World Travel Market London 2016 will be revamped as a 3-day event following exhibitor and visitor feedback and a period of strong growth.
WTM London 2016 will take place between Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 November with the opening hours extended from 10am to 7pm for all 3 days, giving exhibitors and visitors extra time to negotiate and agree business deals, while reducing the ancillary costs of exhibiting.
Over the past 5 years WTM London visitor numbers have grown by 20% to 32,528, with buyer numbers from the WTM Buyers’ Club over the past 3 events increasing by 16% to 9124, meaning a 3-day WTM will give exhibitors the opportunity to see more people over a shorter time span.
Total participant numbers for WTM London 2014 hit a record 51,500, with the event generating £2.5 billion in industry business deals.
WTM London 2016 will see more content moved on to the exhibition floor further increasing networking opportunities between exhibitors, buyers, visitors and media. The WTM International Press Centre moves from the Platinum Suites on to the exhibition floor to increase the networking opportunities between exhibitors and the almost 3000 international media in attendance.
Furthermore, a new amphitheatre seating up to 300 delegates will join the Global Stage on the exhibition floor, meaning the majority of the thought leadership sessions will be adjacent to the exhibition pavilions and stands. Last year the Events Programme had an attendance of 17,036 including 8829 unique delegates.
The UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit will take place on Wednesday 9 November, with the WTM World Responsible Tourism Day taking place on Tuesday 8 November.
Moving the UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit to the Wednesday gives the ministers the opportunity to attend the WTM Festivals that evening – the end of event celebrations across the exhibition floor which will close the WTM London 2016.
WTM London will continue to kick off will the WTM Speed Networking on the Monday, before the exhibition opens, alongside a further event on the Wednesday. The final day of WTM will also host the WTM Bloggers’ Speed Networking, which saw 70 bloggers meet with 236 exhibitors.
WTM London 2016’s move to a 3-day event follows post 2014 event research which for the first time showed exhibitors and visitors would prefer a 3-day World Travel Market London.The research also revealed exhibitors comprehensively prefer the event to be across the days of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “World Travel Market London’s move to a three-day event will further cement its place as the leading global event for the travel industry and the event where the travel industry conducts its business.
“For the first time exhibitor and visitor opinion has requested that WTM London is a three-day event. Reed Travel Exhibitions has listened to its audience and responded with an event that is exactly what they have asked for, ensuring it remains relevant to the industry’s business needs.”
“This decision has been made during a period of record growth for the World Travel Market London, with overall participant numbers at a record high of 51,500, visitor numbers peaking at more than 32,000 and buyer numbers from the WTM Buyers Club at more than 9100. These record numbers sees the event facilitate more than £2.5 billion in industry deals.
“WTM London will continue to offer unrivalled networking and business opportunities. From 2016 exhibitors will be able to meet an even greater number of industry executives conducting even more business over a short space of time, while reducing the ancillary cost of exhibiting.”
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