Granite Travel Trade Expos will be returning for 2024, with shows taking place in 11 key secondary markets across the country.

Suppliers/vendors can now register to participate in next year’s Expos.

The Granite Travel Trade Expos were launched in spring 2023 by Bradley Dean, Oakville/ Toronto Partner at Granite Productions, a leading events company with strong roots in the travel industry.

Dean saw an opportunity to better connect suppliers with travel advisors who are not able to travel to markets where the larger, traditional trade shows typically take place.

Some 32 suppliers and more than 675 travel advisors attended Granite Travel Trade Expos across the country in 2023, in what some said were the best-planned trade events post-COVID.

By creating an opportunity for suppliers to connect with travel agents in typically smaller markets outside the larger trade show circuit, Granite Travel Trade Expos makes it possible for agents to have meaningful face-to-face connections with the suppliers they sell. Key relationships can grow, helping to deliver a strong ROI for everyone.

Each Expo is focused on training and networking, he said, with face-to-face interaction with agents and products. In each city, a presentation series featuring seven, 15-minute segments by suppliers is followed by a trade show, dinner and prize giveaways.

The top hotels, airlines, resorts, cruises, and destinations in the industry gathered under one roof for 11 Granite Travel Trade Expos in 2023. Suppliers for those shows included Bahia Principe Hotels and Resorts, Transat, WestJet Vacations, Playa Hotels & Resorts, Canada Jetlines, Riverside Luxury Cruises, Porter Airlines, Catalonia Resorts, MSC Cruises, the Jamaica Tourist Board and more.

All events are free for agents to attend each of the events, and a $20 gas gift card was available to the first 50 agents at each of the Expos.

Here’s the list of cities and dates for 2024:

• April 22, 2024 – Windsor
• April 23, 2024 – Kitchener / Waterloo
• April 24, 2024 – Oshawa / Ajax
• April 25, 2024 – Barrie
• October 7, 2024 – Winnipeg
• October 9, 2024 – Victoria, B.C.
• October 10, 2024 – Langley, B.C.
• November 4, 2024 – Ottawa
• November 5, 2024 – Hamilton-Burlington
• November 6, 2024 – London
• November 7, 2024 – Richmond Hill

More information about supplier registration to participate in the 2024 Expos can be found via GraniteTravelExpos.com, or by contacting Bradley Dean directly at brad@graniteproductions.caor 416-565-5212.

Source: Travelweek