Today's travel leaders inspire for tomorrow

Leadership tips, life stories and advice for making it to the very top of the travel industry in the UK and beyond will be among the topics of the TTG Tomorrow’s Travel Leaders Conference at WTM London.

Now into its fourth year the event, which builds on the success of TTG’s 30 Under 30 scheme celebrating the best young talent in travel, takes place at WTM London for the first time this year, from 9.30am to 1pm on Wednesday, November 8. The conference is also now free to join, with TTG Media and WTM London hoping to bring the widest possible audience to the event.

As well as sessions featuring some of today’s travel leaders on their own career paths, the conference will put forward new research on young people already working in the travel industry on their attitudes to a career in travel, as well as their experiences since joining the sector and their ambitions for the future.

David Speakman, founder of Travel Counsellors, will be the keynote speaker – setting out his own story from qualifying as a chartered surveyor to running his own travel agency, convenience store and restaurants before launching Travel Counsellors in 1994. Speakman will discuss how he spotted the opportunity for a homeworking business, and how Travel Counsellors’ emphasis on customer service took it to operating in seven countries with more than 1,600 franchise partners. He will also be interviewed by two of this year’s TTG 30 Under 30.

Under the microscope

A key session led by TTG Media group editor Pippa Jacks will showcase travel entrepreneurs supported by the Travel Tech Lab.

Going under the microscope with Pippa will be Papillon Luck, chief executive of Fifteen Degrees, which aims to keep regular flyers healthy, and Sam Bruce, co-founder and director of Much Better Adventures. Both will explain more about their businesses on the day.

The Traveltech Lab was founded by London & Partners to help encourage innovation, collaboration and creativity among travel technology start-up companies. It also brings them together with corporate businesses to help encourage their growth.

Other speakers on the day will include Jeanette Linfoot, managing director of the Saga Touring division at Saga Group; Brian Young, managing director, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, G Adventures; and Jennifer Atkinson, chief executive of the Inspiring Travel Company.

Young will tell the story of how he travelled from being a Club 18-30 rep to taking responsibility for Europe, Middle East and North Africa for the travel adventure company, with Linfoot and Atkinson also setting out details of their respective career paths.

TTG Media group editor Pippa Jacks said: “The TTG Tomorrow’s Travel Leaders conference is for any young person working in the travel industry today who has ambitions to take a leadership role in the future.

“We’re delighted to be working with WTM London on the event for the first time this year, and putting the life stories and inspiration that have proven so popular since we launched this event in 2014 at the heart of WTM.

“We hope to see many of the best young people in the travel industry at the Tomorrow’s Travel Leaders conference at WTM London on November 8.”