When people say “I can’t believe it’s that time of year again…” they’re usually referring to the festive season, but here at Rooster HQ it’s the equally frantic (but fun) lead-up to one of the world’s largest travel industry events, World Travel Market (WTM).
Each year, World Travel Market brings together over 5,000 destinations and 50,000 people from across the globe to connect, learn and do business. Bringing travel industry professionals together in one place, World Travel Market enables over £5.5bn worth of industry deals to be made across the three-day event.
Travel brands and tourism boards bring their best to WTM; whether it’s a stand designed to impress, performances that showcase cultural traditions, or a party to reconnect with global partners or establish new connections – all whilst sharing ideas and a mutual love for the industry.
This year, we’ll be supporting four Travel and Tourism clients at WTM: Orascom Hotels Management, Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, National Tourism Organisation of Serbia, and Visit Phoenix.
Following a 5-year hiatus from the UK market, Orascom Hotels Management is returning to WTM in 2019 with a bang.
Orascom will be hosting a 30th Anniversary Party on their stand (ME 445) from 5pm on Monday 4 November, complete with live music, delicious food and free-flowing drinks. The tourist town developer, which has projects in Egypt, Montenegro, Switzerland and the Middle East, welcomes media to join the party and network with representatives.
Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, the Maldivian-owned hotel operator, will be present at the Visit Maldives stand (AS140), meeting with tour operators, partners, travel agents and press.
Having recently opened its fifth Maldivian resort, VARU by Atmosphere, the operator has announced OBLU X, a new-concept 3-star property opening in the Maldives in 2020, plus the extension of the brand into Sri Lanka for the first time. The team will spend three days discussing these exciting new properties and updating relevant partners.
The National Tourism Organisation of Serbia is returning to WTM in 2019 to promote the wide range of tourist offerings to both travel trade and consumer media.
Serbia welcomes over 1.7 million international tourists every year, with year-round direct flights serving 60 international airports. Boasting pretty parks, a thriving café culture, and host to the world-famous EXIT festival, Novi Sad, the European Capital of Culture for 2021, is fast becoming a go-to destination for tourists from all over the world.
Finally, Visit Phoenix, the organisation that promotes Greater Phoenix as a premier leisure travel and meetings destination, is returning to WTM for media interviews across all three days.
Douglas MacKenzie, Director of Media Relations, will be on hand to discuss the latest news from the destination alongside colleague Jessica Abercrombie, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the recently refurbished Westin & Kierland Resort & Spa.
Rooster will also be attending a number of industry events and parties across the three days, in addition to generating and facilitating press and media meetings for clients attending WTM.
As part of the event, we’ll be heading along to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Travel Media Awards on the Monday evening (4 November), where the CTO will recognise and reward the media for the past year’s best travel journalism featuring the Caribbean region. Our client, St. Kitts Tourism Authority, is sponsoring the ‘Best National Newspaper Feature’ award category.
We’re also honoured to be up for two awards at this year’s International Travel & Tourism Awards; for The Best in Adventure: Ras Al Khaimah TDA and Best National Tourism Board Campaign: St. Kitts Shout Out.
The awards ceremony is taking place at London’s brand-new premier event space, Magazine London, on the Tuesday evening (5 November).
To close the jam-packed week, members of the team will be attending the TravMedia Connections Club WTM Drinks Party on the Wednesday evening (6 November), where we will have the opportunity to connect with travel journalists as well as global travel and tourism brands; while other Rooster team members will be joining the TTG team at their annual WTM Closing Party at Tropicana Beach Club in Covent Garden.
After a full-on few days of media meetings, interviews and award ceremonies, we’ll certainly be taking this opportunity to let our hair down alongside our friends from the travel industry, as we close out another successful year at WTM for 2019.
