The launch of London Travel Week, which took place from Friday 1 to Thursday 7 November 2019, was a great success as destinations, brands and tourism organisations came together to shape the next twelve months of travel.
More than 50,000 travel professionals flocked to London to take part in London Travel Week’s most well-known and prestigious event, WTM London, as well as attend the numerous other industry events that took place in Britain’s capital.
The events that formed the inaugural London Travel Week included over 25 conferences, seminars, parties, award ceremonies, product launches and networking evenings, positioning London as a true a world-class travel hub.
The International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) kicked off the week of events, with their annual two-day conference, bringing together international leaders in the tourism, travel and hospitality sectors and connecting them with investors, project developers, entrepreneurs, Government Ministers and policy makers.
The Henan Tourism Bureau held a gala in celebration of the Chinese province on Monday 4 November. The event included a seminar highlighting the growing tourism interest in Henan as well as the rich cultural and historical offerings for travellers that are present in the region.
Later that evening, London Travel Week attendees had the chance to join a B2B workshop organised by Respond on Demand to meet Greek tourism companies. While sipping on delicious cocktails, participants could network with hotels, tour operators and regional tourist boards from the iconic Mediterranean country and further business relations.
Visit Rwanda used London Travel Week as a chance to invite international tour operators, buyers and press to a special networking evening with leaders from the Rwandan Tourism Industry on Tuesday 5 November. The evening was hosted by Rwanda’s Chief Tourism Officer Belise Kariza and featured a cultural dance performance, engagement opportunities with travel experts from Rwanda and a screening of the new film, Rwanda Royal Tour. The event was a huge success and illustrated London Travel Week as the perfect forum for showcasing global tourism prospects.
Belize Kariza said of the event: “Rwanda’s participation at WTM London was incredibly fruitful and gave our world class local tour operators the chance to meet and create business ties with international travel trade.
“Our event, ‘An Evening with Visit Rwanda’ highlighted the country’s many and varied tourist attractions – from jet skiing on Lake Kivu to Big Five safaris – and was the perfect platform to foster business between travel trade and Rwandan operators. We look forward to returning for London Travel Week in 2020, which promises to be bigger and better than ever!”
Tuesday night saw one of the most glamorous events in the London Travel Week calendar take place as WTM London presented the second edition of the International Travel and Tourism Awards (ITTAs) at Magazine, London. The ITTAs celebrated the leading public and private bodies of the tourism industry across sixteen separate categories with independent judges choosing the winners of these prestigious awards.
Wednesday night provided another chance to celebrate during London Travel Week as TTG hosted their annual WTM Closing Party. The event was designed to bring together travel buyers, sellers, operators, airlines and the rest of the trade that had taken part in WTM London helping to celebrate its successes. It proved to be a great night for all and a fantastic way to celebrate what had been another brilliant WTM London.
The inaugural London Travel Week demonstrated a wide array of new business opportunities for all in the travel industry to utilise. Julie Thérond, Lead for London Travel Week said: “We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from the global travel & tourism industry, including event hosts and attendees.
“By broadcasting the events happening around WTM London, we empowered our visitors and encouraged connections beyond their existing networks. We are delighted by the very successful launch of London Travel Week and we are even more excited to see how the programme develops with London Travel Week promising to be even bigger and better next year.”