WTM London chief: 'I’ve never worked in a sector so close to consumers'

How attendees experience the event more generally has also been looked at. External consultants were brought in to examine visitor behaviour, which has led to changes for this year. The first hour of each day will be unscheduled, allowing attendees to wander and meet exhibitors who would otherwise be in meetings.

This, Losardo feels, will appeal to new attendees not part of WTM veteran cliques. Cliques, though – she insists – are not a negative: “They exist because people love travel and have worked in it for years. [But] last year, 29% were first timers, who are they going to talk to?”

To encourage mixing, conference sessions will feature roundtables rather than rows of seats where possible. In addition, Monday will see end of day networking parties in the new Community Hubs in the North and South halls.

The show’s layout has also been improved. To remove bottlenecks, a WTM Highway around the perimeter will speed flow and bring more visitors to outer stands, it is hoped.

’Human contact’

In another change, marketing for the 2023 event began nine months ago, rather than the traditional 10 weeks. “We found some attendees began planning meetings in March," Losardo explains. "We already have 9,500 pre-booked meetings and 30,000 tickets booked.”

She adds 14% of exhibitors are first timers, and flags the new £45 entry fee after 31 October.

"I believe in human contact," she continues. "This year we bantered around 40,000 (attendees), but I think we’ll probably go over that – I would not be surprised if it was over 45,000, maybe near 50,000.

"Last year wasn’t the largest show ever, but satisfaction was the highest ever. It’s not all about how many people, but what they get out of it.”

Losardo has cause for optimism; exhibitor space is up 21% on last year, and up 6% on 2019. “It’s a Premier League football pitch larger,” she adds.

Taking up some of this increased space is a new zone, Accommodation, Transportation, Experiences and Technology. “This was set up in recognition of consumer trends," she tells TTG.

"The younger generation buys travel based more on experiences than the destination. It’s year one, but we’ve got a 30% increase in these non-destination customers.”

Some destinations are returning, like New York City and Bermuda, while France, Brazil and China have increased stand size.

Efforts have also been made to stem the gradual drop-off on the show’s last day. “We’ve told people they need to be the same on stand as they were on day one,” says Losardo. A key new event on the Wednesday will be the influencers’ lunch for 150 invitees, where they will meet exhibitors.

That looks guaranteed to be popular, as will the show’s finale – a keynote speech from Louis Theroux. A fitting conclusion given the trend for more immersive and experiential travel that will run throughout WTM this year.