WTM London 2025 has unveiled the winners of its annual Best Stand Awards – comprising of three categories across design, doing business and on-stand features – plus an accolade for the Best Activation on the show’s newest TrendsFest stage.
With judging taking place on day one of the show, this year the panel included Bruce Martin, CEO, Travel Gossip; James Campion, Head of Exhibition Sales, Excel London; Hugo McCullagh, Communications Officer, Just a Drop; and Matthew Gardiner, Director, Travel Massive.
Here was the verdict:
Best Stand Design
In the Middle East, the Best Stand Design was won by Jordan, for the “bold façade which magnificently displayed what the country has to offer in terms of ancient culture”. Nearby, Egypt was also accoladed for their design thanks to the way “visitors feel transported to another world by the Egyptian Grand Museum walkthrough”.
Over in the Americas, the award went to Antigua & Barbuda. The judges enthused: “This stand did very well to recreate an island vibe through their relaxed, comfortable, and welcoming space”.
In Africa, Best Stand Design was handed to Gambia, with judges commenting on how “their jungle themed stand showcased the very best of Gambian nature and culture in an eye-catching, visual and immersive display”.
Europe’s Andalusia was praised for its design. Judges said: “This was certainly an eye-catching stand with its orange neon evocative recreating one of the destinations iconic sunsets. It looked, and felt, like a welcoming and warming place”.
China was another, praised for its “well-thought-out design”. Judges particularly noted the bamboo features and use of sustainable seating materials which gave a “sleek look”.
Best Stand for Doing Business
Oman took the accolade in the Middle East. Judges commented: “within its high walls and grand design, Oman’s stand retained a very cosy, comfortable and relaxed setting – perfect for conducting meetings”. Also in the South Hall, Peru’s stand was celebrated for being “inherently Peruvian while maintaining a cosy and quiet meeting space.”
South Africa was recognised thanks to the “real buzz it had about it”. Judges commented “we could see business taking place very smoothly in such a nice setting”, while Sri Lanka’s “big hubbub of activity” earned them a spot in Best Stand for Doing Business. Judges commented on how the stand “looked the place to be”, adding “we can see how they’re really getting value from their investment here”.
Portugal was also recognised. Judges commented on how the stand “looked a productive place to do business… very inviting!”
Best Stand Feature
The Dominican Republic was praised for its “extremely captivating” interactivity, with some mentioning “we could have stayed there for hours! A very well-designed film which draws you in and keeps you there”.
Another accolade was scooped by Cabo Verde which “wowed again with an impressively curated film giving a true insight into the diverse tourism opportunities that Cabo Verde has to offer”.
Over in the North Hall, Corendon Airlines was recognised for its “classy execution” which included clever touches like airline windows, bringing the experience to life for visitors.
With its use of audio-visual features, Sarawak Gateway to Borneo was another to win Best Stand Feature, particularly thanks to its “eye-catching” waterfall.
Best Activation - TrendsFest
Brand new to the show this year, the inaugural TrendsFest award was scooped up by Taiwan, for their immersive Harmonica Quartet performance on day one of the show. Featuring music by Judy’s Harmonica Ensemble, the debut cultural stage transported guests to the destination through its musical spirit, humble instruments and symphonic voices.
ENDS
For all media enquiries, additional comment and request for interview please contact
Evie Nicholls or Emily Thompson at Davies Tanner:
Tel: +44 (0)1892 619100
wtmpr@daviestanner.com
Notes to Editors
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises of 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 and tourism event for the international leisure l 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.
Arabian Travel Market (ATM), is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2024 welcomed over 47,000 attendees and hosted over 30,000 visitors, including more than 2,600 exhibitors and representatives from over 161 countries, across 10 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
Next event: 28 Apr to 1 May 2025, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai
https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place from 28 April, 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.
Arabian Travel Week is a 10-day long festival of travel and tourism events that take place in Dubai. All eyes are on the city, as Dubai invites the international travel industry to come together each year and take part in the events so that we can shape the future of travel together. The travel events that are part of Arabian Travel Week include ATM Start Up Competition, ATM Travel Tech, GBTA Business Travel Forums and Buyer Networking.
https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
WTM Latin America is held annually in São Paulo and attracts more than 29,000 tourism professionals and almost 800 exhibiting companies during the three-day event. The event offers a qualified content combined with networking and business opportunities. In its latest edition, in 2024, WTM Latin America kept its focus on effective business generation and was able to schedule in advance six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors.
WTM Latin America contents are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Next event: 14 to 16 April 2025 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event welcomes 6,000 travel industry professionals to Africa’s leading and only business to business (B2B) exhibition for both the inbound and outbound African travel and tourism markets.
Next event: 9 to 11 April 2025 – 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
RX is a global leader in events and exhibitions, leveraging industry expertise, data, and technology to build businesses for individuals, communities, and organisations. With a presence in 25 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX hosts approximately 350 events annually. RX is committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX empowers businesses to thrive by leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit 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 36,000 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.
*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors
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