Jean Maxwell
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), founded in 1971, represents approximately 100 member companies with around 140 locations, supported by a network of 70 industry partners. It is governed by an elected board of directors and managed by a secretariat team of three, with additional support in legal, financial, and communications roles. The association’s stated mission is to support member business success, act as a trusted industry voice, advocate for travellers, and drive business to its members.
Jean Maxwell of the ITAA told the annual conference of the Irish Travel Agents Association in Alcobaca in Portugal that the organisation’s annual activities centre on four key events: the January awards ceremonies, the April travel trade shows, and the annual conference. A major focus is on member training, including a funded Leadership Excellence Programme, sessions on topics like GDPR and TikTok marketing, and plans for dedicated training days at the 2026 trade shows.
The ITAA facilitates communication between members and partners through daily media summaries, newsletters, and a member-exclusive section of its website for sharing special offers. It also operates several member-led subcommittees covering areas such as airline funding, events, membership engagement, and sustainability, which provide further specialised forums for industry issues.
The association’s Leadership Excellence Programme, developed with funding from Positive to Work Skillnet, has run successful pilots with plans for future iterations. The programme requires a time and financial commitment from participants, and the ITAA expressed willingness to adjust scheduling to accommodate delegate availability. Additional recent training has included webinars on cybersecurity and pension auto-enrolment.
The ITAA functions as a central support and advocacy body for Irish travel agents, providing business development training, industry networking events, and a structured platform for member collaboration and representation on key sector issues.
Jean Maxwell shared: “Our mission is to support and inspire our members to achieve success in their businesses, to be a strong and trusted industry voice, which promotes the Irish travel industry, advocates for the travel public and drives business to ITAA members.”
“The Leadership Excellence programme is for ITAA members… It is a commitment… It’s been really successful. People have got a lot out of it.”
“If there’s anything in particular that you want in-person training in, please just send me an email and we’ll organise that for you.”
