Both World Travel Market (WTM) London and Travel Forward are all set to be organised virtually in November. Travel Forward is a well-acclaimed travel and hospitality technology event and has been co-located with WTM.

The continuing travel restrictions, imposition of quarantine requirements and local lockdowns across Europe has mandated the events to be fully virtual experiences and live shows will be organised at ExCeL London, the UK.

Expressing his views, Simon Press, Senior Director, WTM London, said, “Sadly, this year will be the first time since we launched WTM London in 1980 that there will be no live event. We have worked tirelessly to organise a physical show, but the increasing number of travel restrictions and the uncertainty around the world means it will be impractical for many overseas visitors to attend in person. Additionally, there remains uncertainty around business events and conferences being allowed to take place in the UK. The official deadline for this decision being the 1st October. However, thousands of travel trade professionals from around the globe will still be able to meet and do business in an extensive range of virtual sessions, to help the industry recover, rebuild and innovate.”

Offering delegates the chance to arrange one-to-one virtual meetings to do business, attend conference sessions and roundtables, take part in speed networking and more, WTM Virtual will take place from November 9 to 11.

The virtual show will be marked by an investment summit that will be held in partnership with International Tourism & Investment Conference( ITIC). Whilst, a new Marketing Forum and masterclass workshop will be held in partnership with The Five Percent.

The WTM Virtual will have four virtual theatres to host webinars and debates, including the Responsible Tourism.

Furthermore, a virtual version of Travel Forward is being shaped up and will combine virtual exhibition, free virtual conference sessions and speed networking for start-ups to meet investors.

With the theme “Resilience, Innovation, Response”, Travel Forward Virtual will add a technology-based approach in supporting the recovery of the travel and tourism industry.

Richard Gayle, Event Manager for Travel Forward said, “Travel Forward is the event that embraces fresh concepts and innovative projects to inspire delegates. This year, running Travel Forward virtually will allow us to connect even more with global travel tech companies wanting to promote themselves to the world. We are confident Travel Forward Virtual will offer delegates all the support and ideas about how the industry recovery and more solutions to overcome the biggest challenges facing the travel industry.”