Travel Weekly and TravelAge West have announced the Global Travel Marketplace (GTM) Advisory Board. The 11 advisory board members were selected from a pool of more than 400 past attendees and each will serve a two-year term. This is the second advisory board to serve for GTM.
GTM and GTM West are travel industry events that connect top-producing advisors in North America with cruise, hotel, tour and destination suppliers through one-on-one appointments, boardroom presentations and networking events over the course of two-and-a-half days. Participants undergo a rigorous screening process, which evaluates their business model, confirms annual sales and requires industry references prior to being accepted into the event.
The annual board meeting will be held at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live in January. Board members include Sally Black, owner, Vacation Kids; Janelle Grissinger, owner, Janelle & Co Travel LLC; Devin Hansen, president, Sunflower Travel; Tara Hyland, luxury travel advisor, Tara Hyland Travel, LLC of Worldview Travel; Robin Katz, franchise owner, Cruise Planners; Jill LaBarre, vacation specialist, Jill’s Great Escapes; Patti Lehman, owner, luxury travel advisor, Travel 67; Beci Mahnken, president/CEO, MEI-Travel; Samarah Meil, owner, Amarillo Travel Network; Christen Perry, owner, Classic Travel Connection and Suzy Schreiner, owner, Azure Blue Vacations.
"This group of GTM Advisory Board members includes some of the top travel advisors in the industry,” said Alicia Evanko-Lewis, senior vice president of events, Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group. “Their business models, backgrounds, tenure and expertise are diverse, meaning they can provide various perspectives on the industry and travel advisor needs."
GTM West will take place at the The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, May 15 to 17, followed by its sister event, GTM, held at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 12-14.
"The GTM events are now established as premier travel advisor events,” Evanko-Lewis said. “With five years and more than 500 thoroughly vetted travel advisor participants among our alumni, we are constantly striving to keep our events best in class and provide our advisors and suppliers with the most rewarding experience both financially and professionally."
To be notified when applications for GTM open, visit www.globaltravelmarketplace.com.
