Europe Will Be On Show At WTM London

Exhibitors from close to 20 European countries have signed up for WTM London, to seal lucrative business deals as the world opens up for travel again.

WTM London’s physical show will take place at ExCeL London on Mon., Nov. 1 to Wed., Nov. 3, 2021, and it will be followed by WTM Virtual (Nov. 8 to Nov. 9).

WTM London organizers report that one of the largest European contingents will be from Spain, including tourist boards representing regions such as Catalonia, Murcia, Balearic Islands, and the Canaries; brands such as TUI Espana and Jumbo Tours Espana; and attractions such as Loro Parque in Tenerife.

Other major destinations that will be represented include the national tourist boards from Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Tourism Ireland.

Exhibitors from popular tourist hotspots such as France, Greece, Corfu, Malta, Holland, Brussels, Cyprus, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia will also be at WTM London in 2021.

Dorota Wojciechowska, Polish National Tourist Office’s New UK and Ireland Director, said that: “The Polish travel industry is inspired to make travel happen again and we want to be a part of that journey by taking part in this year’s World Travel Market.”

Wojciechowska continued: “It’s vital for us to meet face-to-face with our British partners and renew our business relationships as we look to recover. We are looking forward to welcoming back all foreign tourists, particularly those arriving from the UK, which is one of the reasons why I’m delighted that we’ll be promoting our key cities and regions, along with Polish tour operators, at WTM in London.”

Luis Araujo, President of Turismo de Portugal, observed: “We are delighted to be attending WTM this year – it is a fantastic opportunity to meet tour operators, media, buyers, and other delegates and promote Portugal’s diverse offering.”

Araujo continued: “Portugal and the Portuguese continue to have all the attributes and competencies that took us to the top, so the ambition remains: to lead the tourism of the future.”

And Araujo added: “The time has come to move forward and lead the way again, it is time to be, to leave the pause and press play, recalling the unique and emotional value of travelling.”

More than two million Brits visited Portugal in 2019, along with 16 million foreign European tourists.

Jeroen Roppe, a spokesperson for visit.brussels, said the tourist board was exhibiting “to show the world that Brussels is open.”

He added: “We are eager to give our partners opportunities to meet clients.”

Roppe said hotel occupancy rates in the Belgian capital plunged to less than 2% amid the pandemic but the sector has been recovering, largely thanks to French and German visitors.

The UK market saw 450,000 overnight visits in 2019, making it the sixth most important source for Brussels, which is just two hours away from London on Eurostar.

Being at WTM London will enable stand partners to confirm contracts and make new contacts with professionals from around the world, Roppe added.

Darija Reic, Director at Croatian National Tourism Board – UK Representative office, said: “At this year’s WTM London, we look forward to meeting with our travel trade partners, and potential new ones, as well as discussing new ways of working together on making Croatia even more attractive and accessible to UK travellers.”

Reic pointed out that: “A total of 4.3 million tourists visited Croatia in August 2021, which is an increase of 59% on 2020 and 86% of the result from August 2019. Our figures are being quite positive so far and I’m sure WTM London will help us promote Croatia even more.”

WTM London & Travel Forward Exhibition Director, Simon Press said: “We’re excited to welcome back so many European exhibitors at WTM as the travel industry rebuilds.”

Press continued: “They represent a wide cross-section of the trade, including tourist boards, hotel companies, destination management companies and more – all eager to create new partnerships and reaffirm existing relationships as we all prepare for recovery.”

And he concluded: “Our exhibitor packages offer the best of both worlds as exhibitors will have a stand at ExCeL London as well as a global presence the following week, so they can rebuild connections with established contacts and generate fresh leads from around the world.”

Go to http://london.wtm.com/ for more.