Vilnius has been chosen to host the first joint Aito conference for both operators and agents this summer. The Lithuanian capital will be the venue for the conference from June 16-19 when more than 250 delegates are expected to attend.

The Baltic city fought off competition from several other unnamed destinations for the event. Previously there had been separate overseas conferences for Aito’s agents and operators.The venue was announced at the Aito Agents domestic conference held at the Barcelo Walton Hall hotel in Warwickshire over the weekend.

Aito chairman Derek Moore said: “Two thirds of Aito’s 143 members now sell via Aito Specialist Travel Agents and it’s a natural step to run simultaneous conferences with some joint sessions. “Networking and information sharing with like-minded companies is the number one reason why operators and agents undertake Aito membership according to the latest satisfaction surveys.”

Moore added that Vilnius was chosen because it was a “lesser-known” destination but still with a relatively short flying time of around two hours.

Aito announced that it was to combine the two overseas conferences at its operators conference in Brussels in November. Traditionally the agents conference has been held in June with the operators event in November.