Comment: Our virtual event has worldwide appeal

This year’s Global European Market (GEM) takes place virtually on Friday. ETOA CEO Tom Jenkins looks ahead to the event.

Every year ETOA’s flagship contracting event, the Global European Market – or GEM – is held in London just before World Travel Market (WTM) – the UK’s biggest international travel trade show.

GEM attracts tourism suppliers, such as regional tourist offices, hotels and attractions from throughout Europe and buyers from across the world to meet at a 5,000 sqm workshop in London.

This year, GEM takes place online on Friday 30 October.

There was no other option.

Fortunately, we have successfully adapted to an online appointment system that we rolled out earlier in the year at several workshops including our renowned City Fair event – delivering appointments to participants’ screens. So, we know we have a tried and tested product.

Tourism is a real, live experience; online cannot replicate what is achieved face-to-face – we long for the time when GEM returns live – but online events bring advantages too. Cost and efficiency – and these are cardinal virtues for the tourism industry in 2020.

This year we are also able to increase the number of available appointments by 50%, and we have engaged suppliers from the further reaches of Europe and more long-haul buyers.

Operators who sell Europe as a destination are attending from as far apart as the west coast of the United States to Shanghai.

We have reached out and maximised exposure for Europe. With the co-operation of European Travel Commission, United States Tour Operators Association and Council of Australian Tour Operators, members of these organisations that are not members of ETOA are taking part.

GEM now has an unparalleled array tour operators, online intermediaries, wholesalers, domestic and short-haul operators. We have over 230 B2B buyers registered: representing billions of Euros of spend.

Despite appalling trading conditions, the indications are that there remains a robust desire to travel to Europe in all origin markets. This has been a consistent message in our origin market webinars.

Most of those who booked to travel this year have postponed their bookings, not cancelled them.

And our members – particularly in the US – are taking bookings for 2021.

Whilst the start of next year will be conditional on confidence returning through air bridges and vaccines, most operators see growth returning in the second half of 2021, with a substantial recovery in 2022. Customers are ready and willing. They await the green light that says they are able to travel.

This optimism is driving attendance: many buyers are looking for product for next year, but most are laying plans for a major recovery in 2022. The planning for that year – drawing up itineraries, scheduling date lists, securing inventory – is already underway.

It is at moments of low demand that travel intermediaries add palpable value. There is demand.

There will be a recovery. It will be led by leisure travel. And it starts at GEM. There is always scope for new product to be brought to market next year, and we are pleased to have a number of short-haul and domestic specialists taking part in GEM.

But it is vital that we plan for a recovery in 2022: that will be the year when we should see a return of Asian and American visitors.

We are particularly delighted that members of USTOA and CATO are taking part in the event.