World Travel Market 2011 has been voted UKinbound’s Industry Event of the Year at the association’s annual convention Gala Dinner for the second year in succession.
The awards, which took at the association’s annual convention in Belfast last week, were voted by UKinbound members only, with one vote per member company.
World Travel Market triumphed in the Event of the Year category.
WTM 2011 experienced a 5% rise in visitors to more than 28,000 visitors (28,183) compared to 26,908 that attended WTM 2010. The 2011 rise cemented the massive 10% increase in visitors WTM 2010 experienced compared to WTM 2009.
New exhibitors from the UK included tour operator Thomas Cook Sport, tourist attraction the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Visit Guernsey, Windermere Lake Cruises and hotel operator Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.
The first day of World Travel Market 2011 was a resounding success with exhibitor invitations visitors up a massive 14% on WTM 2010.
Furthermore, 204 of the exhibitor invitees buyers and 457 exhibitors took part in the highly successful Speed Networking session, which took place for the first time before the exhibition opened to allow even more time for exhibitors and buyers from WTM Meridian Club to negotiate and conclude deals at WTM 2011.
World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “I am delighted WTM was voted UKinbound’s Event of the Year for the second year in a row.
“WTM 2011 was a great success with 183 new exhibitors and a 5% annual increase in the number of visitors, building firmly on the success of WTM 2010.
“Recognition from the UKinbound’s members – who are some of the event’s key exhibitors and visitors – demonstrates what a great event for the industry WTM 2011 was.”
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
Almost 48,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL - London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, now in its 33rd year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM 2011 generated £1,653 million of travel industry contracts, revealed independent research by Fusion Communications.
WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a portfolio of other travel industry events including Arabian Travel Market and International Luxury Travel Market.
In 2010, RE held more than 460 events in 36 countries bringing together more than seven million people from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry. Its wide-ranging portfolio of events around the globe covers leisure travel, luxury travel and the meetings and incentives industry.
The 13 events are; World Travel Market (WTM), Arabian Travel Market (ATM), International French Travel Market (IFTM), La Cumbre, International Golf Travel Market (IGTM), International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), International Luxury Travel Market Asia (ILTMA), Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) (owned by Melbourne Convention Visitors Bureau), Global Exhibition for Incentive, Business Travel, and Meetings (EIBTM), Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (GIBTM), Americas Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (AIBTM), China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (CIBTM) and Business Travel Market.
April 2013 will see RTE will launch World Travel Market Latin America in São Paulo.
RTE is a business unit of Reed Exhibitions. In 2010, Reed Exhibitions held more than 460 events in 36 countries bringing together more than seven million people from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Exhibitions is owned by Reed Elsevier, the world’s leading provider of professional information and online workflow solutions.
Nicole Collett
Press and PR Executive
T: +44 (0) 20 8910 7836
F: +44 (0) 20 8334 0624