6th November 2025: Students and those seeking a role in travel should persevere with applications and make as many connections as possible, according to speakers at WTM London’s careers summit this morning.
The Institute of Travel & Tourism’s Future You event also heard about the importance of young people entering the industry and the wide range of opportunities to boost skills.
Keynote speaker Kate Irwin, EMEA managing director at Skift, told delegates that she loved her job but admitted: “My career has been like a trip that has gone wrong. Your career will be a messy story; the messy chapters will be the best. She offered 10 tips, ranging from ‘make all the mistakes’ and ‘fail loudly’ to ‘graft’ and ‘humour’.
Talking about the importance of hard work, she said that part-time jobs in her younger days had helped her develop useful, transferable skills including negotiating and management. She also touched upon the importance of curiosity and human connections – and resigning from a job where she was not happy.
Irwin noted how her first public speaking experience had been on an ITT Future You stage, so this speech felt like a “full circle moment”.
A panel debate with young people in the sector echoed her themes about the importance of persistence, drive and ambition. Gabriella Hayward explained how she gained a placement with travel safety consultancy Sanderson Phillips as part of her degree studying international tourism and transport management at the University of Surrey.
She had sent out about 200 applications in her search for a placement and had to put her name out on sites such as LinkedIn. Hayward admitted that self-promotion was “scary” but advised delegates to be “open, proactive, curious and driven”.
Harneet Singh Sachdev, account executive at communications agency Black Diamond, also advocated persistence, noting how he had to overcome problems with rejections because of his need for a visa. His “rollercoaster” career began in the tech sector in India, before backpacking after Covid.
He then studied for an MA in international tourism at the University of Surrey, where he found the ITT offered “so many opportunities” and networking events.
Now representing Visit Qatar as part of his role with Black Diamond, he used the acronym TRIP, urging young people to Travel, build Relationships, Inquire, and be Passionate.
Jessica Garner, trade relations manager at Marella Cruises, gained a taste for travel when she undertook work experience aged 14 as a travel agent. Later, she became an apprentice with Tui at a travel agency, then worked overseas. When Tui introduced its first management degree, she studied for that qualification and now works with Tui’s cruise brand Marella, liaising with agents to promote cruises.
She told the audience she is glad that she resisted pressure to go to college and university as she might not be where she is today if she had followed that route.
Boris Bijlstra, co-founder of Hubby eSIM, previously worked for management consultancy McKinsey in Brussels but moved to the start-up to be more entrepreneurial. He urged delegates to use AI – noting Chat GPT means it has “never been easier” to code – and said older executives may not fully understand the tech being used by younger travellers.
Claire Steiner, co-founder of the ITT’s Future You Foundation, said the Future You event started at WTM 16 years ago and has “taken off enormously” since then. Make sure you understand the incredible opportunities that we have…this industry is the best to work in,” she said, pointing out ITT initiatives that offer tips, inspiration and networking events. You are the future of this wonderful industry.”
She highlighted a “ground-breaking” new AI collaboration between the ITT and ‘AI for travel’ business SystemsX, helping young people to practise their employability skills.
Danny Waine, business development manager at SystemsX, is also the founder of consultancy Travel Nomads and co-founder of the Future You Foundation – and he hosted the panel debate.
ENDS
For all media enquiries, additional comment and request for interview please contact:
Becca Krug and Evie Nicholls 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.
Next event: 4 to 6 November 2025 at Excel London.
WTM Spotlight
WTM Spotlight, launched by RX, is a new travel industry event designed to foster global networking and business opportunities. The inaugural edition held in Saudi Arabia from 29th September – 1st October 2026 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Convention Centre, will connect tourism professionals, exhibitors, and buyers worldwide, encouraging collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth across the travel sector. It highlights RX’s commitment to expanding international travel partnerships through focused, market-specific events.
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: 4 to 6 May 2026, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai
https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
Arabian Travel Weekis 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 2026 – 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: 13 to 15 April 2026 – 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
Share:
