Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.
Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way
The What
This year – 2019 – was my first time attending WTM London (World Travel Market in London). And since I absolutely plan on going again, it’s safe to say I wasn’t defeated by the experience. So let’s dive into what World Travel Market is and tips for your success.
I’m going to help sum it up with a great quote from their website.
“Ideas arrive here. WTM London prides itself on being the hub of travel ideas. We aim to give you, the global travel trade an insight of how the industry will look in the next five years, share innovations, and create endless business opportunities over the course of three days.”
World Travel Market – London website
I can attest, they certainly held up to this.
About 130+ countries were represented, whether by national tourism boards and/or tour companies that travel to easy-to-get-to and remote destinations. Some exhibits/stands were massive. Some countries had dancers, two story houses & ships built, lines for miles of people waiting for free food and ice cream, and the live music and booze at the end of the third day had everyone in a happy kind of sloppy.
World Travel Market is the ultimate Travel Convention. Whether you’re a photographer, blogger, travel agent, tour company, etc. – this should be an annual pilgrimage for us all.
The Price
Since my business is travel photography/videography and storytelling, I qualified as Media. Media umbrellas bloggers, photographers, journalists… you get the idea. My pass was FREE. Along with my free pass, I got access to all three days with an earlier start time.
The other passes are Trade and Supplier. Those passes, while I believe are free if pre-booked online, are only good for the last two days and have a later start time by 2 hours.
These passes are not free at the door. In fact, I believe the price they were selling them for was around £70. Plan wisely!
The Quick Information
Information for World Travel Market 2020:
November 2nd – 4th (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock
London
You can go to their website to register your interest, and they’ll send you an e-mail when registration is open.
The 10 Takeaways for Success
Because this was my first time there, and the same for all of my friends who work in the business of travel, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. And since this event is only three days, I think I got the hang of it all about half way through the third day, which is no bueno for 2019, but has me ready with a better plan of attack for 2020.
(Please note – these takeaways are not just for WTM. These can be transferred between any convention.)
1. Kneel to Reality
You will not visit every stand and talk to every person. If you’re looking for qualitative networking and serious connections with people, it cannot be done. I know you’ll want to. I wanted to. Do not put unnecessary pressure on yourself.
2. Don’t Go to WTM London Alone
If Possible, Don’t Go Alone/Connect with Colleagues through WTM’s Facebook Group and/or Instagram page to Make Friends Before you Arrive. It was insanely helpful to be there with my friends. It was not only amazing to catch up in person, but it was wonderful to have someone to eat with at lunch. People there to support you, keep you grounded, and celebrate the small victories. Also – we each had our own ideas of what we wanted to check out. Because we were covering so much ground, we were able to stay connected through WhatsApp and point out cool stands, panels, where the good food was at, and help each other out with a “Hey Luisa! I remember you said you wanted to try X thing – they have it at stand So-and-So.”
3. Wander Alone
Look… I know. It sounds so odd to say considering I just said ‘Don’t Go Alone.’ But, as I also said, my friends and I each had our own mini-agendas and goals. I noticed, and I’m certain my friends noticed this on their own as well, those mini-agendas have the potential of taking a backseat if you’re trying to stick with your friends. There may be some crossover and shared interests, and we would go to certain stands together, but we admitted we had our best conversations and connections when we were by ourselves.
There’s no pressure that people are waiting on you or might be getting in your way. I was there for me and my business and my potential paid work for 2020. I can’t let anyone get in the way of that. And we would randomly meet up, and randomly wander off, sometimes without saying a word. And no offense was taken. We all know what the bottom line was here. Network. Travel. Money. End of story.
4. Plan Your Next Year of Travel Before attending WTM London
By the third day, we realized we’d spent so much time frolicking about trying to see everything, there may have been some time wasted by not focusing on one geographic region. And this is meant in the way of the convention, and globally for travel. There is an ease, efficiency, and effort towards sustainability by walking into this conference with a goal of “My next year is devoted to Southeast Asia.” Have a plan, and stick to that area of the convention. (It is organized by continents and geographic regions.) You will be surprised at the amount of networking there is to be had, and stands that will inspire you for each represented region/country. When you feel you’ve exhausted your time working the stands in your planned part of the world, then you should wander about and connect with others. Those three days went by quick!
5. Bring A Lot of Business Cards
Sometimes this goes without saying, but sometimes this is accidentally forgotten. I handed out a shit ton of business cards. I know some people keep digital copies of their business cards and media kits ready to send them off real quick to the person they’re talking to, but I cannot tell you how many people were very expectant of a physical business card to keep on their person. Bring them.
6. Prepare to be Exhausted
Go early, stay late. Keep snacks on you, stay hydrated. Make sure you have tylenol for those tired headaches that will sneak up on you, and a backpack to hold all the shit you’re carrying with you, and will randomly acquire. Those stands are ready to go around 8/9 AM, and you should be there, too. The stands close around 5 PM, but a lot of people hang around and talk and connect. It’s good to fall into these conversations. (Please see #5.)
7. Kindly, Force Your Way In
I’m talking meet-ups, after parties, sponsored happy hours, sponsored dinners… all of them. Now, I’m not very good at these. I never know, I don’t know how people find out about them, but they exist and they’re everywhere. Thankfully, I have several people in my circle of friends that are much better about knowing where the parties are, so I was always aware that something was happening. (Please see #2, #5, & #6.)
8. Attend At Least Two Panels at WTM London
Attend At Least Two Workshops/Panels/Speaker Events – This is just so important. Open yourself to being taught something new, learning about a new location, seeing the diversity. These always give you useful information about the travel industry and ways you can hone your style of approach, how you’re contributing to the industry, important things you may not know exist but are real issues. Such as: WTM has been around for 40 years, and this was their first year hosting a diversity panel. While I knew about the diversity panel, I didn’t know it was their first ever diversity panel. These types of panels are important to hear from to see who’s shaking up the place and showing you the reality of travel.
9. Be Confident; Be Honest
I drown in my own insecurities daily. I especially flail about when surrounded by my friends who are far more successful than I am. It’s intimidating, and there are times when I feel like I’m not good enough or I’m doing something wrong. HOWEVER – I had amazing conversations with brands and boards. People who knew my photography and were excited to meet me. Brands who were excited that I not only take pictures, but I’m a decent writer. I do have things to offer this world, and I needed to stick by that.
If I walk in there staring at my feet and hoping my thick, indigenous hair is going to help hide my shame – that low energy is easy to read and it’s hard to sell yourself. I also have to realize, my friends are amazing and successful because they’re unique in their own ways. We all offer different services to the travel industry, and as long as I was honest about my work and confident about my work, everything went well.
10. HAVE FUN!
This seems so intense, and now I’m saying to have fun. Am I all over the map to you right now? If you go into this with strict expectations, there’s a bar you’re setting and it may not go the way you’re hoping it will. My friends and I had no idea what we were doing, what was going to happen to us, and even though there were definitely some hairy moments, we kept each other grounded, fed, and happy. Regardless of the amazing conversations I had and the most horrific conversations, I love traveling. I love photography. I love storytelling. WTM didn’t change a damn thing about my core self.
I hope these takeaways are helpful to your own journey – and if you find yourself attending WTM London in 2020, hit me up. I’ll be there! You can contact me here.
Have You Explored WTM London?
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