Key Updates from ITAA Annual Conference 2026 in Costa Daurada
ITTN’s Katie is attending the ITAA Conference in the Costa Daurada this weekend. This morning in Vila-Seca the conference began with a welcome speech from Clare Dunne and Tom Randles. The theme of this year’s conference is Innovate, Transform, Adapt and Accelerate: "Turning Change into Opportunity".
“When I look around this room, I see people who have done exactly that,” said Randles, President of the ITAA, reflecting on the conference theme, “Over the years, our industry has faced enormous challenges – we’ve found new ways of working, adapted to customer needs and found a way to move forward. Over the course of the day, we’ll examine how businesses can build resilience in an increasingly unpredictable world. Despite all the talk about disruptions and change, I remain incredibly optimistic about the future and I’m optimistic because of the people in this room.”
“Live Catalonia”
Over the last few days, Irish travel agents have enjoyed a wonderful exploration of the Catalan region. Early arrivals enjoyed a welcome dinner in Carbonic Restaurant in Salou on Wednesday while Thursday saw an adventurous day in Port Aventura – where ITAA partners and agents enjoyed rollercoasters and haunted houses in the theme park that boasts over 40 attractions across six themed worlds. The golfers were out in style yesterday too: Jenny Rafter (Aer Lingus) won the Women’s golf and Stuart Kitching (Sunrate) won the Men’s while Martin Skelly and Miriam Skelly received runners up prizes. Congratulations to Karen Maloney from Yes Insurance who was the overall winner! Prizes were gifted to all yesterday evening in a wonderful reception in Cambrils – including tickets with Irish Ferries, courtesy of Marie McCarthy and return Aer Lingus flights from Jenny Rafter to Oviedo, Spain – their new Dublin to Asturias route launched in May this year.
To begin the conference this morning, key representatives from the Catalan region took to the stage to welcome Irish travel industry delegates to the conference. Pilar Herrero Gomez, UK & Ireland Director of the Catalan Tourist Board, took to the stage to outline the connectivity of the region, and what each of the regions offer for different types of tourism. There are 3 airports in the region, 6 seaports, a motorway and railway to keep people connected to Catalonia from all directions.
Tourism Board Director of Tarragona, Octavi Bono i Gispert, spoke to the Irish and Catalonian connection between our two countries. Octavi has been working with Irish travel agents for decades and pointed to TUI, Budget Travel, Damian Mooney, and Joe Walsh Tours as key partners throughout the years, thanking Irish agents for their continual collaboration.
Laura Pena (Director, Spanish Tourism Board Ireland) took to the stage to solidify this commitment. Irish visitors to Spain are set to surpass 3 million this year, with 20 Spanish destinations connected directly from Dublin – making the country accessible to Irish visitors throughout the year. “Tourism today is about much more than numbers,” said Pena, “The future of tourism is not about growing more, but growing better.” Future priorities for the tourism board include encouraging visitors to explore more of Spain, the continuation of year-round tourism and broadening travel motivations, and encouraging travellers to make more meaningful connections in-destination.
As Tom Randles welcomed Irish travel agents to the conference, Eoghan Corry took the stage as MC this year and the conference began in earnest this morning. One of the first speakers this morning was Jeanette Taylor who announced that Blue Insurance is moving to Zurich as their new underwriters, which you can read more about here.
Travel Trends Reshaping the Industry
An ongoing theme of this year’s ITAA conference is 2030 Perspectives, as agents look ahead to the start of the next decade and what this will mean for their businesses. Olwen McKinney, of Amadeus, had previously compiled a video that included the perspectives from Peter Bellew and Andy Harmer who gave positive outlooks, with Harmer outlining the growing river cruise market, the move towards ultra-luxury in cruising and expedition cruising still developing.
In her morning session, Ciara Clarke from Red C Research, told travel agents and suppliers in attendance the trends she’s seeing in the travel industry, based on numerous reports and statistics gathered by her company. There were some key insights included in the presentation, including the statistic that 69% of travellers are now considering busy or lesser-known destinations while 59% would pay more for a holiday that perfectly matches them.
Red C Research shows that 83% of travellers could be encouraged to use a travel agent: these customers are looking for personalised services and expert advice that they cannot get online.
Based on new data from Dublin airport: the average mainstream traveller is now female, older, and travelling solo and it’s important for travel agents to curate offers that cater to this audience. In the post-pandemic world, women are more likely than ever to travel and are driving global travel decisions with two thirds of these women searching for solo trips. It’s not a niche audience, says Clarke, they’re now mainstream with 1 trillion USD expected to be invested globally by 2030 it's one of the fastest growing global segments: travel is becoming less group-led and more self-navigated.
2 billion people globally will be over 60 years of age by 2030 – this means those passengers require assistance and this need for accessibility is no longer about compliance it’s about commercial relevance: it’s no longer negotiable.
Clarke also outlined what is defining different age groups across the traveller data:
The 25-34 age range is defined by its need for personal relevance – 71% will pay for a holiday that’s a perfect fit, 52% are keen on solo travel and 58% seek experiences above everything else.
The 45-54 age range is looking to escape the pressure points in the buying process: 76% travel outside peak summer, and choose less busy places with 50% using more online tools like AI
The 65+ age range is looking for reassurance: 47% want agent support in case of disruption, 72% travel outside peak season and 68% choose less busy places.
In order for travel agents to adapt they can lead with value, outline the protection and support that they offer which can help agencies convert that 83% that would consider using a travel agent. Based on her data, Clarke’s message to the trade include reassuring the customer, making personalisation tangible – travellers will pay more when their holiday feels designed around them - and they should lead with smarter alternatives like coolcations and less crowded places.
From Enquiry to Booking: How Technology is Changing the Travel Business
Bhav Taylor, Chief Sales Officer at TProfile took to the stage to speak about how artificial intelligence (AI) is rewiring the travel system as global investment in AI is growing 25% annually. Taylor spoke to how businesses are now using AI to handle enquiries, create quotes, boost productivity and round out their customer experiences. Most importantly, it can help remove admin and repetitive tasks, allowing agents and staff to provide a more personal service to customers.
While things are faster, and the admin loads are eased, there are still challenges within the AI world: AI output needs a human check before it goes to a client, poor data collected by AI tools can lead to poor recommendations for customers and staff need real training: not just a login. Taylor also makes the point that not every AI tool suits every type of itinerary and travel agency expertise is still greatly needed when it comes to curating holidays.
TProfile’s AI Suite helps improve and speed up sales technology, from inside the agent dashboard. It takes the heavy lifting away from agents so they can spend their time conversing with the client. Bhav Taylor then joined a panel discussion moderated by Eoghan Corry with Peter Cullen (Click and Go Holidays), Maura Fahy (Fahy Travel) and James Coughlan (Travel Department) where the panel discussed the advantages and disadvantages of AI in their business and in the industry overall.
“AI can truly be part of a value stack, you can see if something is accurate or not and that’s when the confidence and expertise comes in,” said Coughlan.
While Fahy added: “the most valuable thing we have in our businesses are our people and these tools help them do what they do better.”
Cullen added that AI can present an opportunity to become an authority in the world of AI with large language models picking up on what you’re doing online and help boost brand awareness online.
ITAA Updates
The morning sessions continued with a wonderful talk on teamwork by former professional footballer and Jeff Collins' uncle, Roddy Collins. Vincent Donnelly, Director of Global Sailing at G Adventures spoke to Corry on his talk “Reinventing Yourself: One Career, A Completely New Direction.” While Stephanie Healy took the group of over 100 agents and partners on a breathing and rest exercise to revitalise themselves as the morning went on.
Claire Dunne took to the stage to give everyone some key updates on the Irish Travel Agents Association.
This year’s Irish Travel Industry Awards are now open to all licensed and bonded agencies in the industry (not just ITAA members) with the supplier nominations opening next week. It used to be one agency one vote, but now it’s the cumulative votes – every person in the agency has an opportunity to cast their vote.
The ITAA leadership program is continuing to grow with 12 new people having joined the program and who are set to graduate at the end of October. There is a new entrant program geared towards attracting new people into the industry while also geared towards training those that may not have had formal training previously. The program will cover airlines, destinations, cruise, social media and selling skills to name a few. It will be an online program that will be launched in the new year.
Connect & Collaborate sessions – an initiative of Caroline Quigly from Keith Prowse – is a monthly meeting of travel agencies online and leaders should encourage staff to get involved. Attendees can talk in a forum together, learning and collaborating on a variety of topics from back-office systems to email marketing and social media.
To end the morning sessions, Mayor of Vila-Seca, Pere Segura Xatruch, took to the stage to encourage attendees to “discover more about our beaches, our wines, our Mediterranean culture and the way we welcome people.”
He added: “When you return to Ireland, don’t just remember the Costa Daurada – find a way to come back. And you as travel agents have an important role in making that happen, you are often the people who turn an area into a journey and a destination into a memory, so enjoy the Costa Daurada, enjoy Vila-Seca and when you go back home take one area with you – this journey should not end here.”
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