Organisers of WTM London have confirmed that the number of buyers increased by 11% for this year’s show to over 5 000, while the number of exhibitors and overall attendees were at the highest levels ever recorded.
The 44th edition of the world’s flagship travel and tourism event hosted 5 049 buyers, almost 500 more than the 4 560 welcomed last year.
Overall attendance at the event increased by 6% to 46 316 individuals, with many travel professionals attending for between two and three days.
To accommodate the additional visitors, the show increased in scale by almost 8%, adopting new halls within ExCel London’s Level-0, equipped with large new conference stages and hospitality areas.
Exhibitor participation also grew by 8% to 4 047, including over 80 new exhibitors.
Continuing to deliver measurable value for attendees, confirmed business meetings swelled by 17%, with 34 082 pre-scheduled meetings taking place.
“From meetings to attendance to floor space, our increased presence in every metric shows not only the extent to which the tourism sector is thriving, but also the appetite there is out there to find solutions to our challenges, embrace our opportunities and work together to ensure the travel industry uses its platform and potential as a beacon for good,” said WTM London Exhibition Director Juliette Losardo.
Guiding the tourism conversation
Leading conversations that will shape the travel and tourism industry throughout 2025, WTM London focused on ‘Travelpower’ and how attendees, including tourism boards, hoteliers, transport services, technology brands, associations and experiences, can use their platforms for positive change.
The show’s conference programme saw more than 200 industry leaders delivering over 70 insightful sessions built around the topics of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion, Geo-Economics, Marketing, Sustainability, Travel Trends, and Technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) was on the agenda at the Ministers’ Summit, which brought together more than 50 of travel’s most influential political figures. Marking its 18th year, and run in association with UN Tourism and World Travel and Tourism Council, leaders debated the potential of emerging technologies to facilitate good in tourism.
The highly anticipated WTM Global Travel Report 2024 was also unveiled on day one of the show. Drawing on extensive data from 185 countries, the report revealed that international tourism arrivals were expected to hit a record 1.5 billion in 2024, surpassing 2019 values. By 2030, international visitors staying at least one night in their destination are projected to grow by over 30% to two billion.
Losardo said: “What an incredible three days of coming together as one global tourism community. In an event packed full of knowledge, ideas, camaraderie and enthusiasm, we’ve planted the seeds for an exciting year ahead, one filled with positive change.”
