After a gap of two years due to Covid-19 pandemic, the World Travel Market, one of the biggest travel and tourism trade shows staged a comeback at its home, London ExCel Centre, with strong participation from Europe, Latin America & Middle East. Absence of China dragged Asian participation significantly, though Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh turned up with large delegations.

After a gap of two years, during which Covid-19 pandemic forced most international events as well as global travel to come to an abrupt halt, one of the world’s largest travel trade show, World Travel Market, staged a strong comeback, rediscovering its true colours, gathering destinations, airlines, hotels, technology firms and other service providers for a successful three-day show at its traditional home, the London ExCel Centre.

The in-person event that began on Monday concluded on Wednesday and it focused on showcasing how the industry has evolved and reshaped itself over the last few years to meet the demands of the new consumer market. “We have further held a number of conference sessions exploring challenges the travel industry has been facing, providing tangible expert advice on how to improve your business. It was incredible to see the world of travel reuniting once again and working together to improve and innovate our industry. We hope you’ll join us next year,’’ say the organisers.

The show had a very strong participation by Europe as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, which has emerged as the best performing region in the world in terms of revival of tourism in the year 2022. Besides the Caribbean, practically all the European and Latin America were back at the event as were most of the African nations.

But the biggest head turners at the WTM 2022 were the Middle Eastern countries, especially the Gulf kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Qatar which dominated the space with impressive pavillions, animated with various activities. Qatar was keen to showcase the destination beyond FIFA World Cup 2022, that kicks off in under a fortnight, while Saudi Arabia put the focus on its numerous extravagant projects including the Red Sea Development Company and Neom.

Though the total absence of China hit the Asian section, many countries did turn up with large delegations. Tourism Minister Harin Fernando led a large delegation from Sri Lanka, which is keen to show to the world that the destination is now fully open and safe for travel, after months of political and economic chaos. Nepal, too, came in big strength, hoping to put the focus on off-beat locations within the Himalayan Kingdom and boost tourism which is its biggest economic sector, quite like Sri Lanka. Bangladesh, too, turned up with a focus on celebrating its cultural, spiritual and ethnic diversity.

World Travel Market London 2023 will take place on November 6-8, 2023 at ExCeL London, say the organisers.