30 Beyond - TC Conference 2024
On the Friday we heard from Greg Whyte, former Olympian and sports scientist, who focussed on sports endurance, the importance of resilience and physical health. Next up was Alice Law, renowned stress and wellness speaker, who concentrated on mind, body, heart and soul. We then had the opportunity to meet with our fabulous supplier partners at TCTM.
First on stage on Saturday was Tony Walsh, also known as Longfella, an English poet, performer and writer. Widely known for his poem ‘This is the Place’, he performed a new poem about Travel Counsellors and what we do / what makes us different / how we create personalised travel itineraries for our customers and help to make memories for them.
Karen Morris & Kirsten Hughes started the main session with a potted history of TC over the last 30 years. This period has seen a significant change in technology, consumer habits / desires, travel destinations and commercial landscape. We then heard from Travel Counsellors CEO, Steve Byrne.
In term of external speakers, we welcomed Mo Gawdat, entrepreneur and writer (and former Chief Business Officer for Google) and bestselling author of several books including Solve for Happy. He talked about happiness and the human connection. For me, the top takeaway from Mo was to feel not think.
Next we travelled to the future for a presentation by Tom Cheesewright, applied futurist. He gave us an insight into what travel might look like in the (not too distant) future and how we can prepare for this and adapt to changing times.
Finally, we enjoyed an in-depth conversation with Jo Malone CBE, British perfumer and founder of both Jo Malone London and Jo Loves. She talked about her business life plus personal and health challenges. She was very down to earth, practical and inspiring.
On Saturday evening, the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony was a fantastic opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our top performing TCs from across all countries. We enjoyed fabulous music and entertainment from Nile Rodgers and Chic.
After a late Saturday night, Nile Rodgers was back on (a different) stage and talked with Jim Eastwood, Global Sales Director, about his background and life experiences.
Bruce Poon Tip, the founder of G Adventures, an adventure travel company, talked about the ethos of his company and shared examples of some of the life-changing projects around the world they fund. He also reminded us all that travel is a privilege not a right.
We welcomed back entrepreneur and businesswoman Sara Davies MBE (she was one of our guest speakers last year), and she gave some practical advice to us as business owners. She talked about knowing our USP, that we can’t be all things to all people, to be clear what customers we want, having the confidence to turn potential customers down if they are not right for us and our business and to encourage existing customers to recommend us.
It was an intense three days with a lot to take in and consider. I relished the opportunity to hear from so many inspirational people who shared their experiences and tips with us – both personal and professional. 30 Beyond – here’s to the next 30 years of Travel Counsellors!
