Quentin Desurmont, Founder Traveller Made

"This is our second time here, and everything is running smoothly. The weather is cooperating, too. Feedback so far has been excellent, but we need to wait for the official evaluation. Then we’ll have figures to analyze. Based on last year’s experience, and because agencies and participants want to discover more properties, we selected three additional hotels for accommodation this year. Some participants are here at Forte Village; others are staying at the Hilton, Conrad Chia Laguna, and Is Molas. And the team here at Forte Village has done a really good job this year. Participants could choose where to stay when they registered. Forte Village also responded to some of last year’s negative feedback. Numerous rooms, for example, have been refreshed. Overall, I think there's more being invested than before. That could continue in the future. Staffing has also increased so they can take better care of us. You can tell that management wants to raise standards step by step, a little more each year. Whether we’ll be back here next year hasn’t been decided yet, but it’s quite possible. The shows in Phuket and Panama will continue as before.

I know not everyone likes the new format with three shows. But we’re international. In my view, we’re the only truly international network. We can’t bring everyone together in one place. Our members already travel a lot. Partners can now attend the events while keeping travel costs down, as we work with suppliers from each region. Here, too, we sent out questionnaires beforehand: 85 percent of members wanted precisely this option. But there’s something I’d like to add about last year’s Essence of Sardinia: After the event, we sent out a questionnaire covering two areas – accommodation and the experience on-site, and the scheduled meetings. Those meetings are our core; they’re what our work is about. Satisfaction with the meetings was already very high last year. This year, too, the algorithm brought suitable people together. Ideally, both sides want to meet. For the remaining appointments, at least one side requested the meeting. So no meetings are randomly assigned. That matters to participants. The questionnaire covers every aspect. The one-to-one meetings received very good ratings, as did the parties and the conference. We review this every year. Our event program already received very good ratings last year.

And we’re developing beyond the three shows, too. Some time ago, we created Haute Villegiature, a top tier for our industry based on a scientific approach. These ten agencies qualified through a distinctive travel project that tells a story. We now want to extend this program to hotels. We won’t dictate anything; our members should come to us with suggestions for particularly outstanding hotels. They recommend these based on criteria developed by a scientific panel. In time, Haute Villegiature should include more than ten agencies. I think extending it to hotels will raise awareness. Then it will be easier to approach agencies again, and more will get involved. That takes time. Hotels also need to understand it first, as they’re already familiar with many labels. We’re not a label. Our approach differs significantly from others. And our initiative is for the entire industry, not just the partners in our network."