World Travel Market (WTM) London, one of the world's largest travel and tourism event, will open today (November 4) and run until November 6 at Excel London, with a unifying theme across all stages and sessions: Reimagining Travel in a Changing World—for the first time this year.
This umbrella theme gives speakers the chance to share their insights on how travel and tourism are evolving, from new global policies to shifting traveller behaviours.
In line with the continued expansion of Excel London, the show has grown by 25,000 sq m, offering increased space, enhanced content, higher level engagement and the introduction of WTM Trend Fest, a brand-new cultural programme spotlighting immersive global experiences spanning live performances, themed activations and daily presentations.
The show has witnessed record-breaking growth for exhibitor numbers, with destinations, experiences, transport, accommodation and tech solutions number rising. To elevate the exhibitor experience even further, WTM London will debut its very own TV channel this year, WTM TV, designed to educate, engage and connect audiences.
With the show’s expansion of stage and floor capacity, as well as a continued rise in conference session attendance (up by 29% last year), comes the opportunity to introduce new educational and entertainment experiences, including a series of bookable, fee-based masterclasses hosted by experts and exhibitors which will debut this year.
In particular, the Sustainability Summit
experienced a 128% hike in attendee numbers, while the dedicated Marketing and
Technology Summits both recorded a 75% lift.
The line-up so far
includes many of WTM London’s well-established sessions. These include the
highly anticipated WTM Trends Report in association with Oxford Economics,
followed by a high-profile panel discussion about the findings. This takes
place in the Yellow Theatre from 11:30 to 12:45 on Tuesday, November 4.
The WTM Ministers’ Summit, now in its 19th
year, is also scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, taking place in the recently
expanded ICC Maritime Suites from 10:30 to 12:30.
This year’s iteration,
moderated by the BBC, will once again bring together global tourism leaders to
shape the future of travel through dynamic discussions on policy, strategy, and
investment.
The UK’s tourism
minister, Sir Chris Bryant, is also part of a C-suite panel titled From
Fortnum to F1, which looks at London’s evolution as an event destination.
This takes place in
the Yellow Theatre from 15:00 to 15:45 on Tuesday, November 4.
WTM London 2025 also
includes a range of standalone summits aligned with the specific tracks around
which the conference programme is structured.
The DEAI Summit, organised
by Uwern Jong, Experientialist-in-Chief at OutThere, will focus on Reclaiming
Global Inclusion. It takes place in the Orange Theatre from 10:45 to 14:00
on Wednesday, November 5.
The Technology Summit,
organised by Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, President of T2Impact LLC, will examine The
Technology Case for Empathy in Travel. It takes place from 10:45 to 14:00
in the Purple Theatre on Wednesday, November 5.
The Geo-economics
Summit, organised by Mark Frary, Author, Writer, and Consultant, will explore Macro-economic
Shifts in Travel.
It takes place from
11:00 to 14:15 in the Orange Theatre on Tuesday, November 4.
The Marketing Summit,
organised by Matthew Gardiner, Director of Travel Massive, and Tina Charisma,
Director and Founder of Charisma Campaign, will discuss Travel Marketing
Evolution.
It takes place from
10:30 to 14:45 in the Yellow Theatre on Thursday, November 6.
The Sustainability
Summit, organised by Tina O’Dwyer, Founder & CEO of The Tourism Space,
titled “Sustainable Tourism is Dead – Long Live Sustainable Tourism,”
takes place from 11:00 to 14:15 in the Purple Theatre on Tuesday, November 4.
Elsewhere, there is a
dedicated series of sessions exclusively for media and influencers, covering
the impact of artificial intelligence on travel media.
This takes place from
14:00 to 16:30 in the Media Centre on Wednesday, November 5.