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Increase of buyer and visitor numbers during day two at World Travel Market London

A key event was the UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit, where more than 50 tourism ministers and deputy ministers met to debate the challenges of branding destinations in the “brave new world” of social media.

Tuesday saw a busy second day at World Travel Market London with buyer numbers up a huge 29% and visitor numbers up 3% by lunchtime compared with the same day last year.

Ministers of Tourism and private sector leaders meeting at the 9th UNWTO & World Travel Market (WTM) Ministers’ Summit agreed that destination branding and the way tourism marketing organizations operate need to be adapted to the changes brought in by social media.

Over 60 tourism ministers and leaders from Facebook, Expedia, Melia Hotels, Eurostar and the World Travel and Tourism Council meeting in London discussed how market changes and consumer empowerment has fully shifted destination branding. Participants recalled that the current social media landscape requires destinations to invest further in understanding and engaging travellers in social media.

The Summit, moderated by CNN International‘s Richard Quest, addressed issues such the need for transparent, honest and swift action in social media in times of crisis, how to generate engagement with travelers and locals and transform them into destination ambassadors and how to maximize big data to develop targeted marketing.

Opening the Summit, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, underscored that “Today consumers have access to more information, more choices, and more opportunities to voice their opinions and can be the whistle-blowers for unethical practices or the biggest ambassadors for destinations and service providers. In this context, branding is an ever more complex challenge requiring destinations and companies to adjust their structures, their policies and their strategies”.

Speaking at the Summit were Nikolina Angelkova, Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria; Li Shihong, Vice Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA); Mauricio Ventura Aragón, Minister of Tourism of Costa Rica; Darko Lorencin, Minister of Tourism of Croatia; Nayef H. Al-Fayez, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan; Dato Sri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia; Edward Zammit Lewis, Minister of Tourism of Malta; Derek Hanekon, Minister of Tourism of South Africa; Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and Walter Mzembi, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe as well as Nicolas Petrovic, Chief Executive Officer of Eurostar International: Noah Tratt, Global Senior Vice President of Expedia, Inc.; Lee McCabe, Global Head of Travel for Facebook; Anthony Cortizas, Vice President of Global Brand Strategy of Meliá Hotels International and David Scowsill, President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Two key award ceremonies also took place. The WTM World Travel Leaders Awards saw 12 WTM London media partners honour key individuals or organisations in their region.


WTM World Tourism Awards – Winners and sponsors.

Meanwhile, Japan, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Etihad Airways and eRevMax were named winners at the WTM London 2015 Best Stand Design Awards.

Japan National Tourism Organization (AS370) won the overall Best Stand accolade; Canary Islands (EU1600/EU1650) was voted Best Stand for Doing Business and Etihad Airways (ME350) was awarded the accolade for Best Stand Personnel.

The Egyptian Tourist Authority’s impressive wooden boat with oars was voted the Best Stand Feature (AF500/AF550), while eRevMax (TT550) received the gong for Most Innovative Stand within the Travel Tech Show@WTM.

WTM London Head of Sales Deborah Dewe said: “Every year exhibitors pull out all the stops to ensure their stands achieve maximum exposure. This year, feedback shows stand design has moved up a gear with the judges reporting a greater selection of design stands than ever before.”

Another gearshift came with the appearance of Olympic cycling hero Sir Bradley Wiggins. ‘Wiggo’ dropped in on the Balearic Islands’ stand for a photo shoot to promote sporting initiatives in the Spanish destination.

The industry also learnt about creating a foodie culture in travel. World Food Travel Association executive director Erik Wolf told a WTM London audience: “Food and drink can be drivers of economic development – they’re great ways to excite people about a destination.”

He noted a well-marketed food culture driving the rise of ‘underdog’ destinations such as Asheville in North Carolina. “Food and drink travellers are gravitating towards smaller areas. If you’re a foodie, you’ve done New York, you’ve done London, you’ve done San Francisco; you’re looking for something different.”

Similarly, a sports tourism debate heard that the numbers attracted by an event may be relatively small, but the media exposure can be enormous.

Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners, said three NFL games together may only attract a total of about 9,000 overseas visitors – “a drop in the ocean” compared to the 19 million international visitors coming to London each year.

“However, politically, and from a media perspective, sport punches above its weight and certainly helps with destination marketing,” he said.

“Sport has lots of eyeballs on it, so you can achieve more than bums on seats.”

Also hoping for more bums on seats is Sicily, which will receive a new daily flight from London. British Airways’ first ever direct flight to Palermo launches in May, with tourism officials expecting its “Sicily, so much…” campaign to help raise the island’s UK profile.

Mexico City, meanwhile, will work with the country’s popular beach destinations to encourage more twin-centre holidays. In the past six months, seven carriers have announced plans for new routes or expanded services to the Mexican capital from key North American and European cities.

Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | Website | + Posts

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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