World Travel Market 2009 will generate a massive £1,139 million in travel industry deals with exhibitors rating WTM, the premier global event for the travel industry, as the best exhibition for generating new business, reveals independent research.
Exhibitors expect to generate orders of £222,361 each as a direct result of WTM 2009 over the following 12 months, reveals the research by Fusion Communications.
A mean of £73,582 of orders were placed at WTM 2009 with a further £148,779 expected to be signed over the following 12 months.
The massive amount of travel industry business conducted because of WTM makes the event important to 93% of exhibitors, with 96% of exhibitors likely to exhibit at WTM 2010.
Overall, WTM 2009 recorded an impressive exhibitor satisfaction rate of 90%.
Furthermore, exhibitors say World Travel Market is THE industry event for generating sales leads and signing new contracts.
Research reveals 86% of WTM exhibitors attend WTM to meet existing customers compared to only 83% of exhibitors at ITB.
A massive 83% of exhibitors attend WTM to generate sales lead compared to only 77% when exhibiting at ITB, while 65% exhibit to sign new contracts compared to only 60% at ITB.
One of the reasons for the impressive amount of business conducted at the event was the introduction of the highly successful Speed Networking programme.
The Speed Networking sessions took place on the first day of WTM 2009, between exhibitors and senior buyers from WTM’s Meridian Club, giving participants the remaining three days of the event for further negotiations and the opportunity to reach an agreement.
World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “World Travel Market 2009 has seen, and will lead to, a phenomenal amount of business being conducted in the travel and tourism industry.
“The Speed Networking programme was a massive success, and alongside a number of other networking initiatives, helped WTM 2009 post a record figure for the amount of business concluded because of the event.
“The findings from the independent research cements World Travel Market’s position as the premier global event for the travel industry.”
