InteleTravel Quest 2026 Wraps up in Krakow!

10 hours ago

5 min read

Over the weekend, ITTN’s Katie attended InteleTravel Quest 2026 (ITQ) in Krakow – the company’s annual conference that brings together advisors, partners and industry leaders for a 3-day conference celebrating the year to date and the year to come across the company. There were over 500 advisors in attendance this year, networking and learning under the theme ‘Xcelerate Your Success’ sponsored by headline partners Jet2holidays and Royal Caribbean.

ITQ 2026 was hosted in the CKF 13 Fabryczna Conference Centre, just outside Krakow’s city centre and a short drive from the Old Town. The conference began Friday with a trade show for UK and Ireland travel advisors, where they were able to network and learn from leading travel suppliers across tour operators, river and ocean cruises – understanding key offerings to help expand their businesses.

'Xcelerating' through key learnings

On Saturday, Tricia Hughes, Managing Director of Intele Travel, opened the event alongside Martyna Lewandowska, Deputy Director for Krakow Convention Bureau, later joined by James Ferrara, CEO of Intele Travel who cited the great achievements made by the company year-on-year thanks to the hard work of Hughes. Andy Harmer (MD, CLIA UK & Ireland) and Andrew Farr moderated the main auditorium welcoming key partners for educational sessions throughout the two days.

The theme of ‘Xcelerate Your Success’ took shape around key learning pieces that advisors could apply within their own businesses, with Kelly Cookes (Commercial Director, Intele) beginning the talks on how to spot travel trends that matter. From making their travel bookings smarter, to using social media and leveraging platform updates to reach new audiences, advisors received tools and tips on how to grow their reach and brand awareness. Industry experts gave valuable seminars on compliance and finance, customer service, market-changes and how to develop niches within the travel industry from luxury to family. Advisors learned more about the booking engines at their disposal and how to use new technology to achieve entrepreneurial success across AI, social platforms, SEO, websites and more.

The range of travel industry leaders and international brand representatives who spoke at the event demonstrates the growing strength of the Intele Travel brand globally with sessions hosted by representatives from Jet2, to Royal Caribbean, Trafalgar, MSC, Specialist Holiday Group, Major Travel, Celebrity Cruises, Riviera Travel, Railbookers, Expedia TAAP, Gold Medal, USAirtours, Club Med, Tickitto and more.

ITQ didn’t just educate their advisors this year: the range of panel discussions and seminars also served to motivate and inspire them to grow their businesses and reach new heights within the Intele brand. Bethany Grant, Vice President of Sales & Advisor Engagement, combined sales development and personal growth in her talk on ‘Using Colours to Sell More by Speaking Your Client's Language’ that shared unique perspectives on psychology that impressed everyone in the room. While high-performance business coaching consultant Andrew Stirrup's session, ‘Unlocking the Potential: Transforming Your Approach to Sales’ gave advisors new ideas on how to approach their clients. Catherine Reed (Dementia Adventures), Ruth Rabét (Hidden Disabilities Sunflower) and Claire Stirrup (Celebrity Cruises) sat down for an excellent panel discussion around disability and accessibility in travel that served to open the minds of all those in attendance.

Katie’s key takeaway from the conference sessions was the ability and support that Intele agents are given to niche down. Many advisors come into Intele as their second careers, and leverage their past experiences to offer a unique way of travelling to their customers. This comes in the form of Catherine Reed’s Alzheimer Adventures, or Lucille Furlong’s pivoting of her ballet career to host dance trips across Europe and shows how advisors can use their past to achieve big milestones in travel.

An Irish Success Story

In 2024, Ann-Marie Durkin took up the role of Country Manager in Intele Travel on the back of an extensive career that spans 35 years in travel across Ireland and the US across retail, business, tour operations and group travel alongside training, analysis, design and personal development. In immersive classroom sessions, Ann-Marie shared her insights on how to start and grow a business with Lucille Furlong while ITTN’s Katie joined her in hosting two classroom sessions on Luxury Travel Trends in Ireland – both talks serving to inspire and educate the advisors in attendance.

The success of Intele’s growth in Ireland is a direct result of Durkin’s hard work and ongoing support and collaboration from Tricia Hughes. In an interview on Sunday with both leaders, Ann-Marie spoke to the collaboration and community that the Irish advisors have together, sharing ideas and key takeaways from the conference across the three days. When speaking to advisors, Durkin's focus is not on the huge-turnover success stories; it’s about getting people started and helping grow their business from there. Durkin’s focus is on the people behind the businesses, supporting individuals at their level: “the business grows because we care about the people that are in it” later adding: “With me, it's an open door. So, you know, if an advisor has an idea for something that they want to do, they know they can call me, they know they can bounce things off me. You know, I'm very patient and I've been in the trade for so long. It's easy for me to impart my information to them. And I love business!”

Tricia Hughes backed up Ann-Marie, “I think we've demonstrated that the business model does work, and when you provide the resources and tools; you educate, you inform, you support and you can make an advisor out of somebody with no experience. And we were criticised for that, but that is the business model, but you can't argue with the figures. It’s about our information, our education led by Ann-Marie but it’s also the belief from our partners who support us because the business is going to them.”

A Celebration of Travel

ITQ 2026 wasn’t just about the learning: Intele knows how to celebrate, have fun and party with key evening events hosted for advisors and partners alike that were enjoyed by everyone! On the first evening, an aviation themed cocktail reception was hosted in the Polish Aviation Museum, where advisors donned airline outfits and Top Gun paraphernalia to enter into the hangar where planes hung from the ceiling as DJ Nathan Turner opened the festivities that continued into the early hours!

On Sunday night, the gala ball was hosted at Stara Zajezdnia with the theme “cobalt blue” and like the previous evening – Intele advisors take a theme very seriously! At the event, advisors and partners sat down for a three-course dinner and celebrated advisors making small to large achievements – showing the brand’s commitment to supporting them at every stage of their journey.

Just under 80 advisors were awarded a certificate for achieving £1,000 in commission, with jubilations continuing for advisors who reached the £5k and £10k milestones. Ireland’s Lucille Furlong was awarded the highest commission award for over 50k commission and for each award given, Intele advisors were on their feet with celebratory applause.

At the Gala Ball evening, partners continued to show their commitment with Major Travel’s CEO Qasim Gulamhusein awarding a week’s long holiday to Thailand to Emma Mark. While Gerard Nolan, VP & MD EMEA at Royal Caribbean offered the incredible prize of a customised cruise which was won by lucky advisor Rachel Dixon.