The winners of this year’s best stand awards at WTM London have been announced, with the judges pleased to see several exhibitors ringing the changes.
Best Stand Design was won this year by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ME200, ME201 and ME204), for a space that successfully blends old and new. Features include a woman weaving a carpet and a virtual reality buggy ride for visitors to try.
“It really shows the breadth of the country,” said Exhibition News senior reporter Nicola Macdonald. “No matter what angle you approached from there was something to see.” The stand was also functional with a good business area, the judges felt.
The Greek National Tourism Organisation’s revamped stand (EU1200, EU1250) won Best for Business. “It is modern, with a good mix of networking and meeting spaces where you can sit and have a one-to-one,” said Intuitive Design director Russell Smith. “There is a good layout with space to mingle and have drinks and also booths with dividers that still feel approachable.”
Best New Stand was won by DMC company AC Group (GV655) who the judges felt had made good use of limited space. “It is contemporary in design, quite boutique and tactile,” said Smith. Macdonald added, “it is inviting as it’s very open and looked quite welcoming.”
A giant stooping over a bench to provide a fun selfie opportunity won Tourism Ireland (UK1400) the accolade Best Stand Feature. “It’s a feature that has relevance,” pointed out Tourism Research and Marketing partner Bill Richards, as a mock up of part of famous attraction the Giant’s Causeway lies underfoot.
“We find Europe often assumes we know the country, so stands can look very similar to each other, so Ireland here is trying to do something different,” said Beryl Preuschmann of Triporganiser.net.
Simplicity proved the winning ingredient for Fortymee Ltd (TT237), which won this year’s Best Stand Within the Travel Tech Show.
The company’s products include a new smart wristband which alerts people on excursions that they are due back and tells the tour guide who is missing, their contact details and picture. The stand displays the gadgets and also runs a video showing the system in action.
“With technology stands it’s usually hard to see what they do,” said Preuschmann. “As a tour guide, if I was on a cruise ship where we had to have them out and back within two hours, I’d use it,” she added.
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises of five leading B2B events across four continents generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The five events are;
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 51,500 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media embark on ExCeL – London every November generating around £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 6-8 Nov 2017 – London.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) now in its 20th edition, is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. More than 600 golf tourism suppliers join 350 pre-qualified buyers and 100 international press for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments, exclusive networking opportunities and invaluable industry and trend updates. Taking place in a different destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from over 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 11-14 Dec 2017 – Cannes.
World Travel Market Latin America now in its fifth edition attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates US$ 370 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.
World Travel Market 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.
About 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$2.5bn over the four days. The 24th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 24-year history. www.arabiantravelmarketwtm.com Next event 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
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 over 500 events a year, in more than 30 countries, attracting more than 7m participants.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s 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 it is 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 over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.