The 2024 10-year anniversary TTAND National Conference in Jordan sold out in 47 seconds, with over 150 TTAND agent partners on a wait list.
"We really wanted to do something special for our 10th anniversary and we have been secretly working behind the scenes for a year with G Adventures, Jordan Tourism and Royal Jordanian Airlines to arrange what is believed to be a Canadian travel industry first --- a major Canadian travel agency conference in the Middle East," said TTAND founder, Flemming Friisdahl.
TTAND agents, staff and suppliers will travel to Jordan on a private, chartered Royal Jordanian Airlines jet next June.
The surprise location of next year's conference was announced live at the 2023 TTAND conference in Cancun to 240 attending agents-- while another 568 had the opportunity to watch it through a Facebook livestream.
"People were standing in the room and the energy was out this world - the tension was very high amongst agents as speculation grew about where the 10- year anniversary conference would be held," said Friisdahl. " The announcement video reveal did not immediately mention the destination but rather showed images and videos of the destination with a countdown from 10- 1. By the time Jordan was announced, agents were literally jumping off their seats, hugging each other, clapping and some were even crying."
TTAND waited three days after conference ended for registration to open allowing everyone to return to Canada be ready to register.
"It was incredibly hard to keep the 2024 conference destination details a secret from the travel agents while in Mexico, "said Omar Banihani, Director of Marketing, Visit Jordan. "The TTAND team was keen on keeping it a secret and for a good reason! I was pleasantly surprised at the response we received after the announcement. So much love and interest in Jordan and selling out in 47 seconds was not expected at all. We are so excited to have the TTAND family in Jordan next year. "
G Adventures will showcase Jordan
The co-host for the conference is G-Adventures. "Everyone at G Adventures is excited to co-host The Travel Agent Next Door in Jordan for their 10th anniversary conference in 2024. When we announced the destination at their conference in Mexico there was so much excitement in the room, that I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the event sold out in a record 47 seconds!" said David Green, VP Sales and Customer Operations & Managing Director Canada.
He added: " We have an incredible partnership, our sales with TTAND are growing exponentially and we can't wait to showcase Jordan and the great work we do at G adventures in creating life changing experiences for our travelers. We of course couldn't do this without the support of the other co-hosts! A big thanks to Royal Jordanian and Jordan Tourism Board. Bring on Jordan! "
Apart from the conference being in the Middle East, it will also be unique because it combines a G-Trip experience with conference.
"Of course, gents and suppliers will still get a lot of presentation and networking time - just in spectacular locations," said Friisdahl.
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