CIM Travel Group’s sixth annual Question Time speakers discussed

Author: Brighter Group

Travel industry experts debated the future of marketing and sales in travel at the CIM Travel Group’s sixth annual Question Time event which took place on the 19th January at Google’s offices in Central London.

Participants discussed how relevant the traditional January sales push really is in an increasingly all-year-round market, and more.

The event brought together a panel of industry-leading speakers and a high-profile audience from across the travel trade to discuss the most prominent challenges and trends facing travel agents, marketers and consumers in 2016.

Panellists were: Tim Williamson, marketing and content director at Responsible Travel; Julia Lo Bue-Said, managing director at The Advantage Travel Partnership; Richard Bowden-Doyle, CEO at Neilson; Nick Wilkinson, director of business and development northern Europe and MEA at Norwegian Cruise Line. The evening was moderated by Lucy Huxley, editor in chief at The Travel Weekly Group.

Other hotly debated issues included how to best operate in a terrorist affected market, particularly in relation to Greece and Turkey, and whether direct marketing via post as well as via digital platforms is the way forward.

According to Richard Bowen-Doyle, ‘Personalised direct marketing by post remains a relevant element of any integrated campaign and can be much more effective than some other channels’ and he later commented on the UK market, saying that, ‘Every customer is just borrowed from another competitor’.

Recognised as one of the most interactive events on the travel industry calendar, CIM Question Time guests also touched on the disconnection between TV brand building in conjunction with the consistent pushing of discounts through other channels as well as which destinations are deemed safe for travel in 2016, and its effect on the industry.