New Deal Europe Weekly Update on Tourism to the Balkan Region, Week 43
New tourism trade fair: Global Travel Week
New Deal Europe, along with our partners in the Balkans and South East Europe, is delighted to be taking part in Global Travel Week in September, the first live global tourism trade fair to take place in the UK for almost two years. It’s a brand new event, organised by the Connections team at Jacobs Media Group, and will be very different to any global trade fair we’ve ever seen. We asked the event’s organiser, Micaela Giacobbe, to tell us more…
NDE: Hi Micaela. Thanks for joining us this week to tell us all about the latest international travel fair, Global Travel Week. Let’s start by asking what are the key things people need to know about the event?
MG: Hi Robert, thank you so much for inviting me! Global Travel Week powered by Connections is the new annual international travel trade event by Jacobs Media Group. Taking place from 27th to 30th September 2021 at The Kia Oval, London. The event has been designed in the pioneering ‘Connections networking format’. Flexibility is at the forefront of the event, with measures in place to ensure global suppliers can develop meaningful relationships with the UK market. For those who cannot join in person, Global Travel Week will be available to international suppliers and buyers as they can join a 24-hour, virtual one-to-one meetings programme from 4th to 5th October. Essentially this is three quality events under one roof, Connections Luxury, Travolution and the mainstream Global Travel Week, with the opportunity for delegates to attend shared seminars and enjoy shared experiences.
NDE: For those not familiar with it, can you explain what exactly the Connections networking format is?
MG: Absolutely. Quite simply, we bring together senior industry professionals to build trust through memorable experiences that lead to long-lasting business relationships. The experiences will showcase what each destination has to offer, and they will be delivered on-site at the Kia Oval.
NDE: Why did you decide to create a new travel event?
MG: Global Travel Week was created out of the need of the industry. The last year has been an incredibly challenging one for all of us. In response, we shifted the Connections Way of doing business online and successfully held six events for Connections Luxury members and tourist boards. More than 2,000 suppliers and buyers met through almost 18,000 one-to-one virtual meetings, with 107 experiences delivered live from around the world; each event achieved a 98–100% satisfaction rating. The Connections Luxury private community also welcomed 188 new members from over 42 different countries, proving that there continues to be a positive appetite for doing business. As borders slowly begin to reopen, we want to continue doing more, not less for our industry. With so many incredible brands under Jacobs Media Group, we wanted to support its recovery and resurgence by offering unrivalled access, insight and connectivity to our clients, and so Global Travel Week was born.
Global Travel Week is designed to help worldwide destinations and global companies satisfy the UK market, which is a primary source to help restart travel.
Delegates will benefit from insightful and focused content sessions delivered throughout the week by our various market-leading brands. Travolution will also host its one-day Travolution European Summit within this event. In essence, Global Travel Week is a showcase of all our core brands under the JMG umbrella and I have no doubt it will become another major annual flagship event within our portfolio.
NDE: Who is Global Travel Week aimed at and why have you targeted them?
MG: Global Travel Week is designed to help worldwide destinations and global companies satisfy the UK market, which is a primary source to help restart travel for our partners and suppliers: and in order to fast-track the trust needed to do business in the future, the event is exclusively for senior decision-makers. For those senior UK buyers and global suppliers who are unable to attend the in-person event, they are invited to join the virtual programme of one-to-one meetings. Unlike the in-person event, this programme is also open to international buyers.
NDE: Do you think there is space for another trade event?
MG: This won’t be just another exhibition; Global Travel Week will do things differently. Designed in the ‘Connections Way’ format, Global Travel Week will be a quality event designed to help senior travel executives build connections through memorable experiences that will lead to long-lasting business relationships. Worldwide destinations and their private sector representatives will meet UK buyers through highly targeted one-to-one meetings, complemented by a variety of experiences held in ’destination zones’. The market needs a different type of travel event, which is what we present through GTW. Connections has been delivering highly-targeted, international events for over 7 years and by combining the Connections Way of doing business with the incredible power of the Jacobs Media Group brands, we offer a new and much-needed product to the industry.
NDE: What has been the reaction from the trade so far?
MG: When we launched the event in April, we were so humbled by the response — it has been incredible. Global Travel Week will be one of the first opportunities for the industry to come together in-person, so it’s created quite a sense of anticipation across our network.
NDE: Can you tell us who has signed up to exhibit so far and what they are saying about participating?
MG: We have received so much positive interest already — many of our clients are expressing how excited they are about Global Travel Week, and are really looking forward to it. Tourist Boards exhibiting so far include the Italian National Tourist Board, Visit Portugal, Malta Tourism Authority, Slovenia Tourist Board, Tourism Council of Bhutan and the Turks & Caicos Tourism Board. Private sector companies showcasing within the luxury sector include Maslina Resorts, Rosewood London, Aman Hotels, Virgin Limited Edition, 7 Pines Resort Ibiza, Nine Worlds and Ultima Collection — to name just a few: and our event supporters of course include New Deal Europe, as well as ATTA, Finn Partners, IGLTA, McKenzie Gayle Limited, Nordic Tourism Collective and PATA.
NDE: If a supplier partner signs up for the live event, are they automatically registered for the virtual event?
MG: Companies can decide whether they would like to attend the event in-person or virtually. If you would like to do both, this requires an additional registration.
NDE: New Deal Europe is honoured to be supporting the first Global Travel Week. How do you think our region will benefit from the event?
MG: We are so thrilled to be working with New Deal Europe for GTW, which sees the continuation of the fantastic partnership developed with Jacobs Media Group. We know how important the Balkan region is as an emerging market for UK travellers. GTW gives the region and its private sector the opportunity to meet one-to-one with senior, qualified UK buyers — in either the mainstream or luxury sector — and develop meaningful, business relationships. The event will help raise the awareness of this extraordinary destination and support the objective of driving more business to South Eastern Europe. We are looking forward to welcoming you there!
We are so thrilled to be working with New Deal Europe for GTW, which sees the continuation of the fantastic partnership developed with Jacobs Media Group.
NDE: Thank you Micaela. In addition to the opportunity to conduct business meetings, there is also a series of educational seminars planned which delegates can attend. I know it is early in the planning process, but do you have any information on these at this stage?
MG: Yes, we do! Travel leaders in attendance will also benefit from insightful and focused content sessions delivered throughout by Jacobs Media Group’s travel brands. Travel Weekly’s market-leading editorial team will be bringing together a panel of experts to identify key trends facing the global travel industry and what forces will influence how destinations and travel firms can evolve and thrive in the post-pandemic future. The Association of Touring & Adventure seminar will assess the opportunities to embrace this growing and lucrative sector. Aspire will deliver insights from outside the sector to show how the needs and expectations of high net-worth customers are developing and how travel brands can attract this key consumer segment. We are also planning sessions with Unity Through Tourism as well as the Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council. Finally, on Thursday 30 September, Travolution will also host its one-day Travolution European Summit for travel technology brands and professionals. This year will be dominated by discussion and debate about how technology is underpinning the recovery. We also have a brainstorming session planned with New Deal Europe to see how we can deliver more on our sustainability agenda at the event.
NDE: We are really looking forward to this opportunity to work with you on this aspect as New Deal Europe is focused on promoting sustainable and responsible tourism. How important is this to Global Travel Week and how will it be represented at the event?
MG: At Connections, we have always been very conscientious about our impact. For example, we provide our delegates with reusable water bottles to reduce plastic waste, we limit the amount of printed collateral we use — in fact, moving forward, personalised agendas will be digital only — and we recycle as much as possible; the paper we use for our printed Magazine is FSC certified, and all paper is recyclable. Plus, we work closely with event partners for environmental considerations such as accessibility, using local providers to support the local community, service, efficiency in energy and water and in waste. In terms of the products we will have at the event, the Balkans of course is a leader in sustainable and responsible tourism, particularly in the adventure sector, so we look forward to seeing how we can work with you to incorporate elements of responsible tourism into our programme. Slovenia has already confirmed their attendance. They are the green heart of Europe, and the country is a world leader in sustainable tourism so I expect that they will highlight this to the visitors, and Bhutan will also be present at the event. They have developed their tourism entirely in this direction. Their latest tourism policy says that they want “to promote Bhutan as a green, sustainable, inclusive, and a high-value tourism destination guided by the policy of ‘High-value, Low volume’ tourism to contribute to the overall socioeconomic development of the country.” I’m looking forward to seeing what experiences all of these destinations are planning to showcase at the event.
Global Travel Week will be one of the first opportunities for the industry to come together in-person, so it’s created quite a sense of anticipation across our network.
NDE: We know from personal experience how demanding and time consuming it is to organise a travel fair, so we hope you are able to take advantage of the restart and get some time to take a holiday this Summer. Where do you plan to go and why choose there?
MG: Organising events and connecting people is certainly demanding and time consuming, but at the same time extremely rewarding and fun. Whenever I have time for a holiday, we go to my beautiful home country, Italy. I come from the city of Turin in the Piemonte region. There you can taste THE most amazing wines, Dolcetto Nebbiolo and Barbera, as well as cheeses and truffles — particularly the white truffles of Alba. The countryside as it was in the first half of the 20th century features prominently in the writings of Beppe Fenoglio and Cesare Pavese, who was born there, in Santo Stefano Belbo. I visit Le Langhe, which is a hilly area to the south and east of the River Tanaro. Part of the Langhe was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage for its cultural landscapes and outstanding living testimony to winegrowing and winemaking traditions. I like to explore, and it is always great to discover hidden places in my home country. You never stop being amazed by the people, the food and the beautiful weather.
NDE: Micaela, it has been great chatting to you. We wish you a lovely holiday when the time comes and every success with the event — and of course you have our full support in recruiting as many suppliers as possible from the New Deal Europe region.
MG: Thank you for having me — it’s been wonderful to chat! Please let everyone know that if they would like more details about Global Travel Week, please visit www.globaltravelweek.com or contact info@globaltravelweek.com or info@newdealeurope.com
New Deal Europe is the only travel market platform dedicated to generating business to the Balkan region of Europe, www.newdealeurope.com. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newdealeurope.
