Anticipation is building for personal travel managers as the countdown begins to the company’s ninth national conference.

The TravelManagers 2016 national conference with a theme of ‘Adding Value’ will be held 19-21 August in Bangkok.

“The conference theme of adding value really resonates with all that we do. At TravelManagers inspiring people through our personal experiences is not just our business, it’s what we believe in. Our personal travel managers are all inspirational people who love to travel and share that love of travel with our clients.   We add value to our clients by giving them travel ideas and suggestions, right from the dreaming and planning stages right through to the time they return home,” says TravelManagers’ Executive General Manager Michael Gazal.

The three-day conference will focus on equipping personal travel managers with the skills, insights and practical ideas to truly add value to their clients’ holiday experiences.

“In a world where information is at the touch of a button, the ability to provide personal experience and information they cannot find out for themselves, is the key to enhancing a client’s experience. Our annual conference offers an amazing opportunity for the personal travel manager network to all come together to share ideas, learn from each other and build relationships within the business while networking with suppliers.”

Gazal is delighted to announce an impressive caliber of keynote speakers who will inspire the personal travel managers by providing relevant content and thought provoking open forum discussions.

Gihan Perera, a futurist and online marketing specialist, author and consultant is back to address this year’s conference.  An advocate of the mobile home-based personal travel manager model, Perera is no stranger to TravelManagers, having presented to the personal travel managers at their 2014 national conference in Singapore.

“Gihan has an excellent understanding of the TravelManagers’ business model and the everyday opportunities and constraints that our personal travel managers regularly face. Gihan wowed our personal travel managers a couple of years ago with his expertise in understanding how the Internet has changed our world and providing clever ideas to easily differentiate themselves through a range of technological tools. His inspiration and enthusiasm ensures he is back again this year by popular demand.”

The importance of flexibility, personal marketing and utilizing technology better will form the basis of Perera’s address.

“Client expectations have changed, especially in the service industry. Clients want personal, individual and flexible service. The old-fashioned way of take a number and wait mentality doesn’t work anymore. It never did, but it’s even worse now,” says Perera.

Tran Trong Kien is a self-made entrepreneur. Starting from humble beginnings in Northern Vietnam, 42-year-old Kien has built a $100 million dollar a year travel and hospitality business that includes travel companies, an aviation company, an online travel company and two hotel chains. As Chairman and General Director of the Thien Minh Group, it is one of the leading integrated travel and hospitality groups based in Southeast Asia and welcomes approximately 90,000 tourists to the region every year serving a broad range of budget to high-end travellers while hosting over 200,000 guests staying in its hotels annually.

“Kien’s achievements are driven by many factors and he will share his journey and keys to success during his keynote address. Kien’s ‘rags to riches’ story is an impressive one which I know will fascinate and inspire our personal travel managers,” says Gazal.

Kien will impart his views on the importance of strategic partnerships, creating value to drive success through exceptional customer service and providing unique products.

“From experience, it is critical for personal travel manager’s to understand their own personal strengths, expertise and passions. This is key in targeting your clients. Personal travel managers will then need to work with specific suppliers and create a supply chain around this to ensure business success,” says Kien.

The final keynote speaker is Peter Baines OAM, who runs a successful consulting business, building engagement through corporate social responsibility.

Baines developed his unique leadership style by leading international identification teams into Indonesia and Thailand following acts of terrorism and the 2004 South East Asian Tsunami.  Baines went on to work in the counter terrorism area of Interpol, spent time with the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime and also worked in Saudi Arabia and Japan after natural disasters hit those countries.

However it was Baines’ work in Thailand that brought the biggest change and in January 2014, Peter Baines was recognized in the Australia Day honours with the awarding of the Order of Australia Medal for his International Humanitarian work.

“After meeting the children left orphaned by the Tsunami, I felt compelled to act and founded an Australian charity called ‘Hands Across the Water’. This charity has gone on to create opportunities for hundreds of children across Thailand,” says Baines.

Baines’ presentation will explore the key aspects leaders demonstrate during times of crisis and disaster.

“We are thrilled to have Peter talk about his experiences and explore the importance of having a clarity of purpose and how to build engagement with clients, community and family through shared experiences. Peter will also talk about how you don’t have to be a leader of people to demonstrate leadership qualities, as the actions that personal travel managers take for themselves will influence their personal and professional growth. We know this will resonate so well with many of our personal travel manager experiences,” says Gazal.

The TravelManagers 2016 national conference will be held 19-21 August 2014 at the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel in Bangkok.