Advantage Travel Partnership launches new meetings and events division

Collective of independent travel agents, Advantage Travel Partnership, has appointed Andrew Winterburn and Ian Quartermaine to launch its new meetings and events offering – Advantage Meetings and Events. The new business division will provide a white-labelled full-service event management offering for all Advantage members when it launches on the 12 June. Advantage Meetings and Events will be available to all UK members before being rolled out internationally in 2019 to the WIN Global Travel Network. Winterburn has over 25 years’s experience in the industry and Quartermaine (pictured) was prominent in the creation of the international division of HelmsBriscoe, the largest venue finding service company in the world. He has also been involved in CTS Systems, MeetingsIn(n) and Dezika industry projects. Winterburn commented: “There is major growth in the SME sector which is driving the need for small to mid-size meetings. The UK M&E market is estimated to be worth approximately £21bn, so this new solution will provide members with the fantastic opportunity to grow their revenues within this sector, service the needs of their existing clients and pitch for new business.” Quartermaine added: “Over the course of our careers, we’ve arranged everything from small meetings to corporate overseas events for hundreds of people. We’ll be able to share this experience with Advantage members to help them grow their own businesses by better serving their clients.” Advantage members will now have access to a dedicated M&E team which will provide support across the diverse types of membership, from corporate travel management companies through to leisure agents.