Tag Archives: WTM London

The number of pre-qualified buyers attending this year’s World Travel Market London increased by 11 per cent compared to last year, with organisers of the world’s most influential travel and tourism event thrilled to confirm 5,049 world class buyers came through its doors, over three-days. Returning to Excel London from November 5 to 7 2024, the 44th edition hosted 5,049 buyers, a substantial increase of 11 per cent, and almost 500 extra buyers, on the 4,560 buyers welcomed to the 2023 show. Bigger and better than ever, overall attendance at the event increased by six per cent to 46,316 individuals, with many travel professionals attending for between two and three days. To accommodate the additional visitors, the show increased in scale by almost eight per cent, adopting new halls within Excel London’s Level-0, where visitors could enjoy large new conference stages and hospitality areas. Aligned to the event expansion, a record number of exhibitors from the private sector were in attendance, with exhibitor participation growing to 4,047, another rise of eight per cent compared to last year. Continuing to deliver measurable value for attendees, confirmed business meetings also rose by a phenomenal 17 per cent in 2024, with 34,082 pre- scheduled meetings facilitated, in contrast to the 29,075 that took place last year. Hunger for change Leading conversations that will shape the travel and tourism industry throughout 2025, WTM London focussed on ‘Travelpower’ and how attendees, including tourism boards, hoteliers, transport services, technology brands, associations and experiences, can use their platforms for positive change. Reflecting this, the show’s exhilarating conference programme saw more than 200 world-class speakers deliver over 70 insightful sessions built around the topics of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion (DEAI), Geo-Economics, …

The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has successfully concluded its participation in the 43rd World Travel Market (WTM) in London. The three-day event, which attracted thousands of professionals from the global travel and tourism industry, helped SCTDA to reinforce Sharjah’s position as a rapidly growing destination for international tourists. WTM 2024 provided SCTDA with a prime platform to highlight its diverse and rich tourism offerings to a diverse audience of industry professionals, particularly those from Europe, which represents a significant and growing tourism market for Sharjah. His Excellency Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA, highlighted the strategic importance of the EU market to Sharjah’s tourism ambitions. “With almost 350,000 European tourists visiting Sharjah this year, which accounts for 7% increase from last year this shows that the Europe continues to be a vital market for us. We anticipate even stronger growth by the end of 2024, driven by our active engagement in platforms such as WTM.” At a well-attended press conference held at WTM on November 7, SCTDA unveiled significant advancements in the emirate’s tourism infrastructure alongside new hospitality projects that promise to enhance Sharjah’s appeal as a destination of choice for cultural, leisure, and adventure tourism. Key highlights included the Sharjah Safari, the largest safari park outside Africa, and the Moon Retreat, an innovative desert glamping experience, which offers a new concept and style of accommodation experiences amidst nature. “Sharjah Tourism” will also highlight the natural and topographical diversity that characterizes Sharjah’s tourism product, ranging from cultural, leisure, environmental, and beach experiences to adventures, alongside hotel accommodation experiences. These projects underscore the emirate’s commitment to expanding its offerings and products in the fields of eco and adventure …

Developing accessible tourism facilities and activities “makes business sense”, World Travel Market London delegates heard. Ryan Smith, the founder of The Access Agency, said investing in the accessible sector can generate $13 for every dollar spent. He said 25% of inbound tourists to Australia have access needs, adding: “If you do it well, you are not leaving people behind, and you are not leaving money on the table. We are a loyal cohort, we stay longer and go in shoulder seasons. The industry is a bit slow to catch up…but it will eventually catch up.” He told the WTM diversity, equality, accessibility, inclusion and intersectionality (DEAI) summit about how attitudes to disability, government policies, technology and representation are improving, adding: “You can see people with disability in media, in boardrooms. I think that stigma is really starting to become reduced.” He highlighted how adaptive equipment can help wheelchair users to explore the great outdoors, citing examples in his native Australia and his travels to places such as Machu Picchu in Peru. Furthermore, public bodies in Australia are developing accessible beaches and a directory listing more than 70 such sites, which offer beach padding for wheelchairs and special types of wheelchairs. Other facilities include “discovery tents” and all-terrain wheelchairs in Victoria. “If I was a tour operator or developing a tourism product…I would certainly be thinking about how I might integrate this into my offering,” he said. Queensland has designated 2023-24 as the year of accessible tourism, ahead of Brisbane hosting the Paralympics 2032, which has seen more funding for outdoor inclusive and accessible experiences. “We are seeing the private sector start to lean into this as well,” he said, pointing …

Trip.com Group is globally committed to a customer-centric approach highlighting the technology to empower it, as a key to travel’s future. Boon Sian Chai, Managing Director and Vice President, International Markets, Trip.com Group, took the stage as the keynote speaker for the Technology Track taking place at World Travel Market London. Chai’s perspective on customer-centricity was put into context by the moderator Timothy O’Neil Dunne, who told the packed auditorium that what they were about to hear about “[is] not pie in the sky stuff, this is live, in operation, today.” Artificial intelligence underpins most of Trip.com Group’s innovations. He mentioned initiatives including: Trip.Best, a tool that provides personalized hotels, destination, restaurants, and experiences recommendations based on analysing over 100 million user reviews and TripGenie, an AI travel assistant capable of crafting itineraries and answering queries, which has served about 3 million users and elevated engagement. Chai also talked about Hotel + X, a product which allows hoteliers to promote their property on Trip.com as a holistic experience by allowing them to upsell the unique features of the property or its location as a “rooms-plus” package. The 8,000 hotels who have signed up for the product are seeing an average increase of 30% in their ADR, he said. Trip.com Group is taking a global approach to its innovation roadmap, with localisation capabilities built in. Chai noted that travellers in Europe have a greater interest in sustainability, so Trip.com’s points of sale in Europe can surface sustainability information during the search stage and provide recommendations. Conversely in the Middle East, delivering the correct tone of voice of the many languages needed to serve the region’s travellers is essential. Chai also hinted …

Sustainable and regenerative tourism was in the spotlight on the second day of World Travel Market London, along with other key issues such as diversity and digital marketing. Speakers at WTM London’s first Regenerative Tourism Summit said the travel and tourism sector needs to see a “paradigm shift”. Tina O’Dwyer, WTM London’s Sustainability Advisor, asked delegates: “Are we brave enough to leave behind a paradigm that has worked well for us in the past?” Anna Pollock, Founder of Conscious Travel, highlighted warnings from the World Trade Organisation of a “polycrisis” – a cluster of global risks, including the climate crisis, adding: “Sustainability is not enough.” Other speakers showcased how regenerative tourism is helping revive and support destinations, including peat bogs in Ireland, Loch Ness, Majorca and Flanders. Sustainability was also a major theme for the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO). Andreas Fiorentinos, GNTO Secretary General, said the country is poised for another record setting year in 2024, with projected arrivals reaching approximately 35 million tourists, and total revenue expected to rise by 10% to about €22 billion – “driven by a robust increase in international arrivals and a growing emphasis on sustainability”. He pointed to developments such as an eco-islands initiative in the Aegean and investment in other sectors such as mountain tourism, hiking trails and ski resorts to help spread tourist arrivals across the seasons. Developing accessible tourism facilities and activities “makes business sense”, delegates heard at the WTM diversity, equality, accessibility, inclusion and intersectionality (DEAI) summit. Ryan Smith, the founder of The Access Agency, said investing in the accessible sector can generate $13 for every dollar spent. He said the public and private sectors are developing more facilities …

The partnership with World Travel Market, 6-8th November, will turn the spotlight on Morocco. The Premier Partnership announcement comes as Morocco experiences growth in its tourism activity, aiming to double the number of incoming tourists to 26 million by 2030, elevating Morocco as a leading leisure destination to the world’s travel trade. It is already known that Morocco’s presence at World Travel Market London will focus on the “Morocco, Kingdom of Light” international campaign of the Moroccan National Tourism Office. Launched in April 2022, this campaign was designed to inspire a new generation of traveller, showcasing the attractions and experiences of a “contemporary and dynamic” nation. World Travel Market, the most influential travel and tourism event in the world, provides the perfect opportunity for Morocco to demonstrate its efforts in joining the league of highly favoured destinations. Morocco’s relationship with WTM spans far beyond Premier Partner of the flagship London event, as the destination has also seen tremendous success participating in ATM, ILTM, IBTM, IFTM, and IGTM. The Moroccan National Tourism Office is relying on commercial events to boost the activity of all Moroccan tourism professionals. Adel El Fakir, General Director of the Moroccan National Tourism Office, said “Our presence at WTM London will be an excellent showcase to further boost the attractiveness of the Moroccan tourism destination. We will thus be in the heart of the action when tourism professionals from around the world come up with new products for 2024 and beyond, and we will also be at the forefront in terms of communication and promotion of the country.” Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director at World Travel Market London, said “We are thrilled to announce Morocco as Premier Partner …

WTM London and ITIC will come up together to host a tourism investment summit that will help recover businesses and restore travellers’ confidence after the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference aims to explain the financial mechanisms that allow travel companies to recover and rebuild. Investment experts will also give guidelines on how to prepare for any other future global disaster. Dr. Taleb Rifai, Chairman of ITIC and former Secretary-General of UNWTO said, “It is a great honour and a privilege for ITIC to partner with WTM, the greatest and most impactful Tourism Trade Show in the world. It will focus to prepare a comprehensive tourism recovery plan, to rebuild destinations, encourage innovation and investment, and rethink the tourism sector”. Ibrahim Ayoub, Group CEO, MD and Organiser of ITIC said, “We are thrilled to partner with WTM for our third tourism investment conference where Ministers, Policy Makers, Tourism Leaders and Projects Owners will engage with Investors and Private Equity firms to discuss and explore new financial mechanisms and alliances in sustainable investments in the industry and readying for market recovery in the post COVID-19 era”. Simon Press says, “Our virtual event provides us with the opportunity to work closely with the global travel professionals and ensure we can support the industry in recovering, rebuilding and innovating as quickly and efficiently as possible. “WTM Virtual will embrace travel professional’s communities around the globe. We’re very excited to provide to our clients and visitors the opportunity to attend both shows: live and virtual this year”.

WTM London and Travel Forward are working closely with partners and experts to ensure a safe and successful experience at ExCeL London from 2-4 November, 2020. Detailed plans are being made for every aspect of the shows, which is set to be one of the first major exhibitions to take place globally since the COVID-19 pandemic started.The preparations were given a boost earlier this month when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the green light for conferences and exhibitions to resume in October. WTM London’s Senior Director Simon Press announced the live shows’ highlights during a virtual press conference which combined more than 200 pre-registered journalists and digital influencers from nearly 30 countries. Simon Press also revealed the details regarding WTM Virtual event, which is taking place virtually from 10-11 November 2020 to embrace travel professionals from all over the globe, especially the ones who can’t attend the live event due to travel restrictions. UNWTO, WTTC & WTM Ministers’ Summit Expands into New Territories Tourism leaders from around the world will once again come together for the Ministers’ Summit – the largest annual meeting of tourism ministers – at WTM London to set out a roadmap for a safer, greener and smarter future for the sector. Given the unprecedented scale of the challenge facing tourism, the UNWTO and WTM will partner with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which is representing the global travel and tourism private sector at the event for the first time in its history, making it the UNWTO, WTTC & WTM Ministers’ Summit. The summit will feature a day-long think-tank on Monday 2nd November during WTM London.

The final day of WTM London 2017 concluded with WTM Festivals, allowing visitors to experience the culture, hospitality and cuisine of the Caribbean, Tokyo, Indonesia, Ecuador, Bulgaria, Ghana, Senegal and Brazil. Pertinent issues such as Brexit, overtourism and development were debated among the tourism ministers’ agenda. The annual UNWTO and WTM Ministers Summit debated strategies to cope with overtourism, which is threatening the tourism trade in destinations such as Barcelona, Venice and Amsterdam. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO, said there have been many protests against overtourism in 2017, with slogans such as “tourists go home” and “tourists are terrorists.” He warned, “We cannot continue to build five-star hotels in three-star communities. We need to diversify visitors’ activities, reduce seasonality and raise awareness of less busy destinations.” WTM brought together the leadership of the International Hotel Investment Forum and WTM London’s expertise to create an exclusive platform for ministers and investors in travel destination development. Keith Evans, Vice President Hotels, Starwood Capital, highlighted Greece’s potential, “There’s a good strong fundamental tour infrastructure; Greece is setting itself up as a market that has an interesting few years ahead.”

TIME Hotels unveiled its first resort at WTM London with the launch of TIME Beach Villas Resort in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Opening its doors in December 2017, the resort will comprise 61 units with detailed Arabic architecture encompassing a full reflection of authentic Gulf design. Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, TIME Hotels, said, “This resort has been built with both corporate and leisure visitors in mind. It is perfect for long staying corporate guests as well as short stay family getaways. We, at TIME Hotels, have an in-depth understanding of these market segments, how to add value and drive in business.” Located close to the beach and at a 20 minutes’ drive from Jeddah International Airport and city centre, the midrange resort will offer fitness and leisure facilities, high-speed WiFi, LED televisions in all rooms along with concierge and business services.