World Travel Market figures just released reveal that this year’s show was attended by a tenth more visitors than last year.
Some 26,908 visitors networked at the Excel event in London’s Docklands earlier this month compared to 24,402 last year, according to unaudited figures.
Organisers believe much of the rise is down to the event’s My Invitations system on the first day of the show. Exhibitors invite key contacts on the opening day and figures show a 22% increase on attendees that day, with 6,700 senior industry buyers coming to Excel as guests.
These extra My Invitation guests meant a much boosted participation in the Meet The Meridian Club Buyers session which saw around 250 buyers speed networking compared to 87 last year.
But it wasn’t just the opening day that raised the numbers. There were 41% more ministers at the UNTWO Ministers Summit in 2010 than 2009 and overall day two figures were up by 18% with 17,000 visitors doing business that day.
The third day saw a 16% increase in visitors with just under 13,000 attending while the last day, which this year featured a business session with Lord Digby Jones, pulled in 34% more people than 2009.
World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “The impressive increase in My Invitations visitors participants in the Meet The Meridian Club Buyer (Speed Networking) session on the first day supports the conversations I had with exhibitors and buyers that a high amount of business was conducted at WTM 2010.
“The fact the number of year on year visitors increased every day of WTM – including the 34% increase in visitors on the final day – is particularly impressive and is great news for exhibitors, allowing them to conduct even more business across all four days of the event.”
by Dinah Hatch
