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WTM London, Travel Forward, London Travel Week: Allowed to Proceed

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The UK Government has announced the resumption of the exhibitions industry in the country as of October 1, 2020, meaning that England can once again welcome international business delegates from around the world including WTM London.

WTM London – the event where Ideas Arrive – is set to take place between November 2 and November 4, 2020 and promises to be one of the first major exhibitions to take place globally since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This year’s event is centered on the concept of recovery, rebuild and innovate, as global travel and tourism leaders will meet to discuss the future of the industry and begin its resurgence.

The show will reflect the diverse needs of the travel and tourism industry by incorporating both a live event, at ExCeL London, as well as a virtual event taking place online the week after.

Furthermore, the leading travel technology exhibition, Travel Forward, which is co-located with WTM London at the ExCeL Centre, will also be taking place this year inspiring visitors to embrace the latest technology that will help rebuild the industry.

Encompassing both WTM London, Travel Forward and the myriad of industry events taking place across the capital, London Travel Week will happen in 2020 embracing flavors and experiences from around the world giving attendees the chance to learn, network and socialize to accelerate their business needs.

The highest standards of health and safety will be followed across all elements of the shows this year with WTM London, Travel Forward and London Travel Week adhering to UK Government guidelines on social distancing and all other aspects of COVID-19 prevention.

Visitors can be safe in the knowledge that not only will they have the chance to meet other travel and tourism professionals in person for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19, but they will be able to do this in a safe environment too.

WTM London will be once again taking place at the premier exhibition space in the UK, ExCeL London. ExCeL has been working with the AEV (Association of Event Venues) and other key stakeholders to develop the All Secure Standard, an industry wide benchmark to enable the safe return of organized events.

The vast majority of the venue (90%) has been restored to its original state now, with the remaining space secured as equipment storage for NHS Nightingale. This ongoing support will not impact the normal operation of our venue and the center will be able to host safe, secure, and successful business events and conferences from October 1 onwards.

Throughout the pandemic, the WTM Portfolio have delivered a wide variety of events and tools designed to help the industry in its recovery. The WTM Global Hub was launched in April creating an online resource filled with webinars, blogs and videos designed to assist all aspects of the industry.

In response to the news about the resumption of the exhibition industry, WTM London’s Event Director Simon Press said: “This is truly fantastic news to hear with regards to not only our industry but also the thousands of companies we directly support through WTM London in the global travel and tourism industry.

“We look forward to welcoming people to London this November in a safe way and providing the platform to help our industry recover, rebuild and innovate. In the lead-up to the event, we will be in constant communication with the UK Government with regards to plans surrounding the NHS Nightingale hospital in London making sure to find a solution for all parties involved.

“By hosting both a live and virtual event as part of WTM London 2020 we will be providing a truly essential service for the global travel and tourism industry as it looks to rebound heading into 2021. We look forward to welcoming you once again to the event where Ideas Arrive – WTM London”.

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises nine leading travel events across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating over £3.71 billion in travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/

Next event: Monday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 4, 2020 – London #IdeasArriveHere

Travel Forward London is the leading travel technology event, co-located with WTM London. Travel Forward is renowned for showcasing the next-generation technologies for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Over 19,000 travel officials and 150+ innovative solution providers attend for 3 days of cutting-edge insights, open debate and unrivalled networking opportunities. The combination of a 2-day conference, interactive exhibition and Startup showcase makes Travel Forward truly unique. http://travelforward.wtm.com/

Next event: Monday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 4, 2020 – London #NeverStandStill

London Travel Week, brought to you by WTM London, is the one-stop-shop for event hosts and visitors to be able to shape the next 12 months of travel together. The festival of events supports the global travel and tourism industry through capturing invaluable news and enhancing industry connections. https://londontravelweek.wtm.com/.

Next event: Friday, October 30 to Thursday, November 6, 2020

Media Contact: Natalia Hartmann – WTM Portfolio Press & PR Executive, E: natalia.hartmann@reedexpo.co.uk , T: +44 (0)20 8439 5535/ M: +44 (0)7775 036 858

WTM Global Hub on Technology, Customer Loyalty and COVID-19

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WTM Global Hub – WTM Portfolio’s new online portal – and Travel Forward – the leading travel technology event in travel & hospitality – are hosting a free-to-view webinar which will focus on how technology can help travel companies negotiate COVID-19 and come out the other side with a loyal customer base.

“The future of loyalty in tourism: What are we learning from the COVID-19 crisis?” takes place on Wednesday, May 27, at 14:00 (BST). A panel of experts from across the industry will outline how their own tech stack coped during the crisis.

They will share practical insights about how COVID-19 is shaping their tech strategy moving forward and what the wider industry can learn from their experience.

The speakers will cover topics such as refund policies, seamless payments, new tech, customer experience and cybersecurity.

Paul Richer, senior partner at travel tech consultancy Genesys Digital Transformation, will moderate the webinar. He founded Genesys 25 years ago during the first dotcom boom and has been active in the travel tech space ever since.

He is a regular moderator for many high-profile digital travel conferences in Europe. His long-term involvement with travel tech gives him a deep, practical and global experience of best-in-class strategies, technology and business processes.

The new world of tech is represented by Maksim Izmaylov, a serial entrepreneur with the background in software engineering and law.

He is part of the conversation as CEO of Winding Tree, a travel-specific blockchain-based distribution platform which makes trips cheaper for travellers and more profitable for suppliers by removing middlemen from the equation.

His other startup, Roomstorm, partners with industry-leading accommodation providers to enable the seamless and automated booking of hotel rooms to airline passengers during flight disruptions. He also set up Travel Tech Con, an  independent travel technology conference for startups and engineers.

Kelly Cookes, meanwhile, represents the traditional side of the business as leisure director of Advantage Travel Partnerships. The UK-based consortium of independent agents turns over more than £4.5 billion in travel sales a year.

Her strengths lie in commercial negotiation, sales, partnerships management and senior management. She spent most of her career with Thomas Cook, joining its graduate scheme and moving up the ranks to become head of commercial partnerships.

She joined Advantage in October 2019, driving the leisure strategy and overseeing leisure agencies as well as its marketing, commercial and digital business.

Payment providers are more visible in the market these days, with many travel companies realising the importance of making it easy for customers to actually pay for the product.

The third panelist is Petya Milkova, head of business development for Wirecard, a German-based payments technology specialist. She is developing a global sales strategy, targeting its payment processing, outsourcing and white label products to the hospitality market.

Her experience before Wirecard include nearly ten years at booking.com.

Richard Gayle, Event Manager, Travel Forward, said: “Customer loyalty will be an even bigger issue for travel companies as the market adjusts to the impact of COVID 19.

“Our three guests are leading the field when it comes to using tech to build and maintain a loyal base of customers, while our moderator has the experience to keep the conversations on topic and make sure that webinar attendees will come away with some new insights and fresh ideas.”

Launched on April 23, WTM Global Hub aims to support travel industry professionals around the world.

WTM Portfolio – the parent brand for Travel Forward, WTM London, WTM Latin America, Arabian Travel Market, WTM Africa, and other key travel trade events – is tapping into its global network of experts to create exceptional content for the hub.

Part of the Global Hub content will be provided in Spanish and Portuguese by WTM Latin America, which will also be adding Latin American webinars.

Along with interactive webinars, other content from industry experts includes podcasts; a library of videos; blogs; responsible tourism and travel technology news; and ‘Your Travel Community’, featuring positive updates from travel professionals about how they are supporting the industry and others.

WTM Global Hub can be found at http://hub.wtm.com/

#IdeasArriveHere #TogetherWeStand #OneTravelIndustry #RoadToRecovery #TravelIndustry #EuropeanTourism #SaveTourism #TogetherInTravel

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises nine leading travel events across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals.

#rebuildingtravel

Media Contact:

Natalia Hartmann – WTM Portfolio Press & PR

E: natalia.hartmann@reedexpo.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8439 5535/ M: +44 (0)7775 036 858

Top tech experts and travel brands share insights at Travel Forward

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Delegates at Travel Forward – the travel technology event co-located with WTM London – will hear from the likes of Google, Facebook and Expedia about hi-tech ways that travel will innovate from 2020 onwards.

Expert speakers from global tech giants will join executives from multinational travel firms such as easyJet, Accor and KLM at a two-day conference, which is part of the three-day Travel Forward (Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November).

The keynote speaker on the first morning (4 November) is Becky Power from Google UK, who will discuss how advances in digital technology can help travel businesses to stay competitive and improve customer loyalty. Her session will look at the latest innovations in the travel industry, with case studies outlining how technology has been successfully applied within the industry – and how these breakthroughs been driven by the changing needs of consumers. She started her career as a consultant at Accenture before joining Google 13 years ago, and is also a mentor for Ceresa, a mentoring initiative to help more women take on leadership roles.

She will be followed by Harj Dhaliwal from Virgin Hyperloop One, a pioneering mass transit system that aims to transport people and goods at nearly 700 miles per hour. Plans for the world’s first hyperloop project have been approved in India, aiming to link Pune and Mumbai in less than 35 minutes – compared to the current three-and-a-half-hour road journey. Dhaliwal will outline how the $10 billion scheme can create a blueprint for a hyperloop network across India – and update delegates about plans for similar Virgin Hyperloop One projects across the globe, from the US to the Middle East.

The afternoon sessions will showcase hi-tech ways to improve the experience for leisure and business travellers. Anette Schouls from KLM will talk about how she and her team harness the latest digital technology to help the airline’s passengers. Their recent flagship project was the new KLM Crown Lounge at Schiphol Airport, which welcomes 5,000 visitors from around the world every day.

She will be followed by three speakers for the session entitled ‘The zero-friction customer journey’ – Alex Dalman from advertising and marketing firm VCCP; Morwenna Francis from EasyJet; and Siobhan McWeeny from Facebook. Dalman helped to create easyJet’s Look&Book app which enables users to book a flight from just a photograph, and she will join Francis to discuss how it has helped the no-frills airline. McWeeny will reveal trends and insights from Facebook showing delegates how they can reduce friction for customers.

Two keynote sessions on the conference’s second day will examine the influence of ‘Generation Alpha’ and explore trends in the hospitality sector. The keynote speech about Generation Alpha by Andrew van der Feltz, from Expedia Group Media Solutions, will feature research findings about the emerging cohort of travellers born after 2010. They have grown up with technology, digital content and instant gratification and can influence family holiday decisions and the future of travel. He will be followed by Accor’s Frederic Fontaine who will use case studies from the hotel giant to demonstrate how organisations can change in a sustainable way, and put the customer at the centre of their planning.

Across the two days of Travel Forward delegates will have learnt about the transformative impact technology across the travel landscape, and how to harness digital capabilities to deliver on the joint goals of better customer experiences, and sustainable business value. In the Final Panel: Rethinking digital transformation session, speakers and panellists from across the two days will review insights and discuss: how can delegates take these learnings forward, embracing strategies to deliver innovation across their organisations?

Now in its second year, Travel Forward at ExCeL London features a conference, exhibition and Startup Showcase programme – which concludes at 16:30 in the TF Keynote Theatre on the Tuesday – designed to help senior decision-makers to plan for the future.

As well as top executives in the Keynote Theatre, the conference will feature other sessions in the TF Conference Theatre 2, looking at issues such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, business growth and marketing.

Richard Gayle, Event Manager for Travel Forward said: “Last year’s inaugural event was a great success and we’re building on that to offer delegates even more in 2019 – more ideas about how the industry will look in the 2020s and more solutions to overcome the biggest challenges facing the travel industry. “Travel Forward is the event that embraces fresh concepts and innovative projects to inspire delegates. The motivational speakers in our keynote theatre will share their stories of entrepreneurship and cutting-edge technology, which will galvanize our visitors.”

Monday 4 November: Conference Sessions in the TF Keynote Theatre

11:10-11:40

Keynote: From booking systems to business value: How to deliver on digital technology advances to stay competitive, improve loyalty and retention, and deliver experiences.

Becky Power, Travel Sector Director, Google UK

11:40-12:00

Virgin Hyperloop One: Pushing the boundaries of transportation

Harj Dhaliwal, Managing Director Middle East & India, Virgin Hyperloop One

14:15-14:45 

Transforming the digital airport experience for business customers

Anette Schouls, Manager Digital Airport Services, KLM 

15:15-15:45

The zero-friction customer journey

Alex Dalman, Senior Account Director, VCCP; Morwenna Francis; Marketing Manager, EasyJet; and Siobhan McWeeny, Client Partner Travel UK, Facebook

Tuesday 5 November: Conference Sessions in the TF Keynote Theatre

11:00-11:30

Keynote: Generation Alpha: How the World’s Youngest Generation is Already Influencing Travel

11:30-12:00  

Keynote: Customer-centricity and personalisation in the hospitality industry

Frederic Fontaine, Innovation Lab Senior Vice President, Accor

16:30-17:00

Startup Showcase finale

17:00-17:30

Final panel: Rethinking digital transformation

Moderated by Jon Collins.

To reserve your place at the Travel Forward conference click here.

 About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises eight leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion in travel industry contracts.

Next event: Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November 2019 – London #IdeasArriveHere

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

eTN is a media partner for WTM London.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julia Newbound – WTM Portfolio Press & PR Lead

E: julia.newbound@reedexpo.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7056 / M: +44 (0)7775 036 858

Nicole Smart – WTM Portfolio PR & Events Consultant

E: nicole.smart@reedexpo.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7032/ M: +44 (0)79 1955 5510

ATM to launch inaugural M.E. edition of Travel Forward in 2020

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Travel, tourism and hospitality professionals from around the world will have an opportunity to explore the next generation of industry innovations at the Middle East’s first ever edition of Travel Forward, which will take place alongside Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2020.

The travel and hospitality innovation event will connect buyers and suppliers from across the Middle East and beyond, enabling delegates to try out the latest industry tools and take advantage of technologies that could boost efficiency and improve the customer experience.

The event will cover the full spectrum of industry tools, from emerging innovations such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and machine learning, to existing systems such as booking engines, business management software and end-user technology.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “In today’s ultra-competitive travel, tourism and hospitality markets, the effective implementation of innovative technologies is essential to the long-term success of any business. By identifying the right tools to meet their needs, industry professionals can give themselves a competitive edge.

“That is why events such as Travel Forward are so important to our sector’s future. By bringing together buyers and suppliers, and facilitating face-to-face interactions, the show will make it easier for participants to identify and test innovative technologies and applications that could help to achieve their long-term goals.”

Travel Forward will form part of next year’s Arabian Travel Week, an umbrella brand comprising several co-located shows including Arabian Travel Market 2020; ATM Holiday Shopper; CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa; and ILTM Arabia.

The original edition of Travel Forward was launched during World Travel Market 2018 in London. Based on the success of the event to date, organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions rolled out a Latin America edition earlier this year, and plans to introduce both Middle East and South Africa editions in 2020.

Richard Gayle, Event Manager, Travel Forward at WTM London, said: “The London edition of Travel Forward has attracted widespread industry interest since its launch in 2018. The event not only allows technology suppliers to showcase their products and services to buyers on a one-to-one basis, but also enables travel, tourism and hospitality professionals to get hands-on experience with technologies that could transform their operations.

“The Middle East edition of the show will enable industry players from across the Gulf to engage with the latest innovations by bringing these technologies to their doorstep.”

Delegates at the Middle East event will have access to high-profile keynote speakers and a world-class line-up of technology experts, and the event’s organiser plans to limit the number of exhibitors so that suppliers and buyers can be more effectively aligned.

Travel Forward will include a dedicated product theatre, enabling exhibitors to conduct live demonstrations for attendees. The event will also feature ‘Pitch It – Prove It’ start-up challenge, in which suppliers will not only explain the theory behind their innovations but also demonstrate their advantages in real time.

The standalone event will build on the success of ATM 2019’s theme, cutting-edge technology and innovation, which has been integrated across all show verticals and activities, including its focused seminar sessions.

For more information about ATM 2019, visit: https://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

To find out more about Travel Forward, visit: https://travelforward.wtm.com.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market is the leading international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2018 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 141 countries over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre.  Arabian Travel Market 2019 will take place in Dubai from Sunday, 28 April to Wednesday, 1 May 2019. To find out more, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: NATHALIE VISELE, Director, Shamal Communications, Arjaan Office Tower, Dubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tel: +971 4 365 2711 | Mobile: +971 50 457 6525, E-mail: nathalie.visele@shamalcomms.com , Website: www.shamalcomms.com