Training day Advanced Social Media Training in Travel 17 June 2026 9:30 - 16:40 Venue: ABTA, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ
Agenda 09:30 Registration, tea and coffee 10:00 Welcome from the moderator Moderator: Laura Stephen, Head of Brand and Marketing, ABTA Laura Stephen Laura leads ABTA’s Brand & Marketing team, as part of a job share with colleague Shelley Beresford. Before joining ABTA, she was Head of Marketing at a tech start up and prior to that, spent 15 years leading the Consumer and Trade Marketing teams at Virgin Atlantic. Laura has over 20 years of B2C and B2B marketing experience across small and large global brands and is passionate about consumer centric marketing and creating distinctive campaigns that bring products to life, particularly in the travel industry. STRATEGY AND PLANNING 10:05 The social media landscape Emerging opportunities for travel brands and how audience behaviours are evolvingWhat good engagement looks like today – content, formats and platforms Anneka Valmy-Devillers, Senior Vice President, FINN Partners Anneka Valmy-Devillers Anneka leads social media and digital strategy across FINN Partners’ travel portfolio, bringing over 13 years of experience in crafting impactful digital communications across sectors including energy, FMCG, food, and now travel.She provides strategic leadership across client accounts, delivering innovative, insight-led campaigns that connect brands with audiences in meaningful and culturally relevant ways. A seasoned speaker on influencer marketing, Anneka specialises in social media strategy, content marketing, digital crisis communications, online brand identity, and trend forecasting.She delivers award-winning destination campaigns fuelled by fierce passion, forward thinking, and a belief in digital storytelling’s power to move people, shape culture, and drive real-world impact. A champion of people-first marketing, she focuses on making a difference - not just making an impression. 10:15 Building a high-performing strategy for travel businesses Defining clear goals aligned to business objectivesIdentifying and understanding your audience, their preferences and decision-making behavioursBuilding a consistent and authentic voice across the right platforms for your brandBudgeting effectively across organic and paid activity Anneka Valmy-Devillers, Senior Vice President, FINN Partners Anneka Valmy-Devillers Anneka leads social media and digital strategy across FINN Partners’ travel portfolio, bringing over 13 years of experience in crafting impactful digital communications across sectors including energy, FMCG, food, and now travel.She provides strategic leadership across client accounts, delivering innovative, insight-led campaigns that connect brands with audiences in meaningful and culturally relevant ways. A seasoned speaker on influencer marketing, Anneka specialises in social media strategy, content marketing, digital crisis communications, online brand identity, and trend forecasting.She delivers award-winning destination campaigns fuelled by fierce passion, forward thinking, and a belief in digital storytelling’s power to move people, shape culture, and drive real-world impact. A champion of people-first marketing, she focuses on making a difference - not just making an impression. 10:40 Case study: Newmarket Holidays’ social media – a fresh start How Newmarket Holidays developed and implemented a new social media strategyThe role of user-generated content and cross-team alignment in building a stronger social presenceSetting goals across the funnel and demonstrating the value of social media to the wider business Kelsey Fitzgerald, Social Media & Content Creator, Newmarket Holidays Kelsey Fitzgerald Kelsey Fitzgerald has spent the best part of the last decade in travel social media, working client-side for some of the industry’s biggest tour operators. During her time with Trafalgar, she was part of the team behind the award-winning Tour Differently campaign - winner of the 2025 International Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Travel Marketing Awards. Now leading on organic social at Newmarket Holidays, she handles everything from strategy and post creation to shooting content on location around the world. 11:05 Tea and coffee 11:25 Case study: using social to drive discoverability and fandom How HX Expeditions uses social to strengthen brand discoverabilityResponding to a more sophisticated customer journey across social channelsBuilding fan engagement in an increasingly demanding social environment Josh Pizey, Global Head of Social, HX Expeditions Josh Pizey Josh Pizey is a seasoned social media leader and speaker with a strong background in content strategy and community engagement. Evidenced through award-winning work across multiple sectors including FMCG, Automotive and, of course, the Travel sector.Josh is passionate about blending content creation and curation to amplify authentic storytelling, as demonstrated in his work as Global Head of Social at HX Expeditions. His expertise lies in fostering genuine connections between brands and audiences through innovative social media campaigns. CONTENT, CREATIVE AND PERFORMANCE 11:50 Measuring success and adapting your strategy Understanding and using analytics and dataSetting and measuring KPI’sMonitoring revenue and ROIUnderstanding how AI visibility is impacting measurement Elliott King, Managing Partner, FINN Partners Elliott King Elliott King is a Managing Partner at FINN Partners, one of the world's largest independent marketing and communications agencies, where he leads digital strategy for clients across the EMEA region. He works closely with travel and tourism brands, including the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT), the Belize Tourism Board, and Visit Polska, helping them turn audience insight into measurable results. With a career spanning digital marketing, performance, and the fast-moving world of AI, Elliott is especially focused on how measurement and visibility are shifting as audiences move from search engines to AI assistants. He is also co-author of Marketing Wins (2026). 12:15 Case study: creative that performs – bringing together content, creative and measurement Running paid brand campaigns and adapting strategy and tactics to different business objectivesTriangulating data using Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM), platform analytics and test studies to build a clearer view of performanceLong-term creative testing to develop platform-relevant content aligned with brand goals Ellie Pearsall, Social Media Manager, Brand Marketing, TUI Ellie Pearsall Ellie Pearsall is a Paid Social Manager at TUI, specialising in social media strategy, creative optimisation and performance marketing. With over seven years’ experience across commercial and marketing roles, she leads multi-channel campaigns across platforms including Meta, TikTok and Pinterest, driving measurable business impact through data-led decision making. Ellie is passionate about developing platform-first creative, embedding test-and-learn approaches, and translating insights into award-winning campaigns, including work recognised at the UK Social Media Awards and TikTok Ad Awards. 12:40 AI assisted content creation Ensuring trust and transparency when using AI tools Elliott King, Managing Partner, FINN Partners Elliott King Elliott King is a Managing Partner at FINN Partners, one of the world's largest independent marketing and communications agencies, where he leads digital strategy for clients across the EMEA region. He works closely with travel and tourism brands, including the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT), the Belize Tourism Board, and Visit Polska, helping them turn audience insight into measurable results. With a career spanning digital marketing, performance, and the fast-moving world of AI, Elliott is especially focused on how measurement and visibility are shifting as audiences move from search engines to AI assistants. He is also co-author of Marketing Wins (2026). 13:00 Networking lunch CHANNELS AND COMMUNITIES 13:40 Platform focus: Meta platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Reels and more Exploring the latest media and creative best practices for travel advertisersUnderstand how to effectively measure your campaignsTake a peak at the newest travel case studies on Meta Lucy O'Donoghue, Client Solutions Manager, Meta Lucy O'Donoghue Lucy is a Client Solutions Manager at Meta, where she has spent the past four years helping businesses grow through creative, data-driven advertising. She has partnered with clients across a variety of industries and now specialises in the travel sector, focusing on Online Travel Agencies and packages. With a background in Business Management, she combines strategic insight and product expertise to help brands navigate today’s evolving digital landscape. 14:00 Platform focus: using TikTok successfully for travel brands Why TikTok matters for travelHow to show upRunning paid activityMeasuring impact Azur Melling, Client Partner | Key Accounts, Travel, TikTok 14:20 Platform focus: using Reddit to reach potential customers Why Reddit is an effective tool for travel brandsEngaging with potential customers using authentic and honest contentMeasuring the impact of Reddit campaigns Merson Lewis, Senior Client Partner | Travel & Tourism, Reddit Merson Lewis Merson Lewis is a Senior Client Partner at Reddit, leading Travel & Tourism partnerships. He partners with brands to show up authentically in culture and conversations, using Reddit’s communities to drive engagement, influence and performance. 14:40 Networking tea and coffee break 15:00 Working with influencers: the agency perspective Working with creators across the various stages of a funnel Content creation and collaboration Rick Guttridge, Founder & CEO, Smoking Gun Rick Guttridge With 25 years of agency experience under his belt, Rick has advised some of the biggest brand names in the world leading to perception changes, sales and market share uplifts and countering serious reputation threats.Obsessed with proving the impact a strategic and creative PR programme has on an organisation’s goals, his agency’s name embodies the search to find the irrefutable proof of success. This has resulted in 8 global awards for business effectiveness.He’s also passionate about business having a positive impact on society and on top of reduced rates for not for profits, a minimum of 1% of profit is given to charity every year. He has also founded and teaches on the sectors’ only industry taught PR and Comms Apprenticeship. 15:20 Case study: From followers to a community – how WeRoad uses social media to build belonging Why different channels need different jobs – attraction vs retentionHow peer-to-peer trust converts hesitant browsers into first-time bookersTaking community beyond the feed into real-world experiences Amy Ya, Community & Sales Specialist, WeRoad Amy Ya Amy Ya is Community and Sales Specialist at WeRoad, the adventure travel company connecting solo travellers through group trips around the world. She manages WeRoad's social channels and oversees their 30,000-strong Facebook community, turning online engagement into real-world connection. As one of WeRoad's Group Leaders, Amy has witnessed first-hand how strangers become friends on the road - an experience that shapes everything she does back at base. She also organises exclusive events and private trips that take community well beyond the feed. 15:45 Silver does social Defining the marketTruths & myths about social media usageSegmentation by age and life stageContent and timing Debbie Marshall, Managing Director, Silver Marketing Association Debbie Marshall Debbie has over 35 years’ industry experience, mainly in travel, and including 12 years in the broader "silver" sector. Her roles have included Managing Director of Crystal Holidays, and at the helm of award-winning villa specialist CV Villas and its sister company Ski Verbier.Debbie founded Silver Travel Advisor in 2011, the information, reviews and advice website for mature travellers, which was voted Best Travel Reviews website at the British Travel Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020.In 2021, with Silver Travel Advisor moving to new ownership, she widened her experience in the silver sector, and set up the Silver Marketing Association with a team of industry veterans. She is passionate about ethical and responsible marketing to older consumers, and calling out ageism, which is something she now witnesses first hand!In 2024, Debbie was awarded the AWTE Outstanding Achievement Award which celebrates an individual who has demonstrated exceptional excellence and accomplished remarkable feats within the travel industry.Debbie has been Chair for Dementia Adventure since 2022, and keeps a strong connection with the travel industry as a non-executive director of Bailey Robinson, Real Holidays, Villa Collective & Ramble Worldwide. 16:10 Working with creators – In conversation with Jessica Viana Choosing the right influencer for your brandCo-creating engaging campaignsWhat are influencers looking for in a partnership?How do you decide on the deliverables and KPIs? Jessica Viana, Travel & Food Content Creator Jessica Viana Jessica is a content creator and writer behind the travel website "Jess Eats The World" and her social media platforms (@jessicaxviana).She inspires her audience of travellers and foodies to go off the beaten track and discover less-visited destinations or exploring hidden gems in popular places, with sustainability and responsible travel in mind. Her passions include trying out local foods and learning the curious stories behind them, staying at boutique hotels, and hopping on unique experiences that bring her closer to the culture of the destinations she visits. On an average month, Jessica's content reaches over 2 million viewers and readers.Portfolio: http://jessicaxviana.my.canva.site 16:30 Closing remarks Moderator: Laura Stephen, Head of Brand and Marketing, ABTA Laura Stephen Laura leads ABTA’s Brand & Marketing team, as part of a job share with colleague Shelley Beresford.Before joining ABTA, she was Head of Marketing at a tech start up and prior to that, spent 15 years leading the Consumer and Trade Marketing teams at Virgin Atlantic. Laura has over 20 years of B2C and B2B marketing experience across small and large global brands and is passionate about consumer centric marketing and creating distinctive campaigns that bring products to life, particularly in the travel industry.
