World Travel Market

Affectionately called WTM, World Travel Market opens at ExCeL London on Monday 7 November and lasts for three days.  

Across all areas of the exhibition floor, new faces will be present, as well as familiar ones. There are more than 3,000+ exhibitors confirmed, more than 70 of which are making their WTM London debut.

Nothing has been officially announced at the time of this writing but it is expected that the new Minister of Tourism, Life Peer Lord Syed Kamal, will be amongst the early visitors. 

The former Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences Minister was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive, UKhospitality, said: “We welcome Lord Syed Kamall to his new role as Minister for Tourism – our third largest export earner – and look forward to working with him and DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] to implement the Tourism Recovery Plan to boost the sector and generate jobs, growth and investment at pace”.

Some of the highest-profile new participants can be found in the ‘International Hub’ region of the show, with global representatives from hotel giants such as Hilton and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. International Hub will for the first time host bed-bank Yalago – part of the Emirates Group, transport rental firm OK Mobility and destination management company Intrepid.

Public, private and hybrid destination management companies and tourist boards are making their presence felt at this year’s event. Organisers are particularly pleased to welcome back the Brazilian tourist board Embratur, with other returnees representing destinations as diverse as Kyrgyzstan and Rwanda.

First-time destination-driven exhibitors include the Association of Ugandan Tour Operators and representatives from the Azadi International Tourism Organization, showcasing hotels, eco safaris, villages and climbing tours available in Iran.

Elsewhere, there will be a greater presence this year from the more established leisure destinations such as the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal. The UK and Ireland stand will be twice the size of last year, hosting more than 50 partners and reflecting the continuing interest in the UK and Ireland as a staycation destination and its appeal for inbound visitors.

This year’s technology hall will include for the first time Sojern, one of the world’s leading travel-specific marketing platforms. UK-based Vamp, which helps travel companies work with influencers, and US-based car rental aggregator Sofiac are among the dozen or so technology businesses also testing the WTM London waters.

WTM London will this year have a number of specific initiatives designed to help buyers get the most out of their time at ExCeL London. The ever-popular speed networking event takes place on the first two days of the show (Monday 7 November and Tuesday 8 November) from 08:30 to 10:00. A dedicated lounge will be available to The Buyers Club, and buyers will have access to WTM Connect Me – a platform to schedule meetings ahead of arrival.

With the new Elizabeth Line (see in this month’s TNU) for the first time ExCeL London will be directly linked to Heathrow. London City Airport is a five-minute taxi ride away.  Via the Dockland Light Railway (DLR) Canning Town provides London Underground access, as does Bank, Tower Gateway and Stratford stations, plus a number of intermediate stops.  The Elizabeth Line also connects at Liverpool Street and Paddington for mainline trains, and at Whitechapel for both Overground and Underground.

www.wtm.com

SPECIAL NOTE

On Monday 7 November and Wednesday 9 November, the RMT union has voted to strike on National Rail, meaning their services into Central London will run on a drastically reduced timetable.

However, Transport for London (TfL) services – including London Underground, London Overground, the DLR and the newly opened Elizabeth Line, will operate as normal on this date.

Check on www.tfl.gov.uk or use the 'TfL Go' app.

Index/Home page
 

READERS' COMMENT

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 200 words maximum

No one has commented yet, why don't you start the ball rolling?