ACTA hosts successful conference for students enrolled in Travel and Tourism programs

The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) organized and facilitated a conference on Tuesday November 4, 2014 at the Woodbine Conference Centre in Toronto for students enrolled in a Travel and Tourism program. The event included participation from eight colleges across Ontario and was host to 200 Travel and Tourism Students. Agenda items included: Working in a Corporate Travel Environment, a session on travel insurance presented by Manulife, Working in a Tour Operator Group Department, Working in a Leisure Travel Agency and a presentation from WestJet.

The afternoon delivered a travel industry panel who shared their career highlights and spoke about their current positions and opportunities for careers in their fields. Panelists included Suzanne Diefenbaker from Transat Vacations, Mike Foster from Nexion Canada, Beverley Vickers from Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Penny Martin from The Travel Agent Next Door, Roy Kharadi from Hilton Hotels and Zach Vanasse from Young Travel Professionals. Twenty one suppliers including Air Canada Vacations, Travel Brands, Rail Europe and TICO among others gave the students the opportunity to attend their first travel industry trade show and speak one-on-one with professionals in our industry.

"The focus for the conference was to educate the future of our industry on opportunities in the many sectors" said Christine Chilton, CTM and Director of Education at ACTA. "For most of the students this is their first exposure to a professional conference and trade show so the experience in networking and learning was extremely valuable"

The conference also included a video competition with the theme "Without a Travel Agent, You're on Your Own". The colleges submitted a three minute video and the top two videos were presented at the conference. The winner was Confederation College in Thunder Bay with the second prize going to Centennial College in Scarborough.

David McCaig, President and COO, ACTA stated, "with the average age of ACTA member travel agents accross the country nearing 50, its a great opportunity for suppliers to get their message to these young students, and for ACTA to continue to build its credibility. We'll definately be back next year."

The conference was sponsored by Sandals and Beaches (Platinum), G Adventures, the Israel Government Tourist Office, Travelweek and WestJet.

Attendees also took a moment to speak about their experience:

Genevieve Andresen - Student Sheridan College Oakville:
"After what's been quite a demanding semester, it was a breath of fresh air to see what all of our hard work can result in. The day was nothing short of inspiring."

Patricia Schwenk CTC - Professor Tourism and Travel - Mohawk College
"I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for a wonderful student conference. It was well organized, on time and all segments of the industry were well represented. It was the perfect venue as it was easy to get in and out and very easy to move from room to room. The video contest was a great idea and the winners did a great job. Thanks ACTA for providing our students with this opportunity."

Beata Kaminski - Student Sheridan College Oakville
"I really enjoyed the ACTA Students in Travel Conference. The event was well organized and very informative. It gave us an opportunity to meet other students and professionals in the Tourism & Travel industry. The speakers provided a lot of valuable information in regards to many different aspects of the industry, as well as showcased a variety of opportunities for people entering this field of work. Christine Chilton did a great job organizing the ACTA Students in Travel Conference. I highly encourage all tourism & travel students to attend this event next year."