Cover Story
MF : There were obviously a couple of notable absentee exhibitors . Why was this ? CL : I think each country had their own views , opinions , and obviously their own guidelines that they had to follow . There was one major destination in particular which pulled out a few weeks before the show , but it was all government related . We don ’ t know the real implications , whether it was due to travel restrictions or the need for visas for travelling into the UK , but it wasn ’ t because they didn ’ t see a value in the show , on the contrary . It was a government decision .
And obviously , we must help the exhibitors follow our government guidelines into the UK , which was completely different this time round .
Various countries had to obviously follow their own rules and guidelines , too , which was an added complication . We were really upset they couldn ’ t be there , but they still supported the portfolio at a sister show .
MF : Do you think that the travel industry needs trade shows like WTM ; and what role should they play ? Is it your job to say ‘ yes , things are different , but we can help ’? CL : Yes , and we have proved that with the sentiment on the show floor and the feedback we ’ ve had , and we ’ re still collating data to present a full report . But that sentiment on the show floor was so strong . There ’ s nothing better than doing a business deal face-to-face , and to actively plan for the future of the travel industry .
We know 2021 ’ s show was a steppingstone in rebuilding the industry , so everyone who attended was part of that effort to future-proof the sector for 2022 and onwards . It ’ s just nice for us to be able to facilitate those face-to-face meetings , because that ’ s what the travel industry wanted .
MF : What does the global travel market expect from its trade show ? How did you engage with that marketplace to ensure that you delivered the content and the experience that they not necessarily wanted , but needed ? CL : We made a huge effort to produce higher quality content this year , based on the theme of rebuilding . We invited the different sectors from within the industry to join conference sessions and to actively talk about their plans are for 2022 and onwards .
We had sessions on responsible tourism , ideation , hotels , and the personnel challeanges faced by the hospitality sector . The travel sector has shrunk as a result of this , and it ’ s something people are trying to solve ahead of an expected boom in 2022 .
Of course , it was really important that we had high-quality speakers this year , and we were delighted that so many leaders in the field from overseas made the effort to travel over .
Obviously , we brought in a few speakers virtually as some couldn ’ t travel , so it was interesting to explore that hybrid element , on the content sessions that is .
It showed how important and integral our show is to the industry : these speakers wanted to be a part of it , whether it was in person or virtual .
MF : Could this event have worked virtually ; if not , why not ? CL : We ran WTM completely virtually in 2020 . We ran plenty of conference sessions , people were tuning in live , having video meetings ; it worked . And it served a purpose because at that point , everyone was in lockdown . People couldn ’ t travel . It was just what we had to do . Whereas this year our bread and butter , and our whole ethos , is running in-person events . People in the travel industry want to be doing business deals face-to-face . This is what they ’ ve told us .
We ran many roundtables and research groups before actually deciding what we were going to do this year and they all said that they wanted to get back in person . I ’ d say it future-proofs us and demonstrates how important it is to have trade events and that in-person experience .
MF : Tell me about your marketing strategy to attract visitors to the show ? There is obviously still a lot of anxiety out there . How did you entice visitors to come along ? What was your strategy for the marketing ? CL : We had to be very reactive this year . Normally , we have a full marketing campaign where we set specific goals , whereas this year we had to be more reactive to the government ’ s everchanging guidance , such as travel restrictions , the red list , and so on .
We had an update every three weeks about what countries were coming off – or going on – the red list . We were targeting visitors from the amber or the green list countries who we knew could travel to the UK relatively hasslefree . There were targetted campaigns and digital marketing aimed at the
Winter — 11