Top industry speakers were welcomed at the latest ABTOI Summit which took place in Le Marche. Industry issues and discussions on a year of changes in not just the travel industry, but Europe-wide, were the key points this year. Supported by ENIT (Italian Tourist Board) and in collaboration with the BITN, the Summit provided a good mix of training, inspiration, networking and an appreciation of the beautiful borghi and landscape of Marche.

ABTA's John de Vial spoke of the unprecedented year of regulatory changes in the travel industry this year highlighting the new PTRs, credit card charges and the GDPRs.  He was one of a number of top industry speakers at the latest ABTOI (The Association of British Travel Organisers to Italy) annual conference in Italy. 

Almost 40 tour operators and top journalists travelled from the UK to attend the three-day event, which was held in Portonovo in the region of Marche.

The summit opened with Robin Lewis from FEEFO demonstrating the evolution of ratings and reviews, highlighting new developments to help the trade use reviews more effectively and to learn more about performance via customer feedback.

Other speakers included Toby Woodward of Moneycorp showing the various options to effectively reduce the risk of currency volatility and a glimpse at what the banks predict for the currency market in the near future. Claire Mulligan of Kennedys Law briefed the delegates on cyber risks and what steps to take to manage the inevitable.

Associate Editor, Liz Edwards of the Sunday Times Travel Magazine led a micro session on what goes on behind the scenes of the best-read travel magazine, providing insights on how ideas make it on to the page.  The operators were also inspired by Accord Marketing, when Louie Sitwell took them through the ever-evolving path to purchase in travel. 

The delegates experienced some of the region's most beautiful villages (borghi), part of the Association of I Borghi piu belli d'Italia (the most beautiful borghi in Italy) with just 260 members fulfilling a strict criteria demanding history, culture and traditions.  

The BITN (Borghi Italia Tour Network) partnered the Italian Tourist Board and the region of Marche to ensure ABTOI delegates experienced the real charm and authentic heritage of Italy with superb itineraries of wine tasting, traditional dancing and magnificent food.