More than 300 million people participate in faith travel annually, making it one of the fastest growing travel segments in the United States. Church leadership, staff, volunteers, and travel agents are the primary planners of faith-based group trips, ranging from dozens to hundreds and even thousands of participants who travel nationally and internationally with a purpose. Tapping into this emerging market, Unicomm has announced that the inaugural Faith Travel Conference & Exposition (FTCE) will be co-located with the Atlanta Travel & Adventure Show October 22–23 at Atlanta’s Cobb Galleria.

Georgia is home to an astounding 80 mega-churches representing more than 350,000 church members, making Atlanta an ideal location for the FTCE. The event is expected to draw hundreds of church group travel planners, faith travelers and an estimated 100 destinations and suppliers. Early FTCE sponsors include Tourism Ireland, Israel Ministry of Tourism and American Airlines.

Cindi Brodhecker, President of Faith Travel Development & Consulting and Priscilla Woman’s Tours, will join the event team as Conference Chair. Additionally, Infinity Concepts, a leading Brand Communications agency with considerable success in the Christian market, has been retained to provide strategic direction, marketing support and outreach.

The FTCE will include a blend of informative sessions offering tools and best practices to develop effective mission, outreach and retreat group travel programs, with topics ranging from negotiation strategies to fundraising development. Participants will also hear from influential Christian pastors and leaders who have embraced the positive effect of travel on church ministries.

Faith Travel Conference & Exposition, www.faithtravelexpo.com; Unicomm, www.unicomm.org; Travel & Adventure Show, www.adventureexpo.com