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WTM London 2011

WTM 2011

1.   Bold colour on the Mexico stand
2.   A meeting takes place, India stand
3.   Swinging with the band, Sixt Rent a Car
4.   Ceramic artist Umibaizurah Mahir on the Malaysia stand
5.   Bright orange clogs from the Netherlands
6.   The hugely popular chocolate making demonstration by a chocolatier from The Chocolate Museum in Bruges.
7.   Energetic dance on the Columbia stand
8.   Kaya performing on the South Korea Stand -  Ji Eun Jung plays the kayagum with Sung Min Jeon on guitar (Visit www.kaya-music.co.uk to hear them play)
9.   A moment in the sunshine outside ExCel in London, venue for World Travel Market 2011
10. Tapestry of village life, Rwanda.  Home to silverback mountain gorillas with rich & diverse environments Rwanda is growing as an ecotourism destination.
11.  A shock of feathers and colour on the Equador stand.

Highlights from World Travel Market 2011

I look forward to the begining of November each year as this is the time tourism organizations, travel companies, sellers, buyers and journalists gather at ExCel in London for the World Travel Market event.  Outside it’s usually a bit grey and damp, step inside and you’re transported to the four corners of the world: one moment watching bright green clad, fast stepping dancers from Colombia with a shot of cane sugar and lemon laced coffee in hand, the next listening to the melodic sounds of the Kayagum, a traditional stringed instrument from Korea played with elegance by Ji Eun Jung.

With a full programme of seminars and talks going on over the 4 days of the show it’s also a chance to catch up on the latest travel trends and ideas.  This year social media topics were the big draw with several extremely popular sessions looking at how travel companies and bloggers can work together. I don’t think the WTM organisers were quite prepared for the invasion of focused travel bloggers who are gradually becoming part of mainstream travel marketing plans.

Aside from business meetings and networking it is genuinely rewarding to discover something of other cultures.  On the Malaysia stand set around a traditional village house – a Malays Kampung – it was a pleasure to meet contemporary artists, Ahmad Shukri Mohamed and Umibaizurah Mahir who were displaying their work.  Umi, pictured above, creates fun ceramic pieces, “toys” as she terms them, through which she explores society and culture, Ahmad Shukri is known for his mixed media works; complex, layered collages and artworks that document and comment on change.  Thought provoking stuff that has awakened in me a deeper interest in Malay culture.

What makes you want to go to a place or decide to make a particular trip? For me someone with commitment speaking with knowledge and passion is the key.  Two presentations stood out: Simona Quaglia, marketing manager for Uncharted Africa Safari Co, not only gave an engaging, clear account of this luxury safari company of impeccable style and pedigree but opened a door to the environments and heritage of Botswana; while from Peru, Dr Richard Bodmer of Amazon Eco laid before us the way in which scientific research by boat in the Amazon has led to the company restoring some of the original steam boats that worked on the mighty river around the turn of the century and how they are now used jointly in an holistic approach both for research and voyages in which guests travel much in the style of Victorian naturalists.

And finally, for adventurers there is a voyage of a lifetime on the horizon. We recently featured the specialist polar expedition company Oceanwide in The Online Travel Journal, highlighting their innovative basecamp concept, stopping by their stand at WTM 2011 we learnt of their latest plans.  Described as “the one and only full Ross Sea Exploratory voyage”, in 2013 Oceanwide will be making back-to-back voyages between Ushuaia in Argentina and Invercargill in New Zealand in Ortelius.  The itinerary offers the possibility of stepping in the footsteps of Antarctic legends like Scott and Shackleton and on land that few have visited – anyone heard of Peter 1 Island in the Bellingshausen Sea?   What an adventure!