- Total of 43,727 attended WTM London 2023;Number of exhibitors rose to 3,875;
- The event hosted 4,560 qualified buyers and 29,077 pre-booked meetings;
- 99,355 business connections were recorded using new digital tools;
- WTM London 2024 will run from Tuesday 5th - Thursday 7th November;
World Travel Market London 2023 – the world’s most influential travel & tourism event – saw attendance numbers rise by more than a fifth year on year.
The three-day event took place from Monday 6th – Wednesday 8th November, with 43,727 attendees – an increase of 22% on the 35,826 who attended in 2022.
The event hosted 4,560 qualified buyers, and facilitated 29,077 pre-booked meetings, enabling the industry to plan, network and do deals for 2024 and beyond.
Over three days at London’s ExCel, World Travel Market London welcomed 1,976 representatives of the world’s media – up by 31% on 2022.
The number of exhibitors rose by 23% year on year, up to 3,875 – and the event was 5.3% larger than the pre-pandemic show in 2019.
World Travel Market, an RX event, provides a suite of digital tools to capture and manage business leads and profiles at its event. Every exhibitor and visitor have the opportunity to use this suite and in our 2023 edition 99,355 business connections were recorded.
The Ministers’ Summit at World Travel Market in association with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – now in its 17th year – took place on Day One instead of Day Two as it aimed to help set the agenda for discussions during the whole event.
There were 53 ministers in attendance at World Travel Market, supporting their NTO’s and discussing how to transform tourism through education.
The sector’s future workforce was also in the spotlight on Day Two, with the Institute of Travel & Tourism (ITT) Future You Conference taking place.
WTM London landed a host of innovations based on changing traveller trends and feedback from attendees in 2022.
Day One saw the release of the exclusive WTM Global Travel Report – compiled alongside Tourism Economics – which uncovered fascinating insights into changing behaviour any key emerging markets.
The Media Summit and Influencers’ Programme launched, with bespoke conference content as well as a networking lunch. The Influencers’ lunch welcomed 200 guests, made up of pre-qualified travel content creators and exhibitors wanting to discuss collaborations.
The new informal Networking Party took place in North & South Community Hubs; the Hubs designed to provide impromptu meeting opportunities as well as an anchor and base for busy visitors.
Overall, more than 70 conference sessions took place on three new stages which were named Discover, Elevate and Innovate – a reflection of their goals.
The sessions heard from major brands such as Hilton, TUI, easyJet Holidays and Virgin Atlantic, as well as niche specialists, start-ups, and destinations across the globe.
WTM London’s Responsible Tourism Advisor Harold Goodwin heard about sustainability innovations and over-tourism, which is back in the spotlight as travel volumes return to pre-pandemic levels.
Important deals signed at the event include an agreement between Jet2.com and WTM’s Premier Partner, the Moroccan National Tourism Office to help drive tourism growth in the country, as well as a tourism partnership between Brazil and South Africa to foster collaboration.
Other debates looked at the tourism benefits of hosting major sporting and cultural events, and the importance of diversity and inclusion.
The event wrapped up with keynote speaker TV documentary maker Louis Theroux reflecting on the value of cultural interactions around the world.
Juliette Losardo, WTM London Exhibition Director, said:
“We’re thrilled to see delegate numbers rise by more than a fifth on last year. It is a really encouraging reflection of the confidence and optimism in travel and tourism.
“The challenges we all face were debated at many sessions but, despite these issues, there was a very positive mood among visitors and exhibitors.
“I’m delighted that our innovations over the three days have helped improve the visitors' experience.
“These figures confirm that WTM London is the best place for executives in our sector to network, find out about the latest trends and seal deals that will help travel and tourism flourish in 2024 and beyond.”
WTM London 2024 will run from Tuesday 5th - Thursday 7th November.
- ENDS
Access the Media Library: WTM Media Library Home page - WTM Media Library (mediafiler.net)
WTM Press Releases: WTM London | WTM Global Hub
WTM Exhibitors’ News: Exhibitor News | WTM Global Hub
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events and online portals across four continents. The events are Arabian Travel Market, WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.
WTM London is the world’s most influential travel & tourism event for the global travel community. The show is the ultimate destination for those seeking a macro view of the travel industry and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping it. WTM London is where influential travel leaders, buyers and high-profile travel companies gather to exchange ideas, drive innovation, and accelerate business outcomes.
Next live event: 5 to 7 November 2024 at ExCel London
Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 31st year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2023 welcomed over 40,000 attendees and hosted over 30,000 visitors, including more than 2,100 exhibitors and representatives from over 150 countries, across 10 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
Next in-person event: 6 to 9 May 2024, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai
https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place from 6 to 12 May, within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2024. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes Influencers’ events, GBTA Business Travel Forums, as well as ATM Travel Tech. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, 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: 15 to 17 April 2024 – 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: 10 to 12 April 2024 – 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 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 approximately 400 events in 22 countries across 42 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
About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 35,000 people over 40% of whom 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.
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