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ILTM 2003 Sold out

With over two months to run before the second International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes (9-11 December) the organisers have announced that the event is at full capacity….

With over two months to run before the second International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes (9-11 December) the organisers have announced that the event is at full capacity.



ILTM is now fully booked and is having to operate a waiting list for 2004. The show has experienced a major increase on the inaugural ILTM event last December and will be welcoming 600 exhibiting companies, together taking 3,200 Sqm’s of net stand space. 94% of 2002 exhibitors have rebooked and together they have taken 44% more space than in 2002.



New exhibitors for 2003 include destination stands from Anguilla, Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Mexico, Namibia, Qatar, Tenerife, Thailand, and Tunisia. New luxury transport exhibitors at ILTM 2003 include Luxury Rail companies such as Al Andalus Expreso, American Orient-Express, El Transcantabrico and The Royal Canadian Pacific; Yacht Charter companies such as Cavendish White; Cruise lines such as Silversea and Celebrity; Private Jet Charter such as Gold Air International and Gulf Air who are promoting their First Class and Flying Gourmet Chef products. New hotel groups include The Dorchester Group, InterContinental, Jumeirah International, Kempinski, Preferred & Summit, One & Only Resorts, Orient-Express and Raffles International.



“ILTM’s achievements have taken place in a very cautious climate including SARS, Gulf War II, War on Terrorism and general world economic decline. This is testimony to the fact that the resilient top end of the market worldwide is unaffected by these events. For luxury travel providers around the world, ILTM provides a focus on niche sales and marketing to only lucrative high end global buyers with clients to whom money is no object” said Ronan McCarthy, Director Of Sales, ILTM



For the 2004 next year, the organisers have started a Waiting List policy and all potential exhibitors are urged to book either on-site at the 2003 event or by the end of January 2004 in order to avoid disappointment.



ILTM Increases Hosted Buyer Programme To 600



Following the dramatic increase in the number of exhibiting companies at International Luxury Travel Market, ILTM has decided to increase their hosted buyer programme from 500 to 600. This is to maintain the delicate balance of the appointment system between buyer and seller.



“ We are very aware that any exhibitor attending our event should expect a real return on investment. In essence we are selling business opportunities and not square metres. To this end we have a responsibility to ensure there are sufficient buyers to meet the appointment criteria, and we have decided to increase our hosted buyer group. said David Hammond of ILTM.



The group now comprises of 600 buyers from 41 countries world-wide representing an increase of 50% year on year. New destinations represented include delegations from China, Mexico, and Australia, with increased group sizes from Russia/C.I.S., Germany and the UK. However, the largest increase in group size has been from the USA; this has been driven by the partnership initiated with Virtuoso who will now accompany a group of 40 of their members.



Buyers once again will come from all sectors of the travel industry, but with one qualification; they are involved in the purchase and sale of the highest level of luxury travel products. The buyer group will be split roughly as 30% MICE and 70% business and leisure, and will represent a total of 25200 individual appointments. In addition to the hosted buyer programme ILTM looks forward to a further 200 pre-registered visitors attending the event.



“Although the first year was a phenomenal success we learnt many things to improve the appointment system for 2003, and have been very strict in excluding hosted buyers who did not involve themselves in the system. Also technology now allows more in depth selection and rejection of the appointments prior to the event. We are looking forward to a great interaction over the three days in December,” said Sarah Ball, Marketing Manager, ILTM.



In general, the luxury travel market has proved itself resilient in the face of economic and political crisis, and the dramatic increase of International Luxury Travel Market reflects this trend. A market which delivers 20% of tourism expenditure with only 3% of the volume and is the fastest growing sector in the industry is one that cannot be ignored. It is estimated that by 2005 there will 40 million millionaires world-wide, and travel is now the most popular luxury item.



International Luxury Travel Market has become the specialist forum for those companies involved in servicing the luxury sector. The event is most insistent in remaining exclusive, and only the exhibitors and hosted buyers are granted access to the event, including social functions on each of the three nights. All delegates are of the highest seniority and ILTM are actively discouraging curiosity seekers and peripheral players by charging Euros299 for admission onto the exhibition floor.



“We believe that we have created a real festival for luxury travel in Cannes and it is very rapidly becoming a must do event for the big players. However, even as the event undergoes rapid growth we are determined not to dilute its exclusivity and would rather restrict the size of the event than allow the involvement of companies that are not sufficiently exclusive” says David Hammond, Managing Director, ILTM.





ILTM Unveils 2003 Conference Plans



ILTM 2003 will again play host to a leading Conference addressing the issues facing the luxury travel industry. Confirmed keynote speakers include: Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso; Vikram Oberoi, Director of Oberoi Hotels; Daniela Cerboni, American Express Vice President Europe – Travel Services; Jean Claude Bamugarten, President of the World Travel & Tourism Council; Tyler Brule, Founder of Wallpaper magazine, Brian Mills, Managing Director, Small Luxury Hotels, Richard David Storey, Editor – in – Chief, Departures Magazine, Grace Leo Andrieu, GLA International, and Larry Pimentel, Co-Owner, President & CEO of SeaDream Yacht Club.



“ILTM has already become the annual Festival of Luxury Travel in Cannes and is more of an elite club than a travel trade event. Only senior movers and shakers from the luxury travel industry worldwide attend ILTM. In addition to the actual business exchange between buyers and suppliers in the appointment driven exhibition at ILTM, the networking during the spectacular evening functions in Cannes is also of the very highest level.” Said Serge Dive, ILTM

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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