Tramada’s First Virtual Travel Conference at ASTA Global Live
During these days when many of us are tired of being stuck at the home office, on conference calls, Zoom or online webinars, our team in the USA had an opportunity to be an exhibitor during American Society of Travel Advisors’ (ASTA’s) Live event August 25-28, which was in fact a massive virtual conference boasting nearly 3,000 attendees and exhibitors. The preparation and coordination of the event was first class, particularly the very inviting visual representation of how the event would have looked in-person. From entering the conference centre (homepage) to presenting the lineup of speakers (webinars), to break out rooms (teleconferenced workshops) and virtual booths (small group video chats with PDF handouts).
While we are all impacted by the pandemic and dramatically reduced bookings, it was refreshing to be a part of this phenomenal conference experience. Michael Jacques, Country Manager, USA reported hundreds visited our virtual booth, previewing our videos and downloading materials.
Michael shared, “One of the more rewarding portions of the event was a first for me, virtual speed networking! We had a virtual table and attendees dropped by for a few minutes to chat-live about Tramada and their business plans. I thought it was very cool, with my laptop, camera on and speaking with so many dedicated travel advisors.”
Speaking with many conference goers, the general mood of attendees and exhibitors was optimistic, expecting travel to rebound later this year and into 2021. ASTA, attendees and exhibitors were satisfied with the event, however all are looking to going in person next year! Hundreds have already signed up for ASTA Global Convention 2021 and most travel advisors commented how eager they were to get on an airplane or cruise again very soon. Aren’t we all!
