![Welcome talk panel](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/bbsblog/files/2022/11/3355BF03-A3DC-47C3-9DD9-87D615C306D7-750x429.jpeg)
Tourism and events students visit market-leading international travel event
Our tourism and event students recently visited the World Travel Market (WTM) at ExCel London on a field trip.
WTM is the market-leading international travel event that unlocks business opportunities for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. The annual event is one of the largest corporate business events of its kind.
Students were joined by Jamie Harvie – Head of Event Management and EJ Smalley – Senior Event Manager from ExCel, plus Jessamy Ganesh – Senior Operations Manager from Reed Exhibitions for a welcome talk. They spoke about the planning that goes in to staging an event of this scale, the skills needed to work in the sector, and how to operationalise the event.
Students learned that health and safety was paramount in planning the World Travel Market.
What our students said
Rushant, International Tourism Management MSc:
“The WTM trip was a great experience for me. It was interesting to see how travel agents trade with each other, as well as with hotel and resort representatives.
“Being the owner of a forest lodge back in India, I had the chance to network and build a few connections for inbound tourists.
“The talk about greenwashing really opened my eyes up to the fact that some of our ‘sustainable’ endeavours are in fact greenwashing. It showed me greenwashing in tourism is often unintentional and can be reduced with a little education.”
Shamsul, International Tourism Management MSc:
“I learned that many countries are promoting people by putting their businesses and brands in front of them. From this we can understand how big the tourism industry is.
“I also [learned] that each country has to represent their own culture to attract people.”
Priyanka, International Tourism Management MSc:
“World Travel Market gave us a sneak peek in terms of the endless opportunities we have as tourism and events students.”