Last summer, we were thrilled to announce our scheduled return to in-person events in June 2021, in the beautiful island of Madeira in Portugal. An archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, Madeira has been widely praised for its handling of Covid-19 and has been named the #1 safest destination in 2021 by European Best Destinations.
Over the past months, we have been working closely with Visit Madeira and our supporting partners to create our first hybrid event of 2021, allowing those that are able to travel to attend in-person, whilst also accommodating those that could not via our online meetings and experiences platform. With Madeira experiencing a softer lockdown and very few cases, we truly believed we could safely deliver an incredible and memorable hybrid event for our luxury community.
As event organisers, uncertainty in travel inevitably leaves us exposed to many variables beyond our control, at a critical time during our event preparations. We have been in consultations these past weeks to understand the impact various travel restrictions and protocols will have on the safe arrival/departure of staff and delegates, and the overall success of the event.
Not only this, but as hosts of an international community, we know that many of you have been planning to travel from far and wide to Madeira for this anticipated opportunity but who, like us, are still waiting on borders reopening for many countries. While positive progress has already been made around the world, health and safety protocols must remain at the forefront of our decision-making.
Therefore, we will host Connections Luxury in Madeira as a fully virtual meetings and experiences event, which will take place from Monday 28 June – Friday 2 July 2021. By extending the event to five days, we hope this will give delegates more time and flexibility to meet others from around the world.
Rest assured, we will be working closely with Visit Madeira to bring you an experiential flair of what Madeira has to offer through a variety of experiences, educational content, and icebreakers, in true Connections Way.
Those that registered to attend the event physically will be automatically assigned a virtual place, and the Connections team will be reaching out to you all to help answer any questions that you might have.
For agencies planning to join us, we are delighted to announce Visit Madeira shall be extending an invitation to a select number of registered participants to experience the island first-hand. More news to follow.
Our first in-person gathering will now be Global Travel Week powered by Connections (26-30 September 2021), where our luxury community will have a dedicated programme complete with one-to-one meetings, shared experiences and insightful content sessions. We very much look forward to seeing you there.
As the world slowly unlocks, we remain optimistic about the months ahead and what it means for the recovery of our industry. In the meantime, we want to thank you for your continued support and understanding as we navigate these times together.
Stay safe, stay healthy,
Micaela Giacobbe
Founder | Managing Director, Connections
