Expedia Group’s director of market management in the UK and Ireland will be the keynote speaker at the annual Mid Wales Tourism Conference next week.
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Irene Roberts has agreed to address the conference, organised by MWT Cymru, at the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells on the Friday, February 22.
Responsible for leading a team of local experts developing relationships with hotel partners in the UK and Ireland for Expedia Group, she has almost 20 years’ experience of working in the tourism and travel industry.
Prior to joining Expedia in 2007, Irene worked at TUI Travel in both product and commercial roles. She has expertise in working across multiple markets to drive the best results through the continued roll out of new technology and tools to hotel partners.
She heads an impressive line-up of speakers which also includes Lucy Von Weber, head of marketing at Visit Wales, who has more than 20 years of practical experience in the industry.
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Having delivered projects embracing all aspects of integrated marketing, she regularly presents at events and delivers digital masterclasses.
Other speakers include Rowland Rees-Evans, MWT Cymru chairman, Val Hawkins, MWT Cymru chief executive, Steve Hughson, chief executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society and chair of Mid Wales Tourism Forum, Andrew Campbell, chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance, Dan Simmons, founder of Populate Social, Paul Ellis, group general manager of Retreats Group in Pembrokeshire and a representative of the NFU who will talk about succession planning and ‘safeguarding your business’.
Mr Hughson will also launch the first ever Mid Wales Tourism Awards, which will see the winners go through to the national awards in 2020.
Lord Elis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism and, will be available to meet delegates and exhibitors at lunchtime.
Demand for tickets is high and MWT Cymru is advising tourism businesses to book their places quickly, as numbers are limited. The conference is sponsored by NFU Mutual, NVG and Pear Communications.
“The Mid Wales Tourism Conference is the one big tourism event of the year in the region not to be missed, no matter how big or small your business is,” said Mrs Hawkins.
“Delegates can hear from experts in their fields, talk to more than 100 other tourism professionals and suppliers face to face and network with industry leaders and organisations who are there to help businesses succeed.
“With Brexit and the associated uncertainty looming closer, the conference provides an opportunity to cover the topics that matter most to tourism businesses. Delegates will hear from some of the most successful names in the industry, as well as case studies from businesses of all sizes.
“The focus this year is to explore how individual businesses, communities and organisations can build on the established Wales and Mid Wales identity, translating brand awareness into action. Experts will share ideas to help convert ‘lookers to bookers’.
“The conference is designed to give businesses a clearer idea of what’s going on, what’s changing and what we can all do to better work together to keep Mid Wales at the forefront of people’s minds.”
