British Tourism & Travel Show adds travel expert Simon Calder and National Trust to Keynote line-up

Big speaker announcements are coming in fast for the British Tourism & Travel Show, as it adds travel expert Simon Calder and National Trust to its exciting Keynote line-up.

The essential trade event for thousands of travel professionals and group travel operators returns to NEC Birmingham 20-21 March. This two-day show will feature over 270 leading visitor attractions, venues, destinations, hotels, transport providers, associations and DMOs – plus a raft of inspirational speakers, providing top tips, trends and exclusive industry insights.

Named as ‘news journalist of the year’ at the 2017 Business Travel Journalism Awards, Simon Calder, senior travel editor of The Independent, is widely known as Britain's leading travel commentator and as the ‘man who pays his way’; as he doesn’t accept free transport or accommodation deals. Writing for publications like the Evening Standard and i newspaper, he also regularly appears on national radio and news programmes, including BBC Breakfast News, Good Morning Britain, CNN, ITV News and Sky News.

Based on his extensive knowledge across tourism and travel, Calder will be making his much-anticipated British Tourism & Travel Show speaking debut, discussing various trends, challenges and opportunities for the travel trade – opening questions to the audience, for a wider discussion on pertinent issues facing the sector today.

The National Trust: the same, but different

According to Tony Berry, visitor experience director of National Trust, ‘being a great British institution is a challenge as well as an honour’. At the British Tourism & Travel Show, Berry will be talking about how the Trust is meeting the ‘challenge of change’ whilst still trying to remain the largest membership organisation in the United Kingdom.

“We’re here to make people’s lives better by caring for special places for them to enjoy – that’s our charitable purpose. We believe very strongly that access to extraordinary places– to beauty, culture and the natural environment – is essential for people’s wellbeing, so great visitor experience is core to everything we’re trying to achieve,” says Berry.

“In my session, I’ll be giving an insight into how the organisation, that welcomes more visitors than anyone else, is having to change and adapt to people’s rapidly changing expectations – and hopefully, I’ll be able to share some useful learning from the things that haven’t gone so well!” he says.

For full timings and seminar summaries, please visit www.tourismshow.co.uk/education.

Visitor registration now open

British Tourism & Travel Show – the leading domestic travel trade event in the country – returns to the NEC Birmingham on 20-21 March 2019. With its fresh content, exciting show features, ‘flash mob’ entertainment, and quality vendors, this show has become a ‘must-attend’ event for thousands of travel trade professionals, including coach and tour operators, group travel organisers, and travel agents across the UK and Ireland. For further information and to register for a free ticket, please visit www.tourismshow.co.uk. (https://eventdata.uk/Forms/Form.aspx?FormRef=BTT39Visitor).  

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Sharna Waid, PR Manager
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Event enquiries:

David Maguire, Group Event Director
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e: dmaguire@divcom.co.uk
Website: www.tourismshow.co.uk
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Exhibitor enquiries:

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e: ljones@divcom.co.uk