Travel Centres 19th Annual Conference a resounding success.

Trade Partners Connect and Invest “The Difference is you”

The Travel Centres Conference 2024 took place last weekend at the newly renovated Lawlor’s Hotel in Naas, bringing together travel professionals, industry leaders, and innovators from across the country. The event served as a hub for networking, knowledge sharing, and strategic discussions, focusing on the future of travel in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Dominic and Bernie certainly achieved their goal, equipping Travel Centres travel professionals with the knowledge and connections needed to thrive in a competitive and changing market. The conference successfully highlighted the resilience of the travel industry and the potential for innovation to drive growth. The meetings and breakout sessions provided insights into emerging trends and technologies in the travel industry, addressed challenges facing travel agencies and professionals in the current economic climate whilst fostering collaboration and strengthening industry partnerships.

Lawlor’s Hotel proved to be a fantastic choice for the event. The recent upgrades to the hotel were evident in the sophisticated interiors, spacious conference facilities, and comfortable breakout areas. The staff were friendly and efficient, ensuring that delegates felt well cared for throughout the weekend. Catering was also a highlight, with a delicious array of food options that kept energy levels high during the busy schedule.

What a difference Sunway Holidays, MSC Cruises and Hertz Ireland made on the Friday night as the Travel Centres members and trade partners gathered for Dominic and Bernie Burke’s 19th year supporting their members and valued trade partners. A huge shout of thanks to Suzanne Rowe, Erica and Alana from MSC for sponsoring a great dinner (and match), along with Mary Denton and Deirdre Sweeney from Sunway for pre-dinner drinks, and post dinner piano bar music and fun, and finally the one and only Paul Manning from Hertz Ireland for sponsoring the fine wines we all enjoyed at dinner.

The conference agenda was packed with impactful sessions, including presentations from Angela Walsh ITAA President, Alf Dunbar, Key Note Speaker and Mindset Coach, Gary Murphy, Co-owner and board member, Ama Waterways, Jo Linehan, editor, Climate Supplement of Sunday Times on ‘An Introduction to Sustainable Travel’, Suzanne Rowe, MSC Cruises, Russell Meara, Hablo, Andy Harmer, MD Europe, CLIA ‘The Next Generation of Cruise Opportunities’, Blaithin O’Donnell (Air Canada) & Aoife Gregg (United Airlines), Val Murphy (Celebrity Cruises), John Booty (Royal Caribbean) and Amanda Middler, Silversea Cruises.

The Conference format enabled any amount of networking opportunities fostering connections among Travel Centre retail professionals and trade partners. Whether during coffee breaks, at the networking afternoon, or through organized activities, there were ample opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with like-minded individuals. The atmosphere was warm and collaborative, making it easy to establish new partnerships and strengthen existing relationships.

A particularly memorable moment was the gala dinner on Saturday evening, which featured live entertainment and an awards ceremony celebrating excellence within the Travel Centres community. The festive spirit and camaraderie of the evening perfectly encapsulated the essence of the conference—bringing people together to inspire and celebrate the best in the industry, making a real difference.

Travel Centres members certainly made a difference with over 180 consortium travel professionals connecting and engaging with our valued Trade Partners over the course of the weekend with many trade partners and agents remarking that this was one of the very best! No pressure for the 20^th Dominic and Bernie.

Overall, the Travel Centres Conference at Lawlor’s Hotel was a resounding success. The combination of a top-notch venue, relevant and engaging content, and meaningful networking opportunities made it an invaluable experience for everyone in attendance. It’s clear that events like this are essential in driving innovation and unity within the travel industry.

Travel Centres Awards 2024 The Nominees and Winners.

A fantastic weekend of interaction and great fun was celebrated by all at the Travel Centres Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony with trade partners rewarding Travel Centres members with awards for Most Improved and best overall sales achieved in 2024.

Travel Centres also acknowledged Best Social Media Presence:  Winner KT Travel, Supplier Representative of the Year: Winner Dave Smith, Supplier of the Year: Winners Bookabed and Travel Focus and Agent of the Year: Best4Travel

You all made a real difference and were all winners on the night. Here are the Travel Centres Agents who lifted Awards on the night! Congratulations.

Best Social Media Presence:  Winner KT Travel

Supplier Representative of the Year: Winner Dave Smith

Supplier of the Year: Winners Bookabed and Travel Focus

Agent of the Year: Best4Travel

Massive congratulations also to all Nominees across all categories on the night.

KT Travel, Douglas Travel, Cavan Travel, Freedom Travel, Marble City Travel, Lee Travel Patrick Street, East Cork Travel, O’Callaghan Travel, Best4Travel, Lee Osborne, Alan Sparling, TUI Ireland, Bookabed, Hillary Murphy Travel, Stein Travel, Sol Travel, Icon Travel, PK Travel, Platinum Travel, Cloud 9 Travel, Magic Vacations, Travel Advisors, Torc Travel, Polari Travel, Blackpool Travel, The Travel Boutique, Harvey Travel, Bowe Travel, Midland Travel, Frosch and Newbridge Travel.