Avoya Travel will commence with the second part of its annual conference – which will be available on a complimentary basis – Dec. 1-4, 2020.

As was the case with the first segment of the conference , which took place in October, the second part will be held in a digital format.

“Knowing that travel agencies are among the hardest hit businesses by the COVID-19 pandemic and education and professional development are more important than ever, we made the decision to offer access to Part Two of our annual conference at no cost; we recently made the same decision for our extremely successful Avoya Mastermind Virtual Success Academy,” said Tammie Richie, vice president of network engagement at Avoya Travel.

The conference will put the spotlight on health and safety protocols of Avoya suppliers, product updates and post-pandemic travel.

“We’re glad that Avoya has embraced the changing times and continues to see such great success by pivoting to virtual formats for their events,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales, trade support and service at Royal Caribbean International, who will be providing a featured speaker at the conference. “Royal Caribbean is excited to be participating in Part Two of Avoya’s virtual conference and we’re looking forward to an extremely successful event,”

Other featured speakers will include Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales, trade support and service at Celebrity Cruises; Nikki Upshaw, senior vice president, sales at Oceania Cruises; and Adolfo Perez, senior vice president of global sales and trade marketing at Carnival Cruise Line.

The executives will “focus on the future of the travel industry, how cruise lines are responding to the new CDC guidelines in the Conditional Sailing Order, and the light at the end of the tunnel for a return to travel,” Avoya said.

In light of positive feedback from the first part of the conference, Avoya tacked on an extra day on Nov. 30 for workshops, an independent agency panel and a second appearance by Nancy Friedman, the Telephone Doctor.

The second part of the conference will also include small-group supplier meetings, one-on-meetings with suppliers and other independent agencies, and more.

“As we near the return of travel, it’s crucial for independent agencies to have access to as much education as possible regarding the new changes to health and safety protocols and the evolution of Avoya’s supplier partners, as well as the ability to build collaborative relationships within the Avoya Network and with Avoya’s supplier partners and staff,” Richie said.