A prestigious new awards scheme which celebrates the best of travel and tourism around the world has today (March 2) opened nominations for its categories.
The International Travel & Tourism Awards, presented by WTM London, is a first-of-its-kind event that will recognise the success of national, regional and city tourist boards as well as outstanding private sector companies and individuals.
The Awards will feature 13 categories, with twelve judged by an independent panel of leading experts and senior figures in each sector. The final award for outstanding contribution to the industry nominated by WTM London Media Partners will be the ultimate finale to these show-stopping awards, which will take place at a glittering awards ceremony in London on 6 November.
The illustrious awards scheme is being officially unveiled on 22 March 2018 at Awards partner London & Partners headquarters, with an invited audience of senior travel and tourism professionals.
They will hear how the awards will be the first to celebrate travel and tourism success on such a global scale, and will showcase the best tourist boards, marketing campaigns, individuals and companies.
More than 500 senior industry executives, including government ministers, will attend the impressive awards ceremony at Tobacco Dock, a few stops on the Docklands Light Railway from WTM London’s ExCeL venue. Busses will also transport WTM London delegates to the awards ceremony.
A famous London landmark, Tobacco Dock is a Grade I-listed warehouse built in 1811 serving primarily as a store for imported tobacco. It now offers stunning timber beams and beautiful architecture, making it the perfect location for this stylish ceremony.
The awards will be co-chaired by UNWTO Sandra Carvao, Chief of Communications and Publications and Reed Travel Exhibitions Director Nick Pilbeam. Judges will be from top tourism and industry bodies and organisations including Euromonitor International and public relations body PRCA.
“UNWTO is pleased to partner with WTM in this new initiative. An Award is a recognition of value and an incentive to do better and we trust the International Travel & Tourism Awards will inspire the tourism sector to aim higher in order to become ever more competitive and sustainable,” Sandra Carvao, Chief, Communications, UNWTO.
Steve Miller, Membership & Partnerships Director from PRCA & ICCO, added: “The PRCA is proud to support the inaugural International Travel and Tourism Awards, particularly as PR has its own category to recognise excellence in this field.”
Different categories will be judged by experts in those sectors, such as the Global Wellness Institute, World Food Travel Association and Out Now Consulting.
International Travel & Tourism Awards, co-founder, Paul Nelson said: “We are delighted to officially open nominations for the new International Travel & Tourism Awards, presented by WTM.
“With such a distinguished independent panel of respected judges, the winners will know they truly represent the best in their class.
“Entries and nominations will come from right across the world, so the honours will be a definitive global guide to the top professionals in every sector.”
International Travel & Tourism Awards, co-founder, Charlotte Alderslade, added: “The ITTAs offer an unrivaled marketing and PR opportunity as part of the week of WTM London.
“The awards will quickly become a fixture in the industry calendar and a stamp of excellence for the trade and holidaymakers alike.”
Categories:
Best national tourism board campaign/DMO campaign
Best tourism marketing agency
Best regional/city campaign
Outstanding contribution to the industry
Best food destination
Most innovative use of technology within a destination
Best digital campaign in tourism
Best digital influencer in the industry
Best wellness destination
Best responsible tourism destination
Best adventure tourism destination
Best LGBT destination
Best PR campaign
For more details visit awards.wtm.com
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises six leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The events are:
WTM Latin America, now in its sixth edition, attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates about US$374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 7,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 3-5 April 2018 – Sao Paulo.
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 5-7 November 2018 – London.
T>F Travel Forward is a new travel technology event co-located with WTM London 2018 and part of the WTM portfolio of events. The inaugural T>F Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer programme will take place on 5 – 7 November 2018 at ExCeL London, showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality.
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/. Next event: 18-20 April 2018 – Cape Town.
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2017 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5 billion over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM will showcase more than 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 25-year history. http://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com/ www.wtmworld.com. Next event: 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. Taking place annually since 1998, IGTM brings together more than 500 golf tourism suppliers and 400 pre-qualified buyers for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments and exclusive networking opportunities. Showcasing a different golf destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from more than 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 15-18 October 2018 – Slovenia.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.