All of us here at Connections are determined to help and support the industry we love during these extraordinary times for travel.
Connections Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Updated Friday 10 July 2020
Dear friends of Connections,
No doubt, 2020 has been one of the toughest years our industry has faced. Through it all, we have stood united for travel together, offering knowledge and guidance to navigate a most uncertain time. We have been inspired by the incredible stories of support and collaboration and today, the industry is starting to show green shoots of recovery.
We wanted to take this opportunity to give you more insight into what we as Connections have been doing since the lockdown in March – as well as what to expect for the remainder of 2020 and into the beginning of 2021.
It’s fair to say that over the past few months, Connections has not sat still. We have wanted to play our part in the recovery and resurgence of our industry and so, at the beginning of April, we launched a brand new online platform. We’ve always believed in doing best by our peers; now, more than ever, we must stay connected. It is this sentiment that inspired us to create the Connections Community, a first-of-its-kind product developed out of the need of the industry.
We also made the difficult decision to postpone our face-to-face events. While we haven’t been able to meet in-person for our four ConnecTALKS, we have instead hosted over sixteen online ConnecTALKS (about one per week), each one touching upon topics pertinent to our community. Across our focus areas of luxury, meetings incentives, wellbeing, adventure and weddings, our series has offered guidance on crisis communications, rebound strategies, destination recovery plans and mental health, to name a few.
Additionally, April saw us move the Connections Global Event (12-15 July 2020) to next year. In response, we are delivering our first ever Connections Virtual Week from Monday 13 July. As a truly global event, this will see (so far) more than 170 decision-makers come together in over 2,000 online, one-to-one meetings, complete with Connections Experiences. We cannot wait to welcome you all!
Meanwhile, we hoped that we would all be together again for Connections in London this autumn (27-30 September). Behind-the-scenes, we have been in continued conversation with our partners, however, after careful consideration and in light of the current travel restrictions, we believe that the right decision is to postpone this until 2021. While we cannot meet face-to-face, we will be hosting another virtual one-to-one meetings event during the week of 28 September 2020, and will share more details about this very soon… !
To all our members, please rest assured. Those who joined before April 2020 will automatically have their membership rolled over into 2021. This means that you will benefit from additional months complimentary access as well as two, face-to-face events next year. For those who are new to the Connections family, there will be an opportunity to book our face-to-face events separately. As always, we are at hand should you have any questions at all.
Now, this brings us to some very good news! We are thrilled to announce that our first face-to-face event will be in June 2021, and will be hosted in the beautiful island of Madeira, Portugal. An archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, Madeira has so far, had no deaths from Covid-19 and has one of the lowest infection rates recorded in Europe. Home to five-star hotels like The Savoy Palace, Belmond Reid’s Palace and The Cliff Bay (all of which are open for business), we believe Madeira to be the perfect destination to make our return to face-to-face events.
Though this year we have pivoted our brand 360 degrees – from in-person events to an online community – we have kept the essence of Connections the same. We were born from the belief that strong connections are at the heart of any successful business, and we will continue to bring trusted decision-makers together to meet, do business and forge long-lasting business relationships.
Until we can meet again in 2021, we will be continuously evolving Connections, ensuring it presents a powerful directory of decision-makers, a versatile online event & ConnecTALKS programme and news bulletin. And that’s not all.
Coming soon, we will be launching a knowledge academy, a dedicated area for our movers and shakers who are now looking for new roles or opportunities, plus the ability for our members to share, seek and bid for solutions to luxury traveller requests. This is all so our members can continue to connect, chat, share, learn and do business with the best in travel.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your continued support not just to us, but to our entire industry.
Stay safe, stay healthy,
Micaela Giacobbe
Managing Director
44 (0)20 7881 4848
micaela@weareconnections.com
