For Immediate Release
July 17, 2018
Contact: Alicia Evanko-Lewis
Senior Vice President of Events,
Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group
Northstar Travel Group
646-380-6244
[email protected]
Sixth Annual Global Travel
Marketplace Brings Together the Travel Elite
SECAUCUS, NJ - Travel Weekly and TravelAge West’s sixth-annual Global
Travel Marketplace (GTM) event connected highly successful travel advisors and
a diverse array of global suppliers for a two-and-a-half day appointment-based
event July 12-14, 2018 at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood/Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
"GTM is designed to facilitate business relationships between travel
advisors and suppliers resulting in increased business for both sides of the
table,” said Alicia Evanko-Lewis, Senior Vice President of Events, Travel
Group, Northstar Travel Group. “This year, that success and increased business
came during the event with amazing speed and professionalism. While onsite, our
advisors were sharing their meetings on social media and posts were quickly
turning into inquiries for new suppliers and new destinations. Newfound
partners were completing quotes overnight and new group itineraries were
growing as the event progressed. The return for our advisor and supplier
attendees is both immediate and long-lasting, due to GTM’s vetting and
match-making processes.”
Suppliers who were new to GTM said the vetting process paid off. “We had
heard a lot of positive things about GTM, and had really high expectations,”
said Dan Adams, Vice President of Rico Tours. “It’s important for Rico Tours to
know that we’re getting quality agents, and meeting with advisors who are
serious about their business. GTM delivered exactly that.”
A record 129 travel advisors from the United States and Canada attended
the event, along with 133 supplier companies, representing destinations, tour
operators, river and ocean cruise lines, hotels and resorts, and professional
services from all around the globe. Participants engaged through one-on-one
pre-scheduled appointments, exclusive Boardroom presentations and networking
events.
GTM has become a career goal for many attendees. Nick Pena, owner of a
Cruise Planners franchise, had the event on his radar. “I’ve been in the
business for four years and have seen a lot of buzz about GTM,” he said. “It’s
something that I aspired to attend and being accepted this year was a huge
accomplishment.”
In addition to first-time attendees, GTM welcomed back its Ambassadors, a
select group of advisors who saw business growth after attending the previous
year’s event. Kristi Huss, owner of Travel Savvi, was one of those Ambassadors.
“My business has grown a lot since attending in 2017. I was able to meet
suppliers that filled specific niches. I’m no longer turning away business
because I have the right connections, thanks to GTM,” she said.
Tourism Australia participates in the event year after year because of
the opportunity to educate advisors on their destination. “GTM is the perfect
forum to talk to top-level advisors about what Australia offers,” said Glen
Davis, Distribution Development Manager, Tourism Australia. “We take it one
step further and sign up for Boardroom Presentations so we have time to focus
on key messages, show video content and explain what there is to do in our
country. It’s incredibly valuable.”
GTM returns to The Diplomat Beach Resort July 26-28, 2019. Sister event,
GTM West, will be held May 9-11, 2019 at The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort &
Spa, in Henderson, Nevada. Travel advisor applications open in January 2019.
Qualifying travel advisors must have a minimum of $1 million in annual sales
for GTM, and $800,000 in annual sales for GTM West, reside in the U.S. or
Canada, have a global book of business and provide supplier references. For
more information, please visit www.globaltravelmarketplace.com.
For supplier inquiries, please contact Emmy Morales at [email protected]
or 201-902-1951.
ABOUT TRAVEL WEEKLY:
Travel Weekly is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion
and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace. In addition to a
weekly print publication, TravelWeekly.com—updated several
times daily—is the most-visited industry website. Travel Weekly is a division
of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest
business-to-business travel publisher in the world.
ABOUT
TRAVELAGE WEST:
For more than 45 years, TravelAge
West has been the trusted voice of the travel industry in the Western U.S. With
award-winning writing and design, the publication brings the best of travel to
life for readers. The magazine's first-hand, on-site reports and fresh
destination coverage is a valued resource for travel advisors. TravelAge West
is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest
travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.
ABOUT
NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP:
Northstar Travel Group is the
leading provider of business-to-business news, information, data, transactions
and custom content solutions for the travel, meetings and hospitality
industries. Brands under the Northstar umbrella include Travel Weekly, Travel
Weekly China, Travel Weekly Asia, TravelAge West, Business Travel News,
Phocuswright, Meetings & Conventions, M&C China, Web in Travel and
Inntopia. The company produces more than 52 face-to-face events, taking place
in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Northstar is
based in Secaucus, NJ, and is a portfolio company of EagleTree Capital.
www.northstartravelgroup.com