IITA Summit 2025 – Members Express Why They Attend

The IITA Summit provides members the opportunity to meet with quality and trusting partners for product development and education specific to the international inbound industry. Several members shared why IITA is on their calendar every year as an integral part of their marketing plans.

“IITA Summit is one of the most effective Travel Trade meetings for me each year due to their excellent mix of informative educational sessions and ample meeting opportunities with suppliers,” said Gisa Kusserow-Hanson, VP of Contracting & Product Partnerships for AlliedNewWorld. “The manageable size of the event makes it possible to meet and mingle with every attendee, network with suppliers as well as catch up with my peers on the Tour Operator side. The variety and quality of the attending suppliers have always made it a desirable show and a valuable use of time. And the format of the event is lively, innovative, forward-thinking and fun.”

Bonotel Exclusive Travel’s Senior Director of Brand Partnerships & East Coast Contracting, Elliot Calloway, says the IITA Summit is a “no-brainer for Bonotel. The IITA Annual Summit offers Bonotel and myself the opportunity to network with suppliers near and far in one setting over the course of a few days. If there wasn’t an immediate impact on ROI, I wouldn’t be a part of this organization nor attend year over year.”

DMOs also find the IITA Summit critical to their annual sales and marketing efforts. Understanding that ‘selling’ a destination requires suppliers with sellable product that are ready to work with inbound operators.

“At IITA’s Summit, I had an opportunity to meet with more than 20 operators.  They are looking for product,” said Kimberly Petersen, Marketing & Administrative Director for Capital Region USA. “They want to know what’s new and who to contact for contracting.  One operator I met with said that they contracted with a Capital Region USA property a year or two ago and generated 600 room nights at that property as a result."

In addition to attending the Summit to meet inbound operators, Capital Region USA has been including IITA’s Inbound Insider Steps to Success™ in its annual Global Marketing Summit to ensure its suppliers are ready to work with the travel trade.

A long-time hotelier member and Summit sponsor agrees that the mix of rich education and productive business appointments make the IITA Summit a fantastic resource for his company. 

“The ability to connect and network with the top tier of international inbound operators provides a distinct advantage over our competitive set,” said Quintin Blair, COO and General Manager for Blair Hotels and a member of IITA’s Advisory Council. “The opportunities for professional development at the annual Summit are among the best in the industry. I find the topics to be relevant, current and insightful while the presenters are engaging and charismatic. Perhaps most importantly, the one-on-one appointments are productive and targeted, often resulting in a sizeable amount of business and yielding some of the highest ROI for our marketing dollars.”

Registration is open for IITA Summit 2025, which will be held in Salt Lake City from February 9 to 12. Members are eligible for an Early Bird discount of $200, so don’t delay—register today!