Meredith Hill to Keynote Inaugural Travel Industry Exchange Event

NEW YORK (June 9, 2015) ─ Meredith Hill, travel industry trailblazer and founder and chief executive officer of Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs (GIFTE), will keynote Questex Travel Group's Travel Industry Exchange event, which will debut Sept. 15-17 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The event will emphasize niche travel and specialization and feature one-to-one appointments, networking events, influential speakers and educational programs designed to help travel professionals and global suppliers build on their expertise and grow their businesses.

Hill's keynote will show travel professionals how to select and market their specialty to attract ideal clients and provide actionable steps to monetize their specialties.

In her address, "The Path to Limitless Opportunities Begins with Specialization," Hill will draw upon her extensive travel career, entrepreneurial journey and success turning her failing business around to achieve record sales. Formerly the founder and president of Hills of Africa Travel, a boutique travel firm specializing in high-end, customized tours to Africa and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for clients, Hill will discuss how specialization and an entrepreneurial mindset helped her quadruple her business even during some of the most difficult economic years in travel history.

"Meredith has an authentic passion for helping entrepreneurs in the travel industry adopt a mindset for success and build travel businesses that change people's lives," said Marilyn McHugh, Questex Travel Group's vice president of global events. "She has made a significant impact on hundreds of entrepreneurs around the world. Her powerful message will empower our attendees to leverage their specializations and inner strengths to maximize their sales performance."

Founded in 2011, Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs (GIFTE) is an organization that helps travel professionals learn to build successful businesses and adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. GIFTE today serves more than 400 members through travel business courses and coaching programs. In 2013, Hill also founded Gifted Travel Network (GTN), a new breed of host agency designed to help travel entrepreneurs become more visible by helping them build their own brands and providing ongoing education, or "entrepreneurial nutrition."

"I could not be more excited to speak at Travel Industry Exchange about the opportunities specialization can offer individuals who understand the new market dynamic," said Hill (pictured right). "There is unlimited potential in the travel industry for travel professionals who define their niche and implement successful business strategies to earn more money. This is the ideal forum for advisors and suppliers looking to further their knowledge, skills and business partnerships."

Travel Industry Exchange will offer over 60 sessions focused on specific revenue-generating niche segments, including certification programs in luxury travel, cruises and weddings and romance as well as concentrated programs in technology, trends, destinations and millennial travel.

The inaugural Travel Industry Exchange will bring travel professionals and lifestyle specialists together with international suppliers, including destinations, hoteliers, cruise lines, tour operators, transportation providers, technology companies, spas and resorts. The event will include over eight hours of one-to-one meetings, comprehensive education including agent specialty training and networking events and receptions. For more information or to register, travel professionals may visit www.travelindustryexchange.com.

About Questex Hospitality + Travel

The Questex Hospitality + Travel Group of Questex LLC serves the worldwide hospitality, travel and related industries that together contribute over $6 trillion to the global gross domestic product. Through an innovative platform of targeted solutions, the group serves the sector's entire ecosystem, from tourism and hotel development and investment to hotel design, purchasing, management and operations.

The Questex Hospitality + Travel Group serves every B2B segment of the industry, from investment and development to management operations, sales and marketing of hospitality and travel products to destination development and marketing, via proven demand generation, learning, loyalty and rewards solutions as well as a network of live events. This division of Questex is aligned around three broad market segments – hospitality, travel and meetings – and supported by its digital media staff.

Additional information is available at questex.com/markets/hospitality-travel.

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Evy Apostolatos

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