Once again, the global travel and tourism industry will congregate at ExCel London for World Travel Market (WTM). The show which is turning 40 this year will welcome 50,000 participants as well as 5000 exhibitors from over 180 countries to join in the celebrations.

WTM London 2018 facilitated a record £3.4 billion in travel industry deals surpassing the figure of £3.1 billion from 2017. The global travel and tourism industry continues to grow with more than 1.4 billion trips predicted to take place globally in 2019, with the number projected to rise to 1.8 billion by 2030. WTM London 2018 reflected this growth with an increase in visitors of more than 4 per cent with the event seeing a total of 88,742 visits.

As there will be no changes in visa policies for people entering the UK following a deal or no-deal Brexit – it is anticipated that global buyer applications will exceed those of last year when there were over 9000 buyers. As part of the new and improved WTM London Buyers’ Club, the top 600 industry buyers have been extended invitations to attend. These buyers have achieved this position due to their reputation, place of business and buyer spending power.

The winners of the second edition of International Travel & Tourism Awards (ITTA), presented by WTM and supported by the UNWTO, will be announced on November 5 to an audience of more than 500 leading industry figures during a prestigious awards ceremony at Magazine London, a brand new event space, located just a stone’s throw away from ExCeL. India Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism and Kerala Tourism have made it to the shortlist. Let’s hope the evening turns out well for the delegation from India.

Don’t forget to check out ‘Travel Forward’ showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality or the WTM conferences where a host of high profile speakers, including Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic; Christopher Thompson, President & CEO, Brand USA and Majed M Alghanim, MD, Tourism & Quality of Life, Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority will be present.
Destination Reporter is an official media partner of WTM London and director & executive editor Athul Lal will be on the ground to bring you all the updates.

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Categories: Editor's Note

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