Meet the speaker – Andy Headington

Andy Headington is CEO of Adido, a digital agency which works with numerous tourist attractions across the UK. Here he talks about the future of UK tourism and what to expect from his Keynote session at the British Tourism & Travel Show 2018.

How does your business help travel companies?

We help travel companies in many ways – from designing individual campaign websites to group ones covering all business areas, marketing them effectively using digital channels and then reporting back on bookings and sales.

Are there any future developments/trends people working in the industry should know about?

Whilst we are big advocates of focussing on the things that don’t change to ensure the business can continue to thrive (e.g. search marketing) I think travel companies and resorts can look to use voice assistants and search to engage with audiences more effectively. Having control of a fixed environment such as a hotel room or park allows for relevant content to provide to guests to enhance the visitor experience in ways that are either not possible or hard to achieve at the moment.

What are the key points you’ll be covering in your session at this year’s BTTS?

I will be focussing on the key topics that travel and tourism marketing managers need to understand in 2018.

Topics like attribution, improving digital experiences and maximising customer value are key topics that have to be focused on as budgets come under increasing scrutiny. I will also be breaking down the hype around new technologies such as AI and VR and highlighting what to avoid and what to take seriously this year and beyond.

What do you hope visitors will take away from your session at BTTS?
My hope is that those who attend my talk will be a bit more enlightened about how to market their offerings more effectively whilst keeping an eye out for areas that might be underutilised going forward

Do you think the UK tourism industry (including coach tourism) has a strong future?

I think the next few years present a massive opportunity for UK tourism.

Inbound visitor numbers remain very high whilst I expect those taking holidays in the UK to increase as well due to the many areas linked to Brexit. It will be paramount for those in the tourism sector to take advantage while the market is so strong.

Andy Headington’s session on ‘Bytes, bad weather or brexit? What will affect UK tourism most in the next five years?’ will take place on March 22 at 10.30am.

British Tourism & Travel Show returns to NEC Birmingham on 21-22 March 2018. For further information and to register, please visit www.tourismshow.co.uk. (https://eventdata.uk/Visitor/BTTS2018.aspx?TrackingCode=BTTSPR)