DALLAS – The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has a few different surprises in store for the kickoff of its 2024 Travel Advisor Conference.
First, a storm hit just before the official start of the conference, knocking out the power to the Hilton Anatole Hotel, where the conference was being held. Hilton and ASTA sprung up to save the day.
And on the first day of the conference, at the board meeting, ASTA learned that it had essentially won its biggest ongoing battle.
American Airlines announced that, in the words of ASTA President and CEO Zane Kirby, it was “performing a 180-degree reversal in its NDC implementation and completely abandoning its previous anti-competitive and anti-advisory plans.”
This was perhaps the ultimate demonstration of what ASTA is all about: ASTA’s grassroots efforts have come to fruition, with travel advisors and travel agents around the world benefiting from their efforts.
This was an exciting way to kick off ASTA’s annual conference, formerly known as the Global Convention, and ASTA has decided to change the name of its 2024 annual conference to the Travel Advisor Conference and restructure the day-to-day event.
“We wanted to create an event that was clear about who it was for and what it promised,” Kirby said in his opening remarks. “This conference is for everyone, no matter where you are in the travel industry. There's a place for you here.”
The sold-out conference attracted over 1,400 travel industry professionals ready to learn something new and make new connections that will help grow their business.
“I'm a fan of the rebranding and name change because it better represents the conference and the event,” said Beth Sperling of Honeymoons & Beyond.
Venus Williams delivers the keynote address at the 2024 ASTA Travel Advisor Conference in Dallas, Texas. (Photo courtesy of ASTA)
Focus on education and growth
This year's rebranding focused on improving educational opportunities for advisors.
ASTA has split this into three different educational tracks.
Development: For advisors who are new to the industry.
Accelerate: For advisors focused on growth.
Innovate: For owners and managers of medium to large agencies.
An advisor could customize the choices that best suited your business and growth plans.
“I chose classes from all three educational tracks because I could mix and match depending on my personal needs and preferences,” Sperling said. “Overall, the class content was good and the instructors provided useful information and solid learning.”
“The variety of courses and instructors was fantastic,” said Jennifer Donsetz, president of VIP Vacations. “Chris Voss' session was fantastic and I found the other class topics (AI, communications, branding) very informative as well. What was really impressive to me was seeing the travel industry come together to support ASTA and celebrate AA's win.”
Chris Voss at the 2024 ASTA Travel Advisor Conference (Photo courtesy of ASTA)
The conference featured a stellar lineup of speakers, including keynote speaker Venus Williams, the former professional tennis player turned entrepreneur.
Williams spoke about what she learned from her travels, including resilience, overcoming loss and being mentally prepared to succeed.
“It's about preparing to win,” Williams said. “Understanding what the process is is really important so you can replicate that process to win. Winning is a process.”
Williams said he hopes to one day add hotel management to his list of businesses.
And now that she's publicly acknowledged she needs new travel advisors, she may be receiving thousands of direct messages from travel advisors hoping to secure her business. “Dear direct messagers, if you think you're great at traveling… I'm looking for people like that,” Williams ended her speech.
Verified Travel Advisor program refresh
One of the big announcements made this week was ASTA's decision to add new requirements to its Verified Travel Advisor program.
To become a certified travel advisor, advisors must meet certain criteria, such as two years of experience and $500,000 in annual sales, or at least five years of experience and $250,000 in annual sales.
ASTA has launched four new courses available to advisors: Legal Insights, Ethical Excellence, Legal Compass and Regulatory Guidebook.
Advisors must go through a recertification process every two years to maintain their Certified Travel Advisor status.
The conference allowed over 70 advisors to participate in the fast track.
“I chose the fast track option for the conference because it was economical and I thought it would be the best use of my time,” said Cindy Coggins of Coggins Travel.
“Becoming a Certified Travel Advisor not only boosts your confidence as a travel advisor, but it also shows that you are serious about your job in the eyes of clients, colleagues and suppliers,” says Coggins.
One-to-one connection
Premium Appointments and Matching Meetings are new to this year's Travel Advisor Conference.
Advisors and suppliers were able to interact face-to-face at exhibitors' booths and further develop relationships.
The matching meeting system started with advisors and suppliers answering 43 questions before the meeting. ASTA then paired advisors and suppliers based on those answers and set up a total of 18 appointments, giving everyone a chance to get to know each other better in short 8-minute meetings.
“I think the connections made through trade shows and conferences are invaluable,” Coggins said.
The exhibition hall at the 2024 ASTA Travel Advisor Conference (Photo courtesy of ASTA)
Focus on fun
Of course, no travel conference would be complete without some fun festivities.
The first night kicked off with Carnival Cruise Line's Texas Carnival, and although weather made it difficult for the Grand Ballroom and hotel lobby, attendees had a blast with carnival games, armadillo races, carnival-themed food, a mechanical bull, a dance floor and more.
“We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Carnival Cruise Line and Southwest Airlines for going above and beyond to provide us with two very special evenings,” Sperling said.
The second night's event took place across all three floors of Southwest Airlines HQ, with a live band on the first floor, a silent disco party on the second floor and karaoke on the third floor. Watching Southwest planes take off and land from the rooftop was a highlight for many.
Carnival Night at the 2024 ASTA Travel Advisor Conference (Photo by Eric Bowman)
Recognizing Top Suppliers and Partnerships
ASTA members vote annually to recognize the members, chapters and supplier partners who best support ASTA's overall mission.
The 2024 awardees are:
Supplier Award
- Partner of the Year: AmaWaterways
- Partner Representative of the Year: Kristin Karst, AmaWaterways
- Airline Partner of the Year: Delta Air Lines
- Transportation Partners of the Year: Enterprise, National, Alamo
- GDS Partner of the Year: Sabre Corporation
- Hotel Partner of the Year: Marriott International
- Ocean Cruise Line Partner of the Year: Royal Caribbean International
- River Cruise Line Partner of the Year: AmaWaterways
- Tour Operator Partner of the Year: Globus Family Brands
- Travel Insurance Partner of the Year: Allianz Partners
- North American Destination Partner of the Year: Hawaii Tourism Authority
- International Destination Partner of the Year: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
- Supplier Excellence Award: Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean International
Partnership Award
- Travel Advisor of the Year: Veria Kennedy, Owner and CEO of Modern Family Travel
- Consortium Partner of the Year: Signature Travel Network & Virtuoso
- Regional Consortium of the Year: MAST Travel Network
- Host Agency of the Year: Avoya Travel Network
- Member Service Award: Hope Wallace, ADA Travel and Dave Hershberger, Prestige Travel Leaders Inc.
- Presidential Travel Advisor Leadership Award: Jean Paugh of All About You Travel Unlimited.
- ASTA Chapter Growth: New Orleans Metropolitan Area
- George “Eddie” Woodham Outstanding Chapter Leader Award: Senora Kelly, Missouri-Kansas Chapter
- Regional Director of the Year: Shelley Phillips, Southeast Regional Director
- Robert L. Daglin Chapter Excellence Award: Central Pennsylvania Chapter
David Shull and his company, Tern, won this year's Entrepreneur of the Year competition, co-hosted with Gloria Bohan. Shull, the company's CEO, says Tern is an all-in-one platform for travel advisors.
ASTA concluded the conference with its annual Advocacy Dinner, a fundraising gala event held Friday evening at the Thompson Hotel in downtown Dallas.
ASTA was able to raise nearly $500,000 during the event after presenting the Barbara O'Hara Advocacy Award to Vanessa McGovern of Gifted Travel Network and the Paul M. Ruden Industry Ambassador Award to Matthew Upchurch of Virtuoso.
2025 Travel Advisor Conference
Registration is already open for next year's ASTA Travel Advisor Conference (May 20-22, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah).
The first speaker has already been selected: Aron Ralston, renowned climber, adventurer and New York Times bestselling author of “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” which was the subject of the Oscar-nominated film “127 Hours.”
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