Key takeaways from the Travel & Tourism Student Convention + next year's dates announced!

We're back from Disneyland® Paris fresh off the success of another Travel & Tourism student convention, where just under 300 college students from across the UK joined us in France for a magical 4 days of fun & learning.

Wish you were there? You're in luck, the dates for next year's event are now live! Get ahead and start planning your trip now.

Key takeaways from this year's speakers

Travel industry career progression tips

First-time speaker Lee Ainsworth enchanted the room of young learners with his relevant and inspiring talk focussing on gateways into the travel industry and future career progression tips. Charting his own path from high street travel branches to his current role at The Advantage Travel Partnership and the Institue of Travel & Tourism's Future You scheme, Lee shared some valuable resources with the attendees—and earned himself plenty of laughs along the way.

Lee's warm & approachable demeanour shone through during his inspirational talk which meant that the students were eager to seek his advice during the following Q&A session.

How social media is changing our travel habits

It's no secret that young people let social media decide their travel plans, in a survey of 1,000 people conducted by travel app TripIt, 69% of respondents said they looked to social media for travel inspiration—with 44% citing TikTok as their personal travel advisor. So it's no surprise that Nick Webb, Partnerships Manager at Disney Parks & Resorts, really hit the mark when he explored a series of recent social campaigns he led for Disney Cruise Line & Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida.

Nick's role primarily focuses on crafting impactful marketing campaigns delivered by well-known personalities on television and radio, as well as influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Students were certainly lucky to receive this exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the kind of partnership campaigns they encounter every day on social media—with case studies of recent M&S, This Morning, and Britain's Got Talent collaborations.

The psychology behind the magic of Disney

Convention mainstay Tom Nelson from The Walt Disney Company returned this year to lift the veil on Disney's digital marketing. Students learned the methods that are used to target potential customers across various channels—and how Tom's team inspire these customers to consider a Disney holiday.

In his presentation, Tom demonstrated the psychology behind the mega brand's approach to design and user experience and suggested how this might change with the ever-increasing presence of AI. All details that are certain to make your students think more critically the next time they're planning a holiday online.

Curriculum linked content

Piecing everything together was compère Craig Busby, an experienced college lecturer. Craig expertly led proceedings and delivered a neat debrief after each talk to link the points covered to key topics in the curriculum. This helped to reinforce the learning during the event and gave students a further opportunity to take relevant notes they could refer to in their coursework back at college.

Start planning your educational adventure

Inspire your students with live talks from travel industry experts, complement the content you've covered in class and enjoy a magical couple of days in the Disney® Parks 28–31 January 2025.

Trust us to deliver an unforgettable educational adventure for your students.

More about the Travel & Tourism Student Convention →
More about the Business Studies Student Convention →

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