World Travel Market unveils Best Stand Awards

The brightest, busiest and best stands at World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, were honored Monday at ExCeL London. Winners were chosen in six categories after extensive tours of the exhibition by a panel of expert judges. A seventh stand received a special commendation.

Judges said the best examples were those that were proactive at drawing in delegates during World Travel Market - the premier global event for the travel industry.

Other key criteria were the ways conference-goers could navigate stands, presentation of the stand and staff, and creative use of space and technology.

The judges for the WTM Best Stand Awards were: Bill Richards, Senior Partner at Tram Research; Annalisa Hammond, Director at Lime Marketing; John Blaskey, Managing Director at Exhibiting Agency; and Victoria Wolfe, Professional Development Manager at ABTA.

The winners were:

- Best stand for doing business: Hotelbeds (GV5400)
- Best stand personnel: Rwanda Tourism Board (AF2600) (photo)
- Best stand feature: Islas Canarias/Canary Islands (EM720)
- Most innovative stand in technology & online travel region: - Evolution (TT4095)
- Best stand for interacting with travel agents: New York State Division of Tourism (NA2200)
- Best stand design: Andorra Tourism (EM484)
Special commendation: Gobierno de España Ministerio de Fomento (EM480)
(Spanish government ministry of public works and transport)

World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery said: “The stands at World Travel Market are always colorful and vibrant and WTM 2009 has been no exception. We are delighted with the stand designs for this year, the winners demonstrate the best in business to business exhibition marketing, helping to generate business and interest from the delegates.”