World Travel Market 2012. Sea of opportunities. Just learn to swim!

8^th November 2012. A chilly British morning on the Custom House platform in East London; the beginning of the World Travel Market (WTM). Suddenly the foggy and cold morning starts to get brighter and warmer as in front of me arise a massive billboard of Turkey with sunny golden beaches and Spanish cuisine evokes an appetite for breakfast and depiction of football and samba of a colourful Brazil mentally brings me away from London. In a few hours “all the world” will gather under Excel’s roof.

WTM is a global leading business event for the tourism and travel industry professionals. It’s a four-day business-to-business event that attracts everyone from the all sectors in the industry:  tourism providers, hotels, resorts, destinations together to network, to meet, negotiate and conduct business with the global travel trade (WTM, 2012). It’s the largest trade show in the world, organised in a very expert way to attract the best destinations’ ambassadors. During the show time London meets more than 2 million people/tourists! It is classified to mega events category that has a high tourist demand and high value (market share, quality, image enhancement, economic benefit, appropriateness, etc.) (Getz, 2008, p.407).  So, there’s a great opportunity to establish a contact with a desirable tourism organisation’s representative and ask for an internship possibilities. Though be aware that the first two days are strictly for business-to-business professionals and most likely many stand members would be interested to make a business with you, rather than speak about your career opportunities. So, approach the right person at the right time! Attending a high profile event it’s greatly recommended to do a research on the country’s profile you are interested in, country’s tourism organisation, industry updates and facts; get the names of the people you are willing to communicate with, such as marketing representatives, people responsible for recruitment/internship or if it’s not possible to gain such an info just ask politely to speak with a board member who could assist you in that matter. The last tip is to dress accordingly and prepare to impress the market sharks.  

Take a look at David’s Hoffman (travel guide and travel expert creator) video and his advice for WTM.

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