LONDON -- Following is a rundown of plans for the 1999 World Travel
Market here.
World Travel Market is being held from Nov. 15 to 18 at
London's Earls Court Exhibition Center. The show will run each day
from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.Admission to the show on Nov. 15 and 16 is limited to World
Travel Market Meridian Club members, who are invited by exhibitors
to attend. Trade open days are Nov. 17 and 18, when the market is
open to all industry professionals.In 1980, 350 exhibitors attended World Travel Market. This
year, 3,500 exhibitors and more than 32,000 visitors are expected
to attend.Newcomers to the exhibition include British Midland; Sharjah in
the United Arab Emirates; the Shop America Alliance, a group of 15
shopping malls in the U.S.; Royal Caribbean International; the
Central Asia Association of Tour Operators; Turkmenistan, and the
Czech Tourist Authority.Meridian Club benefits are not only valid at World Travel
Market, but also at other Reed Travel Exhibitions events through
the year. Meridian Club on Nov. 16 will focus on incentive,
conference and business travel with a series of dedicated seminars
sponsored by Meeting Professionals International, the Incentive
Travel and Meetings Association, the Society of Incentive Travel
Executives and the Meetings Industry Association, with each sponsor
hosting one seminar. The business travel seminars are designed to
enable destinations and attractions to market themselves to buyers
in this sector of the industry.A networking lunch, being held in the Brompton Suite from 1 p.m.
to 2 p.m. provides attendees with an opportunity to meet the
speakers and representatives from the four associations. Also,
10-minute slots with any of the sponsors can be prebooked.
Technology will be in the spotlight with 10 seminars. The
45-minute seminars will address the expansion of technology in the
travel industry with a focus on the Internet.Speakers include Tamara Nikitin of Lycos Bertelsmann; Henry Lane
Fox of lastminute.com; James Vaile of Microsoft Expedia; Paul
Richer of Genesys; James Rothnie of the direct-sell airline
easyJet, and David Kerindi of Power Internet.