WTM Africa and ILTM Africa set to adopt hybrid format in 2022

Friday, October 22, 2021

World Travel Market Africa (WTM Africa) and the International Luxury Travel Market Africa (ILTM Africa) has decided to adopt a hybrid format for the popular travel and tourism trade shows in 2022, allowing exhibitors to connect with buyers both at a live event and a two-day virtual event. The hybrid format ensures a significant return on investment and buyers and exhibitors can benefit from 22% more meeting time slots than what was previously available to them.

WTM Africa will be held live and in-person from 11 to 13 April 2022, alongside ILTM Africa. As Africa’s only inbound and outbound premier travel and tourism trade show, the event will once again bring together exhibitors and buyers from across the globe to connect, exchange ideas, share news and discuss innovation within the travel and tourism sector.

The three-day live event in the Host City of Cape Town is open to all travel trade professionals. Visitors can look forward to attending conference sessions with speakers from around the globe, face-to-face networking, the African Responsible Tourism Awards, press conferences and more.

The event organisers have introduced a hybrid format for the show understanding that some buyers might not be able to attend the live event. The hybrid event will take place on 04 and 05 April and will only be open to exhibitors who are also attending the physical event one week later.

During the virtual event, exhibitors will be able to connect with buyers from around the world who are not able to attend the live event because of border closures, COVID regulations or simply a lingering unease to travel. Both one-on-one meetings as well as virtual speed networking sessions will be available on the same platform that was successfully used for ATW Virtual 2021. The virtual event is exclusive to exhibitors and buyers only.

Different buyers will attend each event meaning that exhibitors will receive marked value as the buyers that they will meet online will be different to those that will be attending the physical event thereby offering a diverse and enhanced pool of buyers.

Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director, Travel, Tourism and Creative Industries at Reed Exhibitions said in a statement that focus has always been to ensure the best return on investment for our clients and Africa Travel Week 2022 will enable education and content sharing as well as networking, providing the opportunity to meet and discuss business, leading to contracts being signed whilst expanding connections.

She mentioned that the organization is thrilled to finally bring exhibitors and buyers together in person in the Host City of Cape Town and Africa Travel Week is proud to have been partners with the City of Cape Town since the inception of WTM Africa in 2014 and grateful for the unwavering support the city has shown us.

She also shared that as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town truly is the ideal destination for travel and tourism industry players to not only communicate and connect, but also to share stories and laughs over a glass of wine. She said that although virtual connections have kept the industry afloat over the past year, it is now time to take it to the next level again and a compelling live event will help create memories and meaningful relationships.

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