On Novemeber 12th, 2009 we were taken on a field trip to World Travel Market (WTM).
WTM is annually staged in
By attending World Travel Market, participants efficiently, effectively and productively gain immediate competitive advantage for their business and stay abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry. (Source: Taken from http://www.wtmlondon.com/)
I found by attending WTM, mainly spending most of my time wondering the travel and online technology exhibitions it is a great way to keep up to date on the developments within the travel industry. The Future of Social Networking sites seminar on the Thursday allowed me to meet suppliers allowing me the opportunity to put a face to a name.
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I learned being online and onsale is every travel company’s goal. This is because, in order to compete a company needs to have a web site that is driving business and earning good revenues. Discusions with some exhibitors lead to the conclusion that even though companies do create a web site, many business web sites simply do not realise their full potential.
I explained to them my concept for this module I am undertaking and they encouraged me to take a critical look at an online presence and see what makes the difference between an also-ran web site and a top performer!! With this advice I continue to develop my own website.
Facts & figures:
The worldwide travel and tourism industry was expected to grow by more than 4% in 2009, however the latest forecasts show the industry will in fact shrink with hotels and air travel particularly suffering.
Hotels were forecast to grow by 4.8% in 2009 but are now expected to shrink by -3.6%. Air travel was originally forecast to grow by 5.3% but will now decrease by -2.3%.
Source: http://www.wtmlondon.com/page.cfm/T=m/Action=Press/PressID=109
