The plans for CTA’s flagship Conference & Workshop are continuing apace and we have secured some excellent speakers and can promise a first-class event with topical conference themes and the opportunity to meet and do business at the workshops and social networking sessions.

Bookings are coming in thick and fast, so if you haven’t booked yet, don’t delay! Here’s the direct booking link.

Our key conference sessions will focus on Continental Coach Touring; Coaching in London and heritage cities; and coach operation in the 2020s, with a range of presentations from experts in the field and members with experience at the coalface.

Among the speakers are Graham Vidler, chief executive of CPT who will talk about the organisation’s plans to develop a comprehensive strategy for its coaching members; Daniel Hayes of Low CVP, who will present the latest updates on environmental challenges for the coach tour sector; and Tim Fairhurst from ETOA, who will give the background on the rules, regulations and best practice for operating tours in Europe.

Yorkshire Showcase

In addition to the ever-popular Monday Meet the Buyer workshop which provides an opportunity for speed-dating style appointments between supplier and operator members, we will also have a special Yorkshire showcase on the Tuesday morning, ahead of our final conference session. The Yorkshire showcase will involve local tourism suppliers who will help provide the latest information and offers to enhance your tour programmes in the area.

Packed itinerary

The event runs from Sunday afternoon right through to Tuesday lunchtime with a packed itinerary that will deliver good business opportunities, inspiring conference presentations and of course plenty of time for social networking and fun!

We kick off on Sunday afternoon with a great Fam trip in the city of York, including a special river tour, courtesy of City Cruises, and a visit to the Chocolate Factory to learn about the long history of this special confection with the city. This is followed by a special themed dinner on Sunday night, the Workshop and Conference and gala dinner on Monday, and the Yorkshire showcase and Conference session on Coaching in London on Tuesday before a final departure after lunch.

What, you haven’t booked yet! Here’s the link again

Raffle/Auction

We will run our regular raffle at the Conference and we know that our Supplier members are always very generous in responding to this by donating great prizes. Here is a link to the Raffle prize form if you have a prize you would like to donate. And we are also open to offers for those very special exclusive gifts that might be contenders for our Auction slot, so let us know about those as well on the form.

Supplier promotional opportunities

CTA Supplier members have the opportunity this year to get additional publicity at the conference with a range of special opportunities, including sponsoring the Conference folders, coffee breaks and wine at dinners. See the full details of what is on offer here – first-come, first-served!

We are also offering a limited number of Product Showcase slots which are an opportunity for CTA Suppliers with a new product or offering that they want to get across to coach tour operators and wholesalers. This will involve a snappy, 5-minute ‘Commercial Break’ during one of the Conference sessions with a chance to present slides, video and brief presentation. The fee to take up one of these slots is £500 plus VAT. They are strictly limited in number and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you want to take up this opportunity, register on this link now.  

Additional Tuesday night

For coach operators who may wish to stay over on the Tuesday night, CTA member House of Daniel Thwaites is offering a deal at its Middletons hotel in York. A special rate of £85.00 per room B/B twin/double occupancy, or £75.00 per room B/B sole use, is available for any operator/wholesaler buyer attending the CTA conference and who wants to check out the Middletons while staying in York on the Tuesday night (25 February). Bookings should go direct to Alan Lloyd – 07854 806836, alanlloyd@thwaites.co.uk.

(There is also a rate available of £90 per room at the conference hotel, Doubletree Hilton, for the additional Tuesday night.)