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Travel Tuesday: World Travel Market 2016, by Graham McKenzie

TravelMole’s very own Graham McKenzie tells us his experience of WTM this year…

 

Well, the World Travel Market is over for another year. The global jamboree that takes place at ExCeL was, for the most part, very normal with thousands and thousands of travel professionals crowding into the east end of London with their best business cards printed by Metal Kards Business Cards to exchange them and hopefully signatures on contracts. It’s difficult to imagine the enormity of the industry but WTM does give one at least a hint. I think I have networked with a lot of people but my numbers are pathetic when you see the multitudes entering into conversations about dealings of which I have not a clue.

It was for many, business as usual and many things remain untouched. Firstly the somewhat bizarre sight of destinations trying to recreate a bit of their homeland on enormous stands as if that might persuade people to come and visit them. I would like to know what percentage of the annual marketing budget goes into building a huge eagle or a cricket pavilion. The opportunity cost must be huge.

Transport remains a challenge as each morning thousands try to get on the Docklands Light railway when it has been designed to handle only hundreds. Queuing for food and drink is a constant irritation as are the people who wander aimlessly between stands seemingly looking for inspiration rather than having set appointments. Stamina is still high on the list of requirements to make the most of the event as the days stretch into long evenings and early mornings.

So what made the difference in 2016? Well this year, the days were reduced from three to four and quite frankly it was a lot better. The reduction in time I think focused people’s minds on arranging meetings and actually turning up. Traffic definitely reduced on the last afternoon as usual but the three day show made for a more structured, efficient and, in the end, productive show. Nobody missed Thursday at WTM.

The other major, almost cataclysmic, event was the USA Presidential election result. I have been at the show after major disasters, terrorism atrocities and financial meltdowns but I have never seen such a reaction to a global event as we did on the morning of Wednesday WTM 2016. For the first two hours the majority of the USA exhibition stands were empty, nobody wanted to be quoted on the subject and some were almost in tears about the result. Travel is, as we know a very robust industry and after a while the reality had set in, chins were up and a relative sense of normality had returned.

Time will tell as to the positive or otherwise effect of a Trump presidency on the travel industry but one thing I think is for sure is that this time next year the travel industry from around the world will again gather in London to discuss, debate, negotiate and hopefully conduct business as usual.

Finding the Firsts at Rio 2016, by Alex Fleming

What will you be looking out for at the Rio 2016? I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be tuning in, along with me, my mum and the rest of the world, to the Men’s 100m Final on the evening of Sunday 14th August. In 2012, an estimated two billion people watched Usain Bolt cross the line!

Rio-Olympics

But we all know that the Olympics is much bigger than huddling round the TV to watch this one event. Since London 2012 social media usage has exploded and we have no doubt that #rio2016 will be globally trending for the Olympic fortnight. At Lucre’s recent I&I event, gathering industry experts to talk about the impact of Rio 2016, Logan Wilmont, Creative Director, said: “This will be the first truly social games, playing out on mobile.” Our newsfeeds will be filled with memes, clips and pics from the games. Today I stumbled upon an article listing the ‘100 must follow social media handles’ for Rio 2016. ONE-HUNDRED newfeeds to follow, sounds like a few too many for me.

 

So how can we sift through the world of social media to find an Olympic niche? Well, I am going to look out for the “firsts”. Firsts on the fringes, firsts behind the scenes and firsts upfront at Rio 2016. Here are my top three firsts I will be looking out for:

 

  1. The Olympic virgins

This year Kosovo and South Sudan entering the Olympics for the first time. They are just two of the 206 countries and 10,500 athletes taking part in this year’s games. I am keeping my eyes peeled for their tiny teams in the opening ceremony, ready to give them a big cheer.

 

  1. There is a first time for everything

Kitesurfing, golf and rugby-sevens are all to become Olympic sports for the first time this year. I have the dates of their debuts in my diary so I know when to tune in.

 

  1. Location, location, location

Not only is 2016 Rio’s first Olympic games, it is Brazil’s first, South America’s first and the world premier of an Olympics held in a Portuguese-speaking country. No doubt the BBC will make things easy for us to understand, but I am pledging to learn at least a few words in Portuguese.

 

Ruth Kelly, Senior Trend Strategist at the Trend Bible said: “Social media means that we are saturated by visual inspiration and Rio 2016 will play to that perfectly, embracing the visual energy of the country.”

 

So my Rio actions are: follow Kosovo and South Sudan; retweet news on the new sports and celebrate the unique culture, colour and language of games through Instagram.

 

You won’t drag me away from the TV on the night of the Men’s 100m final, but you will also find me #findingthefirsts at #rio2016.