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The 49th ASATA Conference was held
at Sun City to coincide with the ASTA IDE (the American Society
Travel Agents' International Destination Expo).
"The current economic
climate may be a time of uncertainty and unpredictability but it
also presents great opportunities, and hosting our conference in
conjunction with ASTA for us is seen as one of those great
opportunities," said Robyn Christie, CEO of ASATA.
The conference programme was geared
to the theme Excellence by Design, and included a number of
high profile speakers, all experts in their fields, who addressed
the audience of 180 delegates on very practical matters affecting
the South African travel industry. Panel discussions with visiting
American travel agents emphasized the issues facing the travel
industry globally.
The atmosphere throughout the
conference was one of positive straight-talking and cooperation
within the association. The delegates worked hard and played hard,
heard some hard facts and asked some hard questions. The group
left conference with many new ideas, a number of new and renewed contacts, and
some practical aids from the sponsors who had gone out of their
way to support ASATA for this event.
The 2009 ASATA Conference ran smoothly thanks to the preparation
and hard work of the ASATA Staff, and the logistical arrangements of Sun International's 'Dreams team'.
These two teams worked together with a superb degree of efficiency that was evident throughout the three days
of conference..
However, it would not have been a success without the enthusiastic
participation and commitment of the delegates. Thank you. We hope we'll see you again next year!
This Conference sub-site includes brief reports on the
proceedings, as well as a collection of "happy snaps" - please use
the blue buttons just above this text box to access all this
material.
Delegates are
encouraged to
send us feedback - both praise and criticism are welcome,
as well as any suggestions arising from your participation in the
conference. Thanks.
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