TUCSON, Ariz. -- The second annual Global Travel Marketplace West (GTM West), an event hosted by Travel Weekly and sister publication TravelAge West, was held May 1 - 3 at The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa here. GTM West is a three-day appointment-only event where top-producing travel agents in North America hold face-to-face business meetings with leading cruise, hotel, tour and destination suppliers.
"The success of this year's GTM West far exceeded our expectations," said Alicia Evanko-Lewis, senior vice president of events for Northstar Travel Media's Travel Group. "The business closed onsite by these high-caliber travel agents and top-producing global suppliers is record-breaking, and we expect those relationships to continue and grow as a result of the event. We look forward to yet another incredible Global Travel Marketplace this June at our flagship event in Florida."
The 77 agent attendees were selected from nearly 700 applicants to engage with 80 suppliers in 4,117 one-on-one pre-scheduled meetings, exclusive boardroom presentations and networking events.
Mathy Wasserman, owner of Cruise Planners in Calabasas, Calif., said, "This has been the most intense sales- and marketing-focused networking experience. We are coming away with tremendous connections to the right suppliers and destination contacts. We truly feel that this will enhance and redirect our business model in a smarter, higher-earning direction."
Sanjeev Ratra, an independent contractor with Marlin Travel, said, "The GTM West team has truly created a high-quality, boutique platform here. I learned about new travel products and services and gained new perspectives. The supplier meetings have been a game-changer for me, and my agent colleagues from across North America have been nothing less than resourceful, sharing their immense knowledge and insight. Having worked many years with American Express and also at a Virtuoso agency, I came to Tucson with high expectations and can say confidently: GTM West raises the bar."
Saying the GTM West show "might have been the best event of its kind that I've attended in my travel career over 30 years," Joel Cohen, vice president of New York City Vacation Packages, added: "I spoke to more than 50 top-producing travel agents who were genuinely interested in our product. I expect to see much more business from the 50 appointments at GTM West than I will see from thousands that see our booth at traditional trade shows."
And Joe Jiffo, vice president of sales for Exclusive Group Travel, called GTM West "an outstanding event with quality agents who are so engaged and willing to learn from suppliers."
"We had huge success with a group booking on the second day and can guarantee we will be at all future events," Jiffo said. "If my team and I did 50 sales calls over a one-week period, we would not have had the success and outcome we did with the 50-plus appointments at GTM West over a two-day period. No other event in the industry is this well thought out and planned with such details in mind for suppliers and agents."
A limited number of travel agent and supplier positions are still available for the Global Travel Marketplace flagship event being held June 28 - 30 at the Diplomat Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. To qualify for that event, agents must have a minimum of $1 million in annual sales, reside in the U.S. or Canada, have a global book of business and provide supplier references. For more information, please visit www.gtmflagship.com/home.