World Travel Market attracted 48,687 visitors to London’s ExCel Centre this year, making it the most successful yet.
The number of Meridian Club buyers increased by more than 12% to 13,000 and international participants went up by 19.5%. A total of 23,802 visitor attended, an increase of 5.6%.
Organisers said the growth was driven by the high profile UNWTO Ministers Summit on Tourism and CLimate Change, hosted by WTM on the second day. More exhibitors were doing business with one another, with help from the new Super Personal Event Planner.
WTM chair Fiona Jeffery said: “This was a phenomenal result. We had strengthened the event by a programme of heavyweight strategic content that provided a considerable attration to all delegates.”
The first WTM Responsible Tourism Day was a particular success, she said, and would be developed for 2008. “The official opening of this day of action was completely over subscribed. This is about taking the industry to a fresh and more enlightened era of responsibility,” she added.