All-American road trip

Visit USA rolled into Manchester, Birmingham and London this October, with 30 suppliers waiting to meet almost 300 agents amongst a host of retro Americana ranging from a yellow NYC taxi to a statue of Uncle Sam.

The host for all evenings was Jon Briggs, a man you may not recogise from photos but his voice – the voice of Siri and many other ads and TV shows – is legendary.

Agents embarked on a swift round of networking, meeting exhibitors including airlines Aer Lingus and United, destinations Colorado, North Carolina and Texas, attractions and activity suppliers such as the Kennedy Space Center and Papillion Grand Canyon Helicopters and tour and ticket providers including Broadway Inbound and USAirtours.

CEO of Visit USA, Tracey Spuyman, said: “We're delighted to have such a strong turnout of agents this year - both in terms of number and quality. This shows our continual programme of development for Visit USA events are meeting the expectations of our attendees.”

The Visit USA Roadshow has since received a Highly Commended accolade in the 2018 Selling Travel Agents Choice Awards.

Prizes galore

Agents had the chance to play an interactive computer game, State of Play, answering special questions posed by the exhibitors for the chance to win a goody bag stuffed with treats.

A holiday to the US was up for grabs each evening plus a bonus prize to Texas for any agent who attended one of the three roadshows. A Manchester agent won a holiday to California, in Birmingham a holiday to Florida was up for grabs and at the London event a six-night trip to Boston was the star prize.

Mary Laturner, Unique Scenic Travel said: “I’ve travelled to the states many times but tonight I’ve learnt so much! It’s great to make direct contacts for so many suppliers.”

Jane Walsh from Explorer Travel added: “It’s been a really informative night and I’ve met lots of suppliers I didn’t know. As a homeworker I find events like these are invaluable.”