This Advisor Event Can Transform Your Business

In any profession, finding impactful opportunities to hone your skills and build meaningful relationships can feel like an uphill battle.

But among travel advisors, Global Travel Marketplace West (which is owned by Northstar Travel Group, TravelAge West’s parent company) has emerged as a top event to attend — and the annual gathering is coming right up.

Applications are open for GTM West 2025, which will take place June 17-19 at La Quinta Resort and Club in Palm Springs, California. One-on-one appointments with attending suppliers are a hallmark of the event — and a key way that advisors have forged productive relationships with brands and recorded impressive profits in the months following these meetings.

“This is the event to attend if you want to bring your business to the next level, and if you want to meet suppliers that might completely change the direction of your business,” said Jacqueline Hurst, director of trade recruitment and engagement with Northstar Travel Group.

To learn more about this year’s gathering, we spoke with Mary Pat Sullivan, executive vice president of marketing and partnerships with Northstar Travel Group and one of the mind’s behind GTM West.

GTM West attracts top-notch advisors who are eager to grow, and to grow big. What else can you tell us about advisor attendees, and why should new-to-GTM advisors want to be part of this group?

GTM advisors are like-minded professionals. They have set growth targets for their business, they want to build their supplier and destination portfolio, they are seeking answers to how best to grow their business and they want to meet fellow advisors who are in the same place. The room is filled with energy, positivity and professionalism.

Why is it important that advisors continue to meet more suppliers, beyond their host agency or consortia's preferred suppliers?

A diverse supplier portfolio is critical to ensuring that you can satisfy a client roster that has changing and evolving needs. The majority of GTM attendees will tell you they had no idea a certain supplier existed, or that they had no idea how this long-time supplier had changed their product mix or how new opportunities were available for their customers. And in many instances, they bring those suppliers back to their host and consortia and recommend adding them to their preferred supplier portfolio.

How does the GTM West team guarantee that suppliers in attendance are high-quality and ideal partners for advisors?

Our suppliers also go through a vetting process. They come with recommendations from GTM alumni, and they provide advisor references if they are newer to the industry. We take the same pride in our supplier attendees as we do in our advisor attendees: they are best-in-class and like-minded professionals truly seeking business partnerships. 

The formula works: one-to-one meetings, boardroom sessions, networking time with suppliers and advisors and a tight schedule so we don’t waste any time.

This event has been around for many years. What are some signature pieces of its structure that aren't changing, and is there anything new and exciting?

GTM West has a formula for proven success. After attending GTM, so many advisors talk about the growth and change in their business and career. The formula works: one-to-one meetings, boardroom sessions, networking time with suppliers and advisors and a tight schedule so we don’t waste any time.

And advisors own this event. They are the customer the whole time. They sit and set up their office and the suppliers come to them. They are the buyer, and they make the difference — none of that has changed.

We also limited the ability to return to the event. We only take back 20% of our advisors year over year, so that we can continue to offer this opportunity to new attendees. We want to grow the pool for our suppliers, and we want to continue to represent the strength of the advisor community.

And in terms of what’s new, we’ve launched a third event in the franchise — GTM Luxury — focused on the luxury segment of the market. Advisors can look forward to the inaugural GTM Luxury, happening in July at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Arizona. 

If an advisor is on the fence about applying to attend GTM West, what are the top two reasons they should prioritize it?

Over the years, GTM has built a reputation as being the most sought-after buyer-seller event in the industry. For advisors, it is a very high-profile event that opens so many doors and offers so many opportunities, beyond what most can even imagine. If you qualify and have the opportunity to apply, don't hesitate. 

We have had advisors double, even triple their business year over year because of GTM. We have had advisors change their business model and gain the confidence to go out on their own because of GTM. We have suppliers who have expanded twenty-fold because of GTM. We have suppliers who take a year off so they can right size their business to accommodate the growth in advisor traffic. That’s why we say that GTM can be both business-changing and life-changing.