World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is marking its 35th event by celebrating the industry’s achievements since 1980 and looking forward to future success with a new sessions and awards ceremony.
World Travel Leaders at WTM will take place on the WTM Global Stage on Wednesday 5 November from 4pm and will celebrate the industry’s achievements during the event’s lifetime and predict how holidaymakers will travel in the future.
World Travel Market launched in 1980 and has grown to be THE event where the industry conducts its business deals. WTM 2013 saw more than 50,000 senior industry executives attend signing business deals worth more than £2.2 billion.
A high-level panel of industry leading executives including;
- British Airways, Chief Commercial Officer, Drew Crawley
TUI, Deputy Chief Executive, Johan Lundgren
Hilton Worldwide, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Digital, Geraldine Calpin
Carlson Wagonlit, Senior Director, Solutions Group EMEA, Travel, Geraldine Valenti
Will debate how the industry will evolve and improve over the next 35 years, with a particular focus on the European inbound and outbound markets.
The panel will then be followed by the World Travel Leaders Awards (formerly the WTM Global Awards) to recognise those individuals and organisations that have contributed the most to the global travel and tourism industry over the lifetime of WTM. The 12 awards are shortlisted by WTM’s leading media partners, with the winners chosen by an elite judging panel comprising of senior industry leaders.
To continue with the celebrations of WTM’s 35th event, WTM 2014 will stay open for an extra two hours to 8pm on the Wednesday evening, giving exhibitors the opportunity to showcase the culture and vibrancy of their destinations at the WTM Festivals.
Exhibitors already signed up to showcase their destinations on the Wednesday evening include VISITFLANDERS – WTM’s Premier Partner – as they will be commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Great War and The Caribbean Tourism Organisation with their Caribbean themed street party.
World Travel Market, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “The industry has evolved and changed almost beyond recognition over the past three and half decades, with the advent of the internet, self-packaging and no-frills carriers among the many changes taking place.
“The next 35 years I’m sure will see an even greater pace of change. The World Travel Leaders at WTM will showcase the successes of the past 35 years through the awards, while also predicting the next three and half decades with a lively, high-level and thought-provoking panel session.”
World Travel Leaders at WTM is organised by Gisby East.
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
More than 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, now in its 35th year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM 2013 generated more than £2 billion of travel industry contracts, revealed independent research by Fusion Communications.
WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a other portfolio’s of travel industry events including IBTM Events, the world’s leading showcases for the meetings and events industry and International Luxury Travel Market events.
In 2013, RE held more than 500 events in 40 countries bringing together more than six million people from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 21 international events in 14 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.
Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf, ski and spa travel.
RTE is part of Reed Exhibitions.