The Advantage Travel Partnership has announced today plans to enhance the experience for its global community by combining two of its flagship conferences for 2024. 

Specifically, the Partnership will bring together its annual conference, set to take place in Costa Mujeres, Mexico from 15th to 18th May 2024, with its annual ITMC event designed to cater for global independent TMC’s operating across the full travel spectrum.

Guy Snelgar, Director of Global Business Travel at The Advantage Travel Partnership, said that this strategic move will better leverage the organisation's global strength and provide an even more comprehensive business travel event for attendees. 

He said: “Last August our ITMC Summit held in Florida in partnership with Hickory Global Partners, was a huge success and we want to continue to build on its strong foundations.  As many delegates who attend ITMC are based in North America it makes sense for us to create one larger more collaborative gathering where we can include more of a laser focus on Business Travel, focusing on key industry issues, trends and opportunities, with a line-up of outstanding speakers, that will ultimately build on the strong content delivered in Fort Lauderdale.  In practice, this will mean more dedicated time on Global Business Travel than even before, both in the conference plenary and workshop activities.

“We will also be giving an in-dept view of the leisure space both in the main plenary and through a dedicated leisure travel workstream and workshops. This varying content supports our ambition to be a one-stop-shop for all independent travel businesses and will allow delegates to tailor their conference experience to get the most out of their time in Mexico”.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO, The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “Given Advantage’s global reach, together with our ambition to deliver even greater commercial benefits for our entire network, our conference in Mexico will see us leverage our global scale and in turn deliver even more for those attending. Working alongside our member steering groups and global partners the content will be relevant and inspiring for businesses both in the corporate and leisure sectors, with lots of opportunities for like-minded business owners to network taking a precedence”.

When Advantage unveiled details of its long-haul conference, at the heart of their plans was to showcase the key economic and social role the travel industry plays in local communities.

She added: “For the first time our conference will be our opportunity to give back to a destination’s community, recognising that the travel industry is a force for good, whilst ensuring that the event is intrinsically designed to be as eco-friendly as possible.  To achieve this ambition, we are now actively engaging in initiatives that will enable delegates to support and connect with local communities, and enjoy immersive experiences such as cultural exchanges, community service projects and collaborations with local businesses.

“From the hotel we are using that is committed to observing robust sustainable practices to menus that will support locally sourced ingredients with minimal waste, our ultimate goal is to leave a positive and lasting impact for delegates, the environment and communities of Cancun.

“The ability to leverage our scale goes beyond borders and operating disciplines and our 2024 conference will not only unite a more global travel community but will also shine a light on the positive impact that travel can have”.