Exhibitors from nearly 20 European countries have signed up for WTM London, to seal lucrative business deals as the world opens up for travel again.
WTM London’s physical show will take place at ExCeL London on Monday, November 1-Wednesday, November 3, 2021, to be followed by WTM Virtual (November 8-9).
One of the largest European contingents will be from Spain, including tourist boards representing regions such as Catalonia, Murcia, Balearic Islands, and the Canaries; brands such as TUI Espana and Jumbo Tours Espana; and attractions such as Loro Parque in Tenerife.
Other major destinations include the national tourist boards from Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Tourism Ireland.
There are also exhibitors from popular tourist hotspots such as France, Greece, Corfu, Malta, Holland, Brussels, Cyprus, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia.
Dorota Wojciechowska, Polish National Tourist Office’s New UK and Ireland Director, said:
“The Polish travel industry is inspired to make travel happen again and we want to be a part of that journey by taking part in this year’s World Travel Market.
“It’s vital for us to meet face-to-face with our British partners and renew our business relationships as we look to recover.
“We are looking forward to welcoming back all foreign tourists, particularly those arriving from the UK, which is one of the reasons why I’m delighted that we’ll be promoting our key cities and regions, along with Polish tour operators, at WTM in London.”
Luis Araujo, President of Turismo de Portugal, said:
“We are delighted to be attending WTM this year – it is a fantastic opportunity to meet tour operators, media, buyers, and other delegates and promote Portugal’s diverse offering.
“Portugal and the Portuguese continue to have all the attributes and competencies that took us to the top, so the ambition remains: to lead the tourism of the future.
“The time has come to move forward and lead the way again, it is time to be, to leave the pause and press play, recalling the unique and emotional value of travelling.”
More than two million Brits visited Portugal in 2019, along with 16 million foreign European tourists.
Jeroen Roppe, a spokesperson for visit.brussels, said the tourist board was exhibiting “to show the world that Brussels is open”.
He added: “We are eager to give our partners opportunities to meet clients.”
Roppe said hotel occupancy rates in the Belgian capital plunged to less than 2% amid the pandemic but the sector has been recovering, largely thanks to French and German visitors.
The UK market saw 450,000 overnight visits in 2019, making it the sixth most important source for Brussels, which is just two hours away from London on Eurostar.
Being at WTM London will enable stand partners to confirm contracts and make new contacts with professionals from around the world, Roppe added.
Darija Reic, Director at Croatian National Tourism Board – UK Representative office, said:
“At this year’s WTM London, we look forward to meeting with our travel trade partners, and potential new ones, as well as discussing new ways of working together on making Croatia even more attractive and accessible to UK travellers.
“A total of 4.3 million tourists visited Croatia in August 2021, which is an increase of 59% on 2020 and 86% of the result from August 2019.
“Our figures are being quite positive so far and I’m sure WTM London will help us promote Croatia even more”.
Simon Press, WTM London & Travel Forward Exhibition Director, said:
“We’re excited to welcome back so many European exhibitors at WTM as the travel industry rebuilds.
“They represent a wide cross-section of the trade, including tourist boards, hotel companies, destination management companies and more – all eager to create new partnerships and reaffirm existing relationships as we all prepare for recovery.
“Our exhibitor packages offer the best of both worlds as exhibitors will have a stand at ExCeL London as well as a global presence the following week, so they can rebuild connections with established contacts and generate fresh leads from around the world.”
- Ends
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals. The 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 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating over £3.71 billion in travel industry contracts. In 2020, WTM Virtual facilitated 20,000+ meetings and held 42 live content sessions over the 3-days show.
Next live event: Monday 1 to 3 November 2021 at ExCel London
Next WTM Virtual: Monday 8 to 9 November 2021 – Virtual
Travel Forward is the leading travel technology event, co-located with WTM London. Travel Forward is renowned for showcasing the next-generation technologies for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Over 19,000 travel officials and 150+ innovative solution providers attend for 3 days of cutting-edge insights, open debate and unrivalled networking opportunities. The combination of a 2-day conference, interactive exhibition and start-up showcase makes Travel Forward truly unique.
Next live event: Monday 1 November to Wednesday 3 November 2021 at ExCel London
Next Travel Forward Virtual: Monday 8 November to Tuesday 9 November 2021 – Virtual
London Travel Week, brought to you by WTM London, is the one-stop-shop for event hosts and visitors to be able to shape the next 12 months of travel together. The festival of events supports the global travel and tourism industry through capturing invaluable news and enhancing industry connections.
Next event: Friday 29 October – Friday 5 November 2021
https://londontravelweek.wtm.com/
WTM Virtual, is the WTM Portfolio virtual platform, created to offer global delegates the chance to arrange one-to-one virtual meetings, to do business, attend conference sessions and roundtables, take part in speed networking and more. WTM Virtual embrace the global leading travel shows in one platform.
WTM Latin America takes place annually in São Paulo and attracts around 19,000 tourism professionals during a three-day event. The show offers qualified content, as well as networking and business opportunities. In its ninth edition – the first 100% virtual – WTM Latin America followed its focus on effective business generation and reached the milestone of 4,200 meetings held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors.
Next event: Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 April 2022 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 6,000 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.
Next event: Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 April 2022 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/
Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 29th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2021 showcased over 1,300 exhibiting companies from 62 countries across nine halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, with visitors from more than 140 countries over the four days. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #IdeasArriveHere
Next in-person event: Sunday 8 to Wednesday 11 May 2022, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2022. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes ATM Virtual, ILTM Arabia, Arival Dubai, Influencers’ events and activations, as well as Travel Forward. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as a series of country summits.
https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
WTM Global Hub, is the new WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub. https://hub.wtm.com/
About RX (Reed Exhibitions)
RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organisations. We elevate the power of face to face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.rxglobal.com
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RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.*
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