For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

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Seychelles’ Ecological Commitment Commended in the UK News

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Making the most of their presence in London for the World Travel Market (WTM), Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine, Mr. Didier Dogley and Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis met with several key media specialists earlier in November.

The press meetings aimed at urging the UK and other countries to join the fight against climate change, focused on raising the alarms about the various effect of the global warming; particularly the vulnerability of destinations such as the small island nation are facing with the rising water levels.

Seychelles, 115-islands archipelago state, is a pioneer in the Indian Ocean and the world through its continuous actions in reinforcing its national policies for conservation.

As pioneers, the Seychelles continually takes steps towards cementing its national climate change policy, meaning that the targeted 30% consensus of protecting the sea will be met 10 years earlier than scheduled, according to both the Minister and the STB Chief Executive.

During a live interview with BBC Africa, Minister Dogley, a former Minister for Environment, Energy             and Climate Change explained the impacts of climate change on the lives of the Seychellois people.  He further commented on how  his environmentally conscious    home nation     is a model for sustainable tourism with its array of unique sites.

Minister Dogley further revealed that in such a world where unspoiled natural land and seascapes are becoming a rare asset, it was a real pleasure to see European countries and destinations, including China and India, getting on board with the movement.

In previous interviews, it has been stated by the Minister that Seychellois people have no choice but to sustain and maintain their environmental standards, out of sheer necessity.

Spreading a similar message, Mrs. Sherin Francis, recounts driving through inundated roads, on the East coast of Mahé, in order to get to work.

Mrs. Francis was interviewed across the 7th – 8th of November by the BBC (World News and Wildlife), as well as Sky News, Arise News and City Metric. Her message was clear: ‘Be our ambassadors when you leave the Seychelles, and spread the word about climate change’.

Speaking candidly, the Chief Executive also stated that the shared vision between the government and STB, and the actions taken to iron out climate issues, has promoted an eco-warrior mentality across the generations.

Some of the more talked about achievements discussed by Mrs. Francis included the ban of single use plastics, which came into effect in 2018, and the campaign aimed at reaching out to potential holidaymakers.

With Britain being the fourth largest European incoming market, after Germany, France and Italy, visitors are encouraged to join in on beach clean ups, wildlife tagging or planting coral.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Seychelles Tourism Board signs agreement with UK flag carrier airline in London

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It is earlier this month during the Seychelles participation at the 40th edition of the World Travel Market (WTM) that the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis, and  British Airways representative (BA), Mr. Juan C Giraldo, signed the agreement fastening future collaborations between the two companies for the coming year.

The newly signed agreement follows the contract signed in 2017, prior to the start of direct flight to the Seychelles route including joint promotional activities between the two companies.  

As a result of the signature of this agreement, Seychelles was heavily featured across the campaign, which ultimately lead to a great first year of operation on the UK/Seychelles route for the airline.

On the Seychelles’ side, Mrs. Francis mentioned that with STB’s participation to the 2020 January sale partnership with the airline the destination is anticipating another successful campaign next year as the sale is also supported by a large media campaign.

She further mentioned that the STB’s commitment to the project is also an investment to ensure the Seychelles Islands as a holiday destination stands out in the market at a time when other travel brands are also on sale. 

“This agreement reinforces the collective business rapport between STB and British Airways. Since the airline has started flying again to Seychelles in 2018 the arrival numbers for the UK, market has been increasing consistently to our mutual satisfaction. Our partner investment will definitely up-weight the campaign, which will provide an add-on to our image as a destination,” said Mrs. Francis.

The campaign runs at a peak booking period on the UK and Irish markets.  As such, many airlines, Tour operators and tourism boards including the STB choose to advertise heavily at this time to ensure we are at the forefront of the consumer’s minds as they plan and book their holidays for the year ahead.

The event, which was part of the engagements of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis during her business trip in London also focused on the collaboration of the two companies, their respective strategies.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Another successful World Travel Market for the Seychelles

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The Seychelles islands sparkled through its strong delegation at the 40th edition of the World Travel Market (WTM), held from November 4, 2019 to November 6, 2019 at ExCel London.

Representatives from various sectors of the Seychelles tourism industry were present at the WTM, showcasing the destination in all its splendour as one of the must visit destination around the world.

Seychelles featured at this key UK event alongside the biggest countries and brands around the world

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr. Didier Dogley, who was present at the Seychelles stand for the opening of the fair, led the Seychelles delegation.

During the 3-day event, the Seychelles stand, which consisted of members of Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) team and trade partners working in unison to charm the many WTM visitors to the beauties of Seychelles.

Representatives from Maia Luxury Resort, Hilton Seychelles, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Coco-de-Mer hotel (and Black Parrot Suites), Eden Bleu, the H Resort Beau Vallon and Savoy Resort & Spa were present on the accommodation providers side. Representing the destination management companies were 7 Degrees South, Creole Travel Services, Mason’s Travel, and Satguru Travel.

The Seychellois Company Maz Million was also represented, present at WTM promoting the Maz Luxury Seychelles Tourism Lottery.

The STB team was represented by its Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis; the Regional Director for Europe, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin; the Director for UK and Ireland, Ms. Christine Vel; Senior Marketing Executive, Ms. Mavreen Pouponneau and Marketing Executive, Ms. Eloise Vidot.

While in London, Minister Dogley and Mrs. Francis conducted various meetings with travel trade professionals and interviews with high-profile media.

Commenting on the marketing mission, Mrs. Francis stated the importance of the destination’s presence at such events. 

“The destination’s participating in such fairs is not only a platform for the visibility through the media exposure throughout the events but also provides a perfect opportunity for our local partners to meet the various Tour Operators and Travel Agents in the UK to discuss their plans for 2020,” said Mrs. Francis.

STB’s Director for UK & Ireland Christine Vel expressed her satisfaction for another successful year on the market.

 ‘’The arrival figures have increased by 10% compared to the same period last year.  We expect this trend to continue and further develop our business together with the support of local Seychelles trade partners which will keep the growing confidence of the UK & Irish travel operators and agent in continuing to sell the destination and increase the sales figures,”

Since its start four decades ago, WTM London facilitates £2.8 billion in industry deals and has around 5,000 exhibitors from 182 countries and regions and more than 51,000 participants.

Last year WTM London sparked a million meetings, resulting in around £3 billion in contracts.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Boris, Brexit and Business Top the Agenda for Day One at WTM London

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UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, hailed the achievements of the country’s tourism industry in a welcome message to WTM London, the world’s largest travel trade event taking place today (Monday 4 November) at ExCeL London.

Johnson spoke of the UK’s success story in the 10 years since he first opened the event, when he was then Mayor of London. Since then, he said, tourism had boomed “from Skye to Skegness, from Brecon Beacons to Bognor”.

Johnson added: “Our capital city London has become the number one tourist destination in the world. The British Museum attracts more visitors than one European country I am too diplomatic to identify.”

Following Johnson’s message to the WTM Leaders’ Lunch, Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, took to the stage.

She highlighted tourism’s £68 billion contribution to the UK economy. The industry, she said, accounted for 1.6 million jobs and last year, the UK attracted 38 million visitors who spent £22.7 billion.

Morgan acknowledged Brexit was an issue for the industry. She told the audience: “We are going to be leaving the European Union, but we do not want to put up borders that keep people in or out. We want to make it as frictionless as possible to visit – EEAA or Swiss nationals will not need a visa.”

Later that day Atout France and easyJet signed a major three-year partnership at WTM London to boost the numbers of British and German visitors to France.

The deal follows the success of a similar three-year partnership which focused on increasing numbers from the UK to French destinations.

The new agreement will see the airline and the tourism agency promoting destinations across easyJet’s French network and will have an annual budget of €1 million.

WTM London’s Headline partner Sri Lanka also took to the stage during the event outlining its objective to ‘build back better’ six months after the terror attacks that decimated its tourism industry.

Her Excellency Manisha Gunasekera High Commissioner – Sri Lanka High Commission in London, commenting that “Exactly one year ago at WTM we launched So Sri Lanka, our brand identity, which has now become so much identified with Sri Lanka.”

She added: “The message emanating from Sri Lanka is that it’s business as usual. We’re resilient, united and we have made a steady recovery.”

Also speaking to an extremely crowded room at WTM London, Greek National Tourism Organisations, Minister of Tourism Harry Theoharis explained their 10-year plan for tourism, which embraces sustainability, the destination announced at WTM today.

Theoharis explained: “Our vision is Greece as a full experience as we’ve never seen before… Greece is more than the sun and sea, the beach and ancient monuments.” 

He said quality, sustainability and authenticity were to be the cornerstones of the new plan, with an ultimate ambition to make Greece “one of the top global sustainable destinations.”

He added: “It’s about increasing the ceiling [on arrivals] but also trying to widen the shoulder seasons and tourism destinations.”

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.

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

Egypt to sponsor visitor registration at WTM London 2019

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Egypt Tourism Authority has been confirmed as the sponsor for visitor registration at this year’s WTM London – the leading global event for the travel industry.

The partnership comes just days after the British government lifted the flight restriction to the North African country’s resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. The removal of the guidelines from the UK will mean there will be a huge push for tourism to Egypt from Britain.

The Egyptian Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat commended the declaration of the end of the ban saying, “We welcome the return of British tourists to Sharm el-Sheikh. This announcement is a renewal of the ongoing cooperation between both nations.

“This step is a testament to the continuous efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to ensure the safety and security of every visitor in all Egypt’s destinations, and in South Sinai in Particular.”

Egypt has significantly invested in safety and security measures including CCTV, airport security, GPS on tour busses and continually reviews and enhances these security steps.

As part of Egypt’s tourism initiative for 2020, Sphinx airport will charter flights to West Cairo to facilitate passengers’ journey to the new Grand Egyptian Museum and the ancient Pyramids. The Grand Egyptian Museum will officially open its doors in late 2020. It’s not only set to be the biggest museum in the world, but will exclusively host only ancient Egyptian pieces and will be the final resting place for Tutankhamun, Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhibition.

The Tutankhamun exhibition is currently held at London’s Saatchi Gallery and will be opening this Saturday (2 November) and will be in residence until Sunday 3 May 2020.  The exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and opens on the second day of the London Travel Week.

The partnership is announced one week until WTM London opens its doors to almost 55,000 visitors, the highest calibre buyers and almost 3,000 media.

WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “We are delighted to have Egypt come on board as our visitor registration partner for WTM London. It’s been a hard few years for inbound tourism from the UK to this beautiful and culturally rich country. At WTM London, we are looking forward to working with Egypt and facilitating the business and idea creation to ensure this  can make up for the lost in tourism numbers.”

Register for WTM London now to avoid paying on arrival at london.wtm.com

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.

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

London Travel Week debuts in ONE week

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London Travel Week will be taking place from November 1-7, 2019 and will bring together industry events to become the largest festival supporting the global travel and tourism industry in the world.

This will be an opportunity for the entire community to come together and shape the next 12 months of tourism.

During the week surrounding WTM London, over 50,000 travel professionals flock to London to take part in WTM London. London Travel Week has been designed to bring this huge number of visitors together and in the process, create a world-class travel hub.

There are now over 20, diverse and fascinating events for visitors to attend that form part of this celebration. From networking over moreish Mexican food to glamorous awards ceremonies, and everything in between, this event will demonstrate an array of new possibilities in the travel industry.

London Travel Week is proud to be hosting An Evening with Visit Rwanda on Tuesday 5 November. This is a special networking event with leaders from the Rwandan tourism industry, where attendees will be able to discover the country’s vibrant and remarkable tourist attractions and unique investment opportunities.

Hosted by Rwanda’s Chief Tourism Officer, Belise Kariza, this evening will also feature a screening of an exciting new Rwanda Royal Tour film, a cultural dance performance and a chance to meet Rwandan tourism experts, all organized in conjuncture with the WTM London team.

As well as this evening with Visit Rwanda, there are a plethora of other events taking place across the week.

The luxurious Mexican destination of Los Cabos will be hosting a VIP reception for commercial clients and partners on Sunday, November 3, while MXConnect will be hosting a networking session at the Good Hotel London on Tuesday, November 5, meaning these events will have a Central American theme running through them.

The food, travel and innovation summit FoodTrex will take place on Sunday, November 3, bringing innovative information on food tourism together with quality networking opportunities, allowing businesses and brands to be part of the evolution of food travel.

ENIT Italia will be taking over the Sky Garden from 19.00 on Tuesday, as they celebrate their 100th anniversary with food, entertainment and live music from DJ Albertino and the Black Box Band.

The TTG WTM Closing Party, on Wednesday, November 6, has also been incorporated into the London Travel Week program, providing an exciting finale to a great week as buyers, sellers, tour operators, airlines and the rest of the travel trade will come together for an exclusive party.

London Travel Week will also feature three awards ceremonies, marking it out as a week of celebration. The World Tourism Awards will take place at ExCeL London on Monday evening and then the WTM World Travel Leaders Awards and Panel Discussion will follow these on Tuesday, November 5.

The International Travel and Tourism Awards will be taking place on Tuesday, at a glamorous new location, Magazine London. The awards will be a true celebration of the global travel industry and provide a platform to honor the front-runners in 15 fascinating categories.

London Travel Week will unlock invaluable networking and business opportunities for those who journey to the UK during the first week of November. This one-stop-shop is a true showcase for the global travel industry and attendees will find all they need at this fantastic new event in the global travel calendar.

London Travel Week Lead, Julie Therond, said: “London Travel Week has been a long time coming! We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from the global travel & tourism industry, including event hosts and attendees. By broadcasting the events happening around WTM London, we want to empower our visitors and encourage exploration beyond their existing networks. We are looking forward to a fantastic first edition of London Travel Week.”

Be the first to hear about the London Travel Week program, news announcements and more by going to the website.

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.

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

Julie Thérond – London Travel Week Marketing & PR Lead

E: julie.therond@reedexpo.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7916

Malta Tourism Authority appoints Tolene Van der Merwe as new Director for UK and Ireland

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The Malta Tourism Authority is delighted to announce the appointment of Tolene Van der Merwe as the tourism board’s new UK and Ireland Director.

Tolene’s new role will focus on leading a London based team to further develop and cultivate partnerships with tour operators, airlines, travel agents and niche specialists as well reaching out to the UK public with PR and marketing initiatives to keep Malta and Gozo on top of mind and holiday destinations of choice for the UK public. Accounting for a quarter of Malta’s tourism arrivals, the UK market is the largest for the destination and Tolene and her team will continue to grow arrival numbers through diversification of on island experiences and strategies.

Tolene began her career in the tourism industry at Exclusive Getaways, the luxury South African operator. Tolene later joined London based tour operator African Affair Travel furthering her specialism in African tourism product before founding Boutique Travel Marketing, where she spent seven years growing the hotel representation company. Tolene joins the Malta Tourism Authority following five years as the Hub Head for South African Tourism for UK and Ireland.

Tolene commented “I’m thrilled to be a part of the Malta Tourism Authority’s UK team. The archipelago has had a fantastic boost in its tourism in the past few years and is now considered to be one of Europe’s hottest destinations for history and culture, LGBT+, gastronomy, diving, and soft adventure travel. With attentions now turning to wellness, city breaks and sustainability, I’m excited to be part of the tourism authority’s increasing success in drawing a variety of travellers to experience all that the islands have to offer”.

Latest numbers show that Malta is on par to match UK visitor arrival figures recorded in 2018.

Commenting on this appointment, MTA’s CMO & Deputy CEO Carlo Micallef said that “MTA is delighted to have secured the services of Tolene van der Merwe to join a strong highly professional team in London and continue building on the success achieved under Peter Vella’s stewardship in the past 4 years. Malta’s tourism industry continues to enjoy record performances year on year and MTA together with Ministry for Tourism have a strategy of further market diversification, route connection development, tourism product enhancement as well as Malta brand identity growth to ensure that the success continues.”

MEDIA CONTACTS: Lauren Williams, Emily Olsen or Georgia Gogarty at malta@finnpartners.com or 020 7326 9880

PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker makes another record-breaking year

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The casino industry has always been lucrative. With its allure to the risk-loving individuals with high testosterone levels, the industry has made billions and even trillions of dollars.

With the popularization of Internet services and the real money casino online games, the industry has seen even more revenues. The reason is simple: the players can access their favorite casino games from any part of the world at any time of the day.

This trend is particularly obvious with the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) held by PokerStars. After the record-breaking year of 2018, the tournament set another record this year.

2019 record

With the huge WCOOP attendance rate in 2019, the Championship far surpassed its predetermined prize pool. Initially, the guaranteed total prize money for winners was set to $75 million, however, with over 1.2 million player entries, the prize volume was increased by close to $30 million to reach $104.7 million.

It’s interesting to note that this year’s record outweighs the record made the previous year. In 2018, the World Championship of Online Poker had the largest prize pool of $99 million on offer. Online gambling is apparently conquering its revenue heights.

20-day tournament’s Main Event High broke another record with its $11.18 million prize pool, becoming the largest WCOOP Main Event since 2010.

Record in Europe

The Championship was an overwhelming success in European countries as well. This year, the players of Southern Europe, namely Spain, Portugal, and France were able to access Galactic Series.

The series had a guaranteed prize volume of €15 million, which was far surpassed with the actual prize pool of €19.42 million across 23 days of gaming. This number beat last year’s €17 million prize pool.

Even in Italy, the expected €3 million pool increased to about €3.7 million in Galactic Series. The European division of WCOOP clearly didn’t fall behind the global payout rate.

European Poker Tour in Barcelona

While the World Championship of Online Poker was a great success with record-breaking numbers, the world of online poker didn’t stop there.

The recent European Poker Tour in Barcelona turned out to be another record-breaking event in the online poker world. In fact, the tour was so successful that in its 16 years of existence, the recent one has claimed the title of the largest stop in the history of poker tours.

The European Poker Tour in Barcelona, with its 12-day gaming event, saw more than 23,600 registered players. The series took place from August 20th to September 1st and gave out more than €52.9 million in prize awards.

The main tournament was another big event in the history of EPT with 1,988 registered players. It eventually ended with €9.6 million in awarded prize money and the main prize went to the winner, Simon Brandstrom, who also won World Poker Tour UK this year.

Online casino is flourishing

As you can see, online casino tournaments are making incredible amounts of money and are breaking previous records. This year, the total prize pool of the World Championship of Online Poker surpassed $100 million mark with its $104.7 million in total awards.

PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker makes another record-breaking yearThe tournament’s Main Event broke another record with $11.18 million prize pool. These and other record-breaking rates show just how successful the online casino industry really is.

WTM London 2019 to reveal the latest Global Travel Research

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The most current and thought provoking research into global and regional travel trends will be revealed over all three days at WTM London 2019 (Monday 4 November to Wednesday 6 November).

Research sessions commence in the WTM International Media Centre with ForwardKeys’ research into the UK outbound market. ForwardKeys, which analyze 17 million flights a day, will review the top 50 UK inbound flights, comparing them to last year and five years prior. The session takes place in the Press Conference Theatre (ME170) at 10.30 am on Monday 4 November and is preceded by the chance to network over tea, coffee and pastries during the WTM Press Breakfast at 10 am.

On Monday afternoon, World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), will present a session looking at China’s astonishing economic growth, which has created a brand new group of travellers. The session entitled, Booming Chinese Outbound Market, will have a panel of experts looking to discuss the aims at better understanding the Chinese traveller by sharing experiences and expertise from different angles.

It will take place on the dedicated Asia Inspiration Zone at 12.15 on Monday 4 November.

Tuesday morning will see Euromonitor International present a session entitled Megatrends Shaping the Future of Travel. Attendees will discover the latest developments for global travel and tourism performance. This session will give insights into upcoming trends in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East and Africa. The key focus is on major drivers, consumer behaviour and attitudes that are affecting travel companies’ bottom line. The research will prepare participants with the important knowledge to navigate the year ahead.

Lead by Euromonitor’s Head of Travel, Caroline Bremner, this session takes place at 11.30 am in the Press Conference Theatre.

First thing on Wednesday morning at 10 am in the Press Conference Theatre there is a session, which looks specifically at research around Sustainability in Tourism, conducted by MMGY and Destination International. The research is from a comprehensive survey issued to the global travel industry which looks at gaining insight into what companies are doing responsibly, how they are measuring the impact and what they hope to do moving forward.

This research ties in with World Responsible Tourism Day (WRTD), now the largest day of responsible tourism action in the world and focusing on responsible tourism efforts in the travel industry.

All research sessions in the Press Conference Theatre are available to all delegates.

As part of WTM London’s drive to hone the relevance of sessions, with a greater focus on the regions represented at the show, area-specific topics will be covered within the regional Inspiration Zones.

WTM London, WTM Portfolio Press & PR Lead, Julia Newbound, said: “Research is a crucial component of the WTM London seminar experience, with past sessions consistently standing-room-only. Companies big and small want to ensure they are ahead of the game, so attending these sessions to find out the latest research, trends and data is a great way to make sure they are not left behind.

“We have a mix of global research alongside dedicated country-focused sessions in our regional Inspiration Zones. These sessions will offer delegates even more ideas to implement in their businesses, further demonstrating that Ideas Arrive at WTM London.”

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.

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

Minister Bartlett applauds winners of Jamaica Tourist Board’s Annual Awards at Jamaica Travel Market

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Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has applauded the eight tour operators who won big at the Jamaica Tourist Board’s annual awards at the Jamaica Travel Market gala dinner yesterday.

The awards recognise the UK and Nordic tour operators and agencies that have achieved the largest growth in room night production to Jamaica during 2018 and were presented by Minister Bartlett.

“These tour operators are the faces and voices that help to sell destination Jamaica in this our third largest source market. Their consistent work through marketing the island has ensured that Jamaica remains top of mind as a potential vacation spot,” said Minister Bartlett.

Winners for the largest business growth during 2018 were:

UK Tour Operator – British Airways Holidays
UK Travel Agency/Tour Operator – Lotus / Dial A Flight
UK Online Tour Operator – Love Holidays
UK Charter Tour Operator – TUI UK
Nordic Tour Operator – Ving
UK Long Haul Specialist Tour Operator – Kenwood Travel
UK Caribbean Specialist Travel Company – Sackville Travel
‘Your Choice Award’ – Favourite UK Tour Operator – Virgin Holidays (Scott Edwards)

Minister Bartlett added that, “We gladly acknowledge our dedicated industry partners who have been increasing business to Jamaica and this year we have seen a record number of UK visitors travelling to Jamaica.”

In addition, to the JTB’s annual awards, Jamaican hoteliers and tourism companies voted for their favourite UK tour operator in the Jamaica Tourism Partners ‘Your Choice’ award category. On the night, to raise money for Jamaica Tourist Board’s chosen charity partner, the Sandals Foundation, one lucky winner walked away with holiday to Jamaica courtesy of Sandals and British Airways.

Minister Bartlett is accompanied by Mr. Donovan White, Director of Tourism and will return to the island on September 30, 2019.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944