In our regular Routes News series we take a look at the people that attend Routes events and find out more about them, their jobs and the current industry issues impacting them. In this issue we speak to Aimee Bates, account manager at Events in Focus.

Q) What are your immediate priorities for World Routes?
Because we have just been in the final run-up for World Routes Chengdu 2016, it has been all systems go for us taking reservations, which myself and the team get a real buzz from. In particular, I have been working very closely with the Routes airline team in Manchester as this is also a busy time for them as we are all working out where to house everyone for their stay in Chengdu. We have also been liaising with all the official hotels to ensure they are up to speed with the event and are ready to treat our delegates to the standards they are used to. For all our delegates, airlines and visitors I know how hard they work on developing new relationships and securing new business deals, so my priority is making their stay as comfortable and pain free as possible. Being on location at each event helps me accomplish this and means all the delegates are at the top of their game for the many meetings booked up. We are also working on future shows, including Routes Asia in Okinawa, Routes Europe in Belfast and World Routes in Barcelona. This involves sourcing and securing the accommodation allocation at all the official Routes hotels. As you can imagine this keeps me and the team very busy. However, it is very rewarding when the booking links go live and we start taking bookings for the next events.

Q) Who are you hoping to see at World Routes?
A) I have been really looking forward to getting out to Chengdu and meeting up with both old and new clients. It’s great to hear what everyone has been up to since the last event and seeing what they have in store for the future. Routes put on excellent networking evenings, which are a great opportunity to meet people within the industry who share my passion for aviation. It is a good networking opportunity for meeting up with clients and understanding their requirements to better help them. The other useful thing about the evening is meeting people you don’t necessarily know. I’ve often found in the past that a chance five-minute conversation on the bus home has led to new business at a later date. During the event we will have a service desk and I would always encourage clients to stop by and say hello. I talk to so many people on email and it is lovely when I finally get to put a face to a name.

Q) What are the best and worst things about your job?
A) I love to travel so really do have the ideal job. My various roles over the past 19 years in the travel industry has taken me to weird, wonderful and beautiful places and given me many happy memories. I do miss home and sometimes miss out on things going on there, but I have the most supportive family who sometimes join me at the end of a event, which is great. It is so rewarding seeing an event and all the hard work come together to make each event a success. I also enjoy some of the opportunities that come from being in the many different destinations we visit. For instance last year I did a safari in South Africa following World Routes, while seeing Krakow for the first time at this year’s Routes Europe was a great surprise as it was so beautiful. The worst part of my job is when it all comes to an end, especially as we are normally some of the last to leave as we have to ensure everyone departs safely. This can be quite sad, but they do say that every story needs an end for the next adventure to begin.

This article is modified from an original feature that appeared in... ROUTES NEWS - ISSUE 6, 2016 PLEASE CLICK HERE to view the magazine.