part of their business including Suncars, Unijet & First Choice Airways.

After 4 years Steve moved into the rapidly growing cruise sector — initially as an account manager for Royal Caribbean & Celebrity Cruises before working his way up to head up the Sales team for Royal Caribbean International where he spent the next 11 years. In 2016, the opportunity arose to take the helm at MSC Cruises as Director of Sales as they began an ambitious period of expansion, announcing their plans to build 13 new ships over a 10 year period. Since joining MSC, Steve has been responsible for a complete restructuring of the UK & Ireland business; reorganising the sales team and expanding it from 6 staff to the present team of 17.

Stephen Winter: International Sales Director, Ponant With over 29 years in the travel business and experience in tour operations and hotel & cruise sales with a focus on French products, Stephen Winter joined

Ponant in 2008 with the arrival of the first of their 4 sister ships the Boreal. His objective was to internationalize sales for Ponant. He has participated directly in opening business for Ponant in such diverse markets as the US, Australia, Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom & others. He has firsthand knowledge of the challenges of selling a luxury product to various nationalities with different expectations & practices. Originally from New York, he has lived in Paris with his wife and two children since 2006 and is fluent in French

interventions for organisations such as KBC Bank Ireland, Bank of Ireland, the Law Society of Ireland, AIB & Alien Vault Software Security.

He is also a Player Development Coach with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). Declan holds a BComm, degree, a Masters in Business Economics; a Masters in Coaching Psychology, a Qualified Financial Advisor diploma and a Sports Psychology Diploma and a qualified practitioner in an array of psychometric tools.

Declan O’Connell Performance Coach Declan O’Connell is an experienced performance coach working in the area of leadership and team development. Declan also has expertise in the area of Performance Under Pressure, Resilience & Career Management. With 10 years corporate banking experience, research interest in cognitive psychology and experience in elite sport, Declan understands business and understands performance. Declan has spoken for and delivered training and coaching 14

IRELAND’S PREMIER PARTY BAND Brass & Co has developed a very special live sound which has made it one of the most highly soughtafter and respected bands for many of Ireland’s most prestigious functions and events. The band doesn’t use backing tracks – just real live music, played by some of the best musicians in the country.

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In fact most of the band play several instruments, giving the band a huge amount of flexibility and programme variety. 7 members of the band are experienced singers and match each voice to the style of each song performed – whether it’s Frank Sinatra or Bruno Mars!

Saturday Drinks Reception The string quartet Bow Music will play some classical pieces from their wide repertoire during Saturday’s drinks reception.

From L-R: Sandra Mason, Emily Redmond, Michelle Mason, SĂ­ofra Grant.

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I just want to thank yourself, Bernie and Jocelyn for what was the best conference I have attended so far, from start to finish it was superb.�

Thank you so much for having us at your AMAZING event again this year.

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It was another amazing weekend, hats off Dominic you have them down to a tee now.�

It was a stellar event from start to finish and we loved being part of it.�

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Hertz would like to welcome all delegates to Fota Island Resort for the Travel Centres Conference 2018.

Please feel free to contact our Travel Sales team for any assistance your require – Booking Direct means Dealing Direct!

Emma Sinead

E emchale@hertz.ie t +(0)53 9152505 m +(0)87 9683953 E smurphy@hertz.ie t +(0)53 9152576