World Travel Market (WTM) London is one of the industry’s largest trade shows and the 2023 edition proved, once again, to be busy and productive for EXO Travel. Over the course of the three day event, our team connected with global partners, sharing travel inspiration and new updates from EXO.
This year EXO was represented by an all-star team of sales managers and destination experts, as well as our Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Digital Officer. The team had a full slate of meetings, with existing and new partners, and attended many auxiliary events throughout the trade show.
Nick Ghosh, EXO Director of Sales, remarked ‘After a rather quiet 2022 WTM it really felt like travel was back in 2023, with a lot of optimism in the air! Many partners and suppliers mirrored EXO’s happiness at being able to report a return to pre-pandemic levels of trade. 2024 is looking for many to be another great year, with the economic turmoil in our source markets not dampening people’s eagerness to explore.’
We take a look at some of the key talking points and takeaways from the event.
‘At WTM, there was a lot of excitement about having EXO on the ground in both Korea and Saudi Arabia’
Destination buzz
‘With Visit Korea 2024 a key marketing campaign for the Korean Tourism Board, WTM felt like the perfect time to launch Korea for EXO,’ Nick explained. ‘There is real energy and excitement from both our partners and suppliers on hearing that we are now operating in Korea.’
This mirrors the reaction to last year’s announcement about the opening of EXO Saudi Arabia. Sophie Rowley, EXO Sales Manager for the UK & Ireland, explains, ‘At WTM, there was a lot of excitement about having EXO on the ground in both Korea and Saudi Arabia due to our extensive experience in product development and innovation.’
‘Providing demos of EXO Create at WTM was a great chance to see the enthusiasm and excitement in its application from our partners’
Technology & innovation
We also unveiled an exciting, innovative digital platform at WTM 2023: EXO Create. The latest in our suite of digital solutions, EXO Create is a proprietary booking platform where partners can easily design, quote and book multi-day itineraries.
The announcement was very well-received, as Sophie explains, ‘The desire for more efficient ways of working, without sacrificing authenticity and personalisation, remains a top priority for our partners, especially here in the UK. EXO Create allows us to deliver on this and providing demos at WTM was a great chance to see the enthusiasm and excitement in its application from our partners.’
Eka Putri, Inbound & Adventure Manager for EXO Indonesia, added ‘Our partners feel EXO Create is truly the future of travel and a great next step in addition to our current digital tools.’
‘Our continued drive to be a purpose-led company was a major talking point. Explaining to our partners what this means is very important.’
Sustainability
Sustainability has been a trending topic at WTM in recent years and the 2023 event was no different. Many conversations centred around EXO’s sustainability initiatives and our journey to becoming a certified B Corporation.
Eka appreciated the opportunity to hold meaningful conversations around sustainability, saying ‘It was an honour to discuss our responsible travel initiatives in every meeting. Our ‘bring your own bottle’ campaign and other strategies have had lasting positive impacts and I’m proud to share this with our partners.’
Nick adds, ‘Our continued drive to be a purpose-led company was a major talking point. Explaining to our partners what this means is very important.’
‘We continue to seek out fresh ways to explore popular destinations.’
Travel styles
As travel continues to see huge growth in the post-pandemic years, the desire for hyper-personalised travel and slow, thoughtful journeys also continues to rise. ‘EXO continues to be recognised as a leader in these styles of travel. Adding to that, we continue to seek out fresh ways to explore popular destinations, such as visiting a lesser known but equally wonderful temple in Korea or a food experience that is lauded by locals but not yet in the Michelin guide books,’ Nick explains.
‘Another notable trend,’ he continues, ‘is the willingness of the luxury market to splurge on once-in-a-lifetime experiences that push the traveller out of their comfort zone. With EXO’s dedicated Adventure and LUXE teams, we are able to able blend our expertise to create these unforgettable memories that deliver beyond clients’ expectations.’
WTM 2023 a positive and productive event for EXO Travel. As a first time attendee, Eka reflected on its value saying, ‘It was exciting to meet with partners face-to-face after so many years of emails and video calls. It truly was a fantastic opportunity for me to reconnect with them and exchange ideas about Indonesia.’
WTM also provides a unique opportunity for our worldwide teams to spend time together and learn from each other as Sophie explains. ‘It was wonderful to have our global teams on the ground, meeting both new and current partners and listening to them showcase their passion and knowledge of their destinations. It’s great to be connected, sharing ideas, listening to feedback and coming up with even more ideas and plans for 2024.’
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