The number of accredited buyers at World Travel Market (WTM) London 2026 was up 50% on last year, according to exhibition director Chris Charter-Chapman.
Speaking as the show closed, Chris Carter-Chapman said: “When I opened the show on Tuesday, I said buyer numbers would be 35% up – now the show is over I can reveal that the actual increase on last year is 50%.”
WTM London is organised by RX.
AI booking demo
One of the busiest sessions on the final day was a live demonstration of AI booking a trip from start to finish. On the Future stage, Luke Sun of AI travel platform Voyada typed a request as a conversation and booked a ten-day trip to South Korea in real time, including flights, hotels and transfers, through to payment.
He was joined by representatives of TripToGo, a B2B travel booking business that runs on Voyada. Travel agents, influencers and MICE businesses can use its booking platform under their own branding. TripToGo says it took $28m in bookings last year and has taken $81m so far this year.
Jesse Bolduc of TripToGo said: “Traditionally, agents had to search through the catalogue to get the right trip. With Voyada, we bring the inventory to the customer. AI has changed travel and there is no going back.”
Know your audience
In a marketing session on the Trends stage, Abi Best, managing director of Lemongrass Marketing, warned against grouping audiences by age alone. She said: “A woman aged 30 may have more in common with an 80-year-old depending on where their interests are… You need to be really specific and relevant to your audience.”
Tom Gierasimczuk, vice president of communications at destination consultancy Resonance, advised organisations to build their own audiences through newsletters, rather than relying on social media algorithms.
The day closed with a keynote from comedian Phil Wang about his travels.
