London’s World Travel Market Reports Unprecedented Turnout

The London World Travel Market (WTM 2005) is marking its 25th anniversary with a bang. The event that closed on Thursday 11th in the British capital- has logged a new record of attendants, many of them from the Caribbean region, at the roomy ExCel Fairgrounds.

Organizers said the world’s largest fair of the travel and tourism industry has this time around provided 39,000 square yards of exhibition space for over 5,000 companies from some 190 countries.

As a matter of fact, there are 70 debuting exhibitors in this year’s WTM, including the Trade and Tourism Development Company of the Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Emirate, Qatar Airways, South Africa’s Cape Info S.A., Knysma Tourism, Africa’s Islands, Mali, Domina Hotels & Resorts from Italy and the Brazilian Hospitality Industry.

“There’s great optimism among exhibitors following three long years riddled with conflicts, the SARS outbreak and economic hardships,” said Fiona Jeffrey, chief of the Exhibition Group.

Mrs. Jeffrey indicated that all European markets grew strong during the first half of the ongoing year. Spain, for instance, took a solid 3.8 jump and France climbed 1.4 percent after enduring a 7 percent slide in 2003. Germany, for its part, notched up in double digits. The U.K. has chalked up 12.5 million visitors in the first six months of 2004, up 13 percent from a year ago.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization has scheduled the European Forum on Marketing for next Tuesday with a much anticipated attendance of Caribbean execs and impresarios.

Ministers, commissioners and tourism directors that have signed up for the forum will get firsthand information on the European market and will discuss such major issues as long-haul travel on the heels of one of the direst periods the world leisure industry has ever gone through.