Continuing Our Pet Travel Education: Lessons from the 2011 IPATA Conference

The 2011 IPATA Conference offered a great chance for Cara and Matt, two of our senior PetRelocation employees, to meet other pet shipping pros, brush up on the latest industry trends, and get some hands on experience, as well (check out Kika's Hong Kong/China border crossing story).

They even got to host a pet party at Pet World for some of our past and present clients, and overall found Hong Kong to be a welcoming and enriching place.

Here's a little more about the conference itself, as recounted by Matt, our Director of Customer Relations:

This year’s IPATA conference in Hong Kong was a great treat for all involved, and an invaluable way to meet new faces, visit old friends, and gain further insight into all manner of current and future trends in the pet relocation industry.
 

The conference proper was spread over four days, November 5th-8th, and included various workshops, guest speakers, awards ceremonies, and a silent auction.  Some of the more interesting topics covered:

•    AIRLINES AND PROFESSIONAL PET SHIPPERS:  WORKING MORE CLOSELY TOGETHER

•    ADVANCED HANDLING OF AGGRESSIVE DOGS

•    UK PET TRAVEL SCHEME CHANGES FOR 2012

•    TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR HONG KONG, KOREA, JAPAN, VIETNAM, CHINA, MONGOLIA, INDIA, SRI LANKA, THAILAND, AND INDONESIA

This year’s conference was particularly unique, as it was one of the first to be hosted in Asia. In previous years, the vast majority of conferences have been held in either North America or Europe, which has prevented a good portion of our friends in the East from attending. This year, however, we were able to finally put faces to the friendly voices we have worked with continuously over the years.

It was a tremendous learning experience for every member fortunate enough to attend, and a further reminder that IPATA is one of the most dedicated group of pet lovers the world over!

Ready to move with your pet? Contact us to learn about your safe travel options.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in December 2011 and has been updated with new information.