Organisers of World Travel Market London have hailed the remarkable performances of sister events in April and May, saying their achievements have laid the groundwork for a successful trade show in London.
WTM Latin America 2022 – held in Brazil from 5-7 April – was the biggest edition of the event ever held.
It was swiftly followed by WTM Africa 2022, held from 11-13 April in South Africa, which hosted more pre-scheduled appointments than in 2019.
And last month saw Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, during which visitor numbers reached 23,000 – more than double the last edition.
With the strapline “Reshaping Travel Together”, World Travel Market London will be a fully live event, taking place at ExCeL London from 7-9 November; showcasing how the sector has evolved and how to embrace the opportunities of a post-pandemic world.
Vasyl Zhygalo, WTM and IBTM Portfolio Director, said:
“The great successes seen at WTM Latin America, WTM Africa and ATM show there is enormous demand from travel trade professionals around the world to meet face-to-face – to do business, network and learn about opportunities as the sector recovers and, in many cases, surges past 2019 levels.
“Those outstanding events are a superb springboard for us to make WTM London 2022 better than ever.”
Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director at World Travel Market London, said: “The feedback we have received from exhibitors and visitors regarding our spring events demonstrate the desire to re-engage face to face, as the travel industry builds back better.’’
“We can see how some of our latest technological developments helped delegates make the most of their time and enabled them to network effectively, delivering meaningful return on time investment’’
“World Travel Market London in 2021 generated such positive reactions from the travel community and we’re looking forward to building on that in November this year.
“We are now focused on working with industry partners around the globe to deliver an event that leads the way in reshaping travel, and supports the sector in creating a sustainable and robust future.”
Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME for ATM, said innovation, sustainability, technology and nurturing talent were key themes during the four-day event in Dubai last month.
“In addition to doubling our visitor numbers year-on-year, ATM 2022 hosted 1,500 exhibitors and attendees from 150 countries,” she said.
“These figures are especially impressive given lockdowns still taking place in China and other destinations.”
WTM Latin America 2022, held in São Paulo, attracted 20,000 travel professionals over the three-day show.
Excluding professionals from the 565 exhibiting companies, there were 15,204 visitors – up by 10% on numbers seen in 2019.
Simon Mayle, Director at WTM Latin America, commented: “The 2022 edition established itself as one of the most important ones in the event’s history, which also reinforces the signs of a positive outlook for tourism.”
Themes explored during the show included diversity and inclusion, responsible tourism and travel technology – and there were training and practical information sessions for agents and buyers.
WTM Africa 2022 facilitated more than 7,000 unique pre-scheduled appointments (both
online and in person), up by more than 7% compared to 2019.
Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director: Travel, Tourism, and Creative Industries, RX
Africa, said: “The 2022 edition of WTM Africa and Africa Travel Week was the first inbound and outbound travel trade show of this magnitude held on the African continent since the
outbreak of the pandemic in 2022.
“The undeniable success of the show, as reflected in the preliminary numbers, is a clear indication that the industry was in desperate need of a face-to-face platform to reconnect, conclude deals and kickstart the recovery of the industry.”
The event featured 187 speakers and more than 63 content sessions which highlighted important topics such as inclusivity, diversity, travel technology and investment.
- ENDS
Photography from our previous shows are available on the following link: https://wtm.mediafiler.net/wtm/start/index
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents. 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. The show facilitates business connections for the global (leisure) travel community. Senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating travel industry contracts.
Next live event: Monday 7 to 9 November 2022 at ExCel London
Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 30th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2022 attracted over 23,000 visitors and hosted over 30,000 participants including 1,500 exhibitors and attendees from 150 countries, across 10 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
Next in-person event: Monday 1 to Thursday 4 May 2023, 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 2023. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes ILTM Arabia, ARIVAL Dubai, Influencers’ events and activations, ITIC, GBTA Business Travel Forums, as well as ATM Travel Tech. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as a series of country forums.
https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
WTM Latin America takes place annually in the city of São Paulo and attracts around 20,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers qualified content together with networking and business opportunities. In this its ninth edition – there have been eight face-to-face events along with a 100% virtual one, which was held in 2021 – WTM Latin America continued to focus on effective business generation, and achieved the advance booking of six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors in 2022.
Next event: Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 April 2023 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2022, WTM Africa facilitated more than 7 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 7% compared to 2019 and welcomed more than 6 thousand visitors (unaudited), the same number as in 2019.
Next event: Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 April 2023 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/
About ATW Connect: Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel, LGBTQ+ travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
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
RELX About RELX
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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