Virtuoso’s North East Regional Meeting, took place on January 22-23 at the The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park where reports that forecasts for 2010 were overwhelmingly positive.
Highlights include the following findings:
· Compared with the same time last year, 81 percent of respondents reported that their agency’s future bookings are up
· In the shorter term, 96 percent of respondents reported that their agency’s completed transactions and advanced bookings have either increased or stayed relatively flat during the last three months
· International leisure business has been the most insulated against the economy, according to 43 percent of respondents
· Regarding employment, 78 percent of respondents have reported that the number of full-time advisors on staff has either stayed the same or increased in the last three months
Participants during the two-day even took part in trend analysis and training, supplier reviews, and technology developments, all centered around delivering better value and service to travelers.
“Virtuoso holds these regional meetings at the beginning of each year to enable face-to-face discussions among travel industry experts,” said Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch. “Many people are not aware that travel represents the world’s largest service industry; that it makes up 9.4 percent of the world’s GDP and 220 million jobs worldwide.”
Through February 2010, Virtuoso will host a total of five regional meetings around the U.S., bringing together its elite member travel advisors from the Northeast, Southeast, North Central, South Central and Western United States.
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| Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Co-President, Valerie Wilson Travel; Valerie Wilson, Valerie Wilson Travel; Matthew Upchurch, CEO, Virtuoso and Kimberly Wilson Wetty, Co-President, Valerie Wilson Travel. |