LONDON – WTM 2014 – REPORT: World Travel Market, which takes place in London every November, is the WTM Portfolio’s largest event spanning 35 years with 5,000 exhibitors and 50,000 participants.
LONDON – WTM 2014 – REPORT: World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry that starts today, is this year celebrating its 35th event. Over the past three and a half decades WTM has established itself as the event where the industry conducts business its deals. WTM 2013 will lead to a massive £2.2 billion in travel deals.
WTM portfolio facilitates $6.5 billion in travel industry deals
The World Travel Market Portfolio facilitates more than $6.5 billion (£3.9 million) in travel and tourism industry deals. The WTM Portfolio consists of the four leading business-to-business travel trade events in the world;
- World Travel Market
- Arabian Travel Market
- WTM Latin America, and
- WTM Africa
World Travel Market, which takes place in London every November, is the WTM Portfolio’s largest event spanning 35 years with 5,000 exhibitors and 50,000 participants. World Travel Market 2013 was responsible for $3.7 billion (£2.2 billion) in industry contracts for exhibitors negotiating business deals with more than 8,500 buyers from the WTM Buyers’ Club. Examples of business deals conducted at WTM 2013 include London West End Theatre ticket company Encore, which signed contract worth $8.3 million (£5 million) and tour board Andalucia, which signed agreements with five different tour operators in one day.
A poll of World Travel Market exhibitors and buyers revealed more than one in two expects to conduct more business, of a greater value at this year’s event than they did in 2014. This should see the WTM Portfolio facilitate deals approaching a value of $7 billion (£4.2 billion) for the calendar year of 2014.
Arabian Travel Market, which takes place in Dubai every May, launched in 1994. ATM 2014, saw more than 2,700 exhibitors sign business deals worth more than $2.1 billion (£1.3 billion) with 23,500 visitors.
WTM Latin America launched in 2012 in Sao Paulo. The April event brings the world to Latin America and promotes Latin America to the world. WTM Latin America’s more than 1,000 exhibitors agreed deals worth more than $341 million (£206 million).
WTM Africa, the event that puts the world’s spotlight on Africa and promotes Africa to the world, launched in 2014 and saw almost 4,000 industry professionals negotiate deals worth $314 million (£189 million). World Travel Market Portfolio, Director, Craig Moyes said: “The WTM Portfolio offers unrivalled business opportunities for its exhibitors making its events the places where the travel and tourism industry conducts its business. World Travel Market is a fixture in the global industry’s calendar, attracting the world’s most influential buyers. ATM, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa are all the leading events in their regions, running hugely successful Hosted Buyer Programmes, guaranteeing exhibitors business meetings with only the most relevant buyers. The fact that the WTM Portfolio generates $6.5 billion in industry business deals demonstrates; the WTM Portfolio Means Business.”
In total, the WTM portfolio has:
- Main Stand Holder exhibitors – 1,508
- Stand Sharer exhibitors – 7,907
- Buyers 14,639 (including 479 Hosted Buyers)
- Visitors – 46,766
The WTM Portfolio 2015 schedule of events is;
- WTM Africa, Cape Town, 15-17 April
- WTM Latin America, Sao Paulo, 22-24 April
- Arabian Travel Market, Dubai, 4-7 May
- World Travel Market, London, 2-5 November
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.
