Another year, another WTM. After three days of treading the floors of the exhibition I am exhausted and will be happy to have a day by the PC tomorrow. I have a large stack of new and old connections to write to, and that will start next week. But for now it feels like a good time to share a couple of the high and low points of the event while they are fresh in my mind.
Without doubt one of the best aspects of the last three days has been the chance to meet in person so many of the friends I have made through social media in the past few months. It was a pleasure to put a face and a real person to all those tweets, and even better to learn that they are as decent folk in person as they are online. It is a powerful testimonial to the power of social media that these relationships can be formed and developed.
A good extension of this was the Travel Blog Camp organised by Darren Cronian, which allowed so many bloggers to network and to share war stories from their lonely days in front of their laptops.
The show itself was as colourful as ever, with food, music and costumes from all over the world greeting you on every corner. The pride and passion of people in their own nations is a wonderful thing to hear expressed so often around the exhibition halls. Catching up with old friends, some deliberately and some by chance, is always a highlight of these events.
And another unexpected high point? Stepping out of a coffee break onto the main floor and seeing the entire group of Miss World candidates come walking past one by one. It brought the surrounding male audience to a standstill in a scene reminiscent of the classic recent Virgin Airlines commercial.
As for the worst bits? In joint fourth place I would put the many exhibitors who just sat at their booths texting and checking emails on their phones, and didn’t even look up when a visitor approached them. After all the time and money spent in sending a stand, its contents and the people to man it halfway around the world, to have no interest in people who might be potential customers is plain crazy.
Third place goes to the man from an Indian incoming tour company who stood in the aisle and accosted me (and anyone else passing) with the greeting “Sir, will you do business with me?” He was completely indiscriminate who he approached and seemed to use the same patter with each new victim. I would love to hear from someone who did indeed do business with him. A human version of spamming?
In second place comes the transport to and from the venue. While not in the catastrophic category of previous years, the DLR is not a great advertisement for the UK, and the bottlenecks along the route are not the best way of starting or ending the day. I remain to be confident about the city’s ability to handle a much higher volume of people moving to this part of London in 2012.
A special first place in the WTM Hall of Shame is awarded to the delegation from Uzbekistan. Followers of 501 Places will know that I have written several very positive posts about this beautiful country. I wanted to say hello to the Uzbek tourism officials and introduced myself at the desk. Having chatted a little to the girl and then explained my request, she looked at me apologetically and said “I am sorry but I have to honest. I have been told to tell anyone with a Press badge that there is nobody here to speak to them”. I was amazed! All this effort to bring a stand thousands of miles to promote their country, and they don’t want to speak to someone who has been an active advocate?
All in all, a busy, tiring but rewarding three days. Another year will fly by, I look forward to the next installment in 2010!
Prague: still the best weekend break in Europe?
I thoroughly agree with you on all the points – particularly the mass of unfriendly faces behind the stands. As you say – what’s the point?
I cannot believe the Uzbek response. Utterly appalling.
Thanks for this post! It was useful to have your view since unfortunately I couldn’t make it. The human spaming sounds scary though
Being a native of the UK and an ex Londoner, I have to disagree with you about the DLR.
Having moved a considerable distance from London I have to say I usually hate the prospect of travelling to London for anything.
However, our connection from the London Underground @ Bank to the DLR was just one minute from arriving and there were plenty of seats and the journey was efficient and quick.
Our return to Euston was equally good with just one change at Canning Town for a connection to Bank.
For once, I was impressed with the service, but ok, not the cost – £7.50 each off peak return – how do so many other European countries seem to run cheap transport?
Thanks guys for the comments. Pity you couldn’t make it Paola – will tell you the stories when we meet up, but the Mexican tourism board put on a good show as always with a huge stand. Andy, see if you can go and bug the Uzbeks tomorrow
I should be kinder to the DLR – had one 20min journey to Bank and one 45min one on Monday. Even got a seat this morning! But yes, our transport prices seem so far out of line with those in other places.
I have a feeling that I may have shared a table with Will You Do Business With Me guy at a Sri Lanka buffet… On Mon we were corralled onto a packed bus after we were barred from the DLR, I’m with you on the Olympic fear… If we can’t cope with an exhibition, how will we manage that?!
My low point was the same as yours – I cannot understand why you’d make all that effort and then not bother to talk to interested people. I went to see Nicaragua, as my partner was mostly bought up there – I even took photos of the booth, I stood there, smiling at the woman slumped at the back who appeared to be doing her nails and she completely blanked me.
Similarly with Venezuela… I was really excited to see they had such a great stand – it was, I think, their first time there – and told one of the women on the stall that I’d like to talk to someone in their marketing team… the guy appeared, spoke in spanish – which i could mostly understand – and essentially said he was too tired to bother. This was Monday about 3pmish… I was prob one of the few journalists in the room who thinks Chavez is fantastic!
Sorry if I missed you at the tweet up on Mon night – meeting all those @’s and making them real was even better than the guy from Ecuador in the furry goat leggings…
I’m glad someone else met him Nikki. I hope he found someone to do business. Your experience at the Nicaragua and Venezuela stands sounded terrible, but commonplace. These exhibitors really need to look at who they put on the stand and what their expected role is.
As for Mr Furry leggings, I encountered him in the Gents. Let’s just say his outfit did not make for a quick visit… nuff said.
Wonderful article who truly understands and follows the profession from Heart and Mind. Though I am a Tour Operator in uzbekistan and know some wonderful people in Uzbek Tourism who were in WTM but I understand the answer to a genuine question because of making only one mistake “no recruiting professional staff and lack of coaching”. About Indian I agree it is Spamming and Naturally Irritating. Tourism is meant to get pleasure and satisfaction and it has nothing to do with heartless zealots.
Thank you for enriching us with a good article
Uzbekistan is the most Beautiful and wonderful hidden treasure of Tourism Industry. What we all aspire: Peace, Ecological Friendly environments, Stability, Services, Comfort, Choice, connections etc. Uzbekistan may not stand Number One in all but on the whole it would be amongst the highest graded. I have yet to see a person who was in uzbekistan and not fully satisfied. (Except those few AGenda Lads). Country is a hidden Treasure because it lacks experience and need all the help.
Thanks for your posts Haroon. Yes, I am also sure that no-one will leave Uzbekistan without being moved by its beautiful architecture and its colourful history. Let’s hope its tourism officials learn how to best promote it to the outside world. At the moment the country has a reasonable level of tourism despite its efforts, not because of them.