Episodes
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The monthly Ground Control Podcast goes in-depth with industry insiders from travel, transportation, and hospitality. Presented by World Travel Market, Mozio, and GroundControlHQ.com and hosted by David Litwak.
Website: https://www.groundcontrolhq.com/ -
Thank you for listening to our joint episode with The Big Travel Podcast!
We are no strangers to the term “sustainability”. Over the past decade, being environmentally conscious has been trending and rightly so- it’s time to make a change. So how can we be more responsible when it comes to travelling? In this episode, we are joined by Lucy Siegle, esteemed journalist and climate change campaigner, discussing carbon emissions and potential “greenwashing”. The travel industry is undoubtedly a high-level contributor to climate change, so we’re taking the bull by the horns and asking, “What can we do differently?” Whilst there’s no quick fix, there are definitely things we can do for damage limitation, while the industry continues to strive for cleaner and more efficient ways to travel. At WTM, we understand the urgency and are keen to look into how we can support companies to deliver more responsible ways to travel. If this is something you are interested in, please get in touch or take a look at our Responsible Tourism sector for more information.Thank you to Lucy for this incredibly candid interview, and we look forward to hearing your feedback. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe! WTM Website: https://bit.ly/2uXmpaE -
Episodes manquant?
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Travel has seen its fair share of ups and downs this year, from the collapse of big travel businesses such as Super Break and, more recently Thomas Cook, to the success felt by Sri Lanka after their national airline reopened their global routes. We are joined by Antonia Stratford, Head of Public Affairs at UKinbound, and Kelly Cookes, Leisure Director for Advantage Travel, to discuss their insights on travel trends from 2019 and how they are impacting the industry. With a report from Visit Britain revealing that 30% of inbound tourists will travel to the UK for a famous filming location, and a higher demand for ‘classic British cuisine’, new travel trends are starting to emerge. With the uncertain political climate and a need for innovation in terms of sustainability, it is more important than ever for businesses to adapt and evolve and this is something we have seen throughout the year. You can find a recent industry report from UKinbound on the impact of Brexit and new immigration policy on tourism here. This is our last episode of 2019- it has been a pleasure and we look forward to releasing our new episodes in 2020. Have a wonderful Christmas!
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This episode was recorded LIVE at the World Travel Market, London- the biggest travel trade show in the world. We had a fantastic time and would love to share with you some of what we got up to! With the likes of Game of Thrones and Star Wars garnering millions of die-hard fans, what better way to attract new visitors than through TV and film? Lisa Nand interviews a brilliant panel of Judith Webb, Tourism Northern Ireland, Donovan White, Jamaica Tourism Board, Colin Piper, Discover Dominica Authority and Dr Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, Jordan Tourism Board. Between them, they have hosted filming for Aladdin, Game of Thrones, Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond. A lot of money is poured into marketing campaigns, but as a filming destination, it is possible to secure massive reach across a number of demographics that wouldn’t normally be accessible. We discuss how these destinations originally secured the filming contract and the process of harnessing their traction and using it to boost their profile within the travel and tourism sector. Not only does it promote their destination, it also creates new jobs and supply chains within the area, and lays foundations for future filming projects. As always, please let us know what you think and don’t forget to subscribe FOR FREE on Itunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast streaming platforms.
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With travel being the second biggest spend for 16-35’s over items like bills and food, it’s no wonder that pop culture royalty such as MTV are branching out. The popularity of music festivals is growing year on year and this success has been felt by Maltese festival, Isle of MTV who ran their 13th event to 30,000 music fans in July. This level of tourist influx is a challenge for any destination, so we talk to Russell Samuel, VP of Created & Integrated Marketing for Viacom Velocity International, about how they worked with the Malta Tourism Board and local businesses to accommodate the festival goers and source all the necessary equipment and materials.
Viacom are the umbrella company for a multitude of brilliant platforms, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodean to name a few. Russ discusses how they use their variety of branding to appeal to a range of demographics and to ensure that their impact on Malta is not just specific to the week of the festival, but that the effects are felt all year round. They have also recently introduced a new vertical into their marketing strategy called ‘MTV Travel’ giving fans the opportunity to browse destinations based on their interests within pop culture. It is a clear model of how businesses are using the zeitgeist to grow their business and travel is the perfect branch in which to explore this.
Enjoying our podcast? Then you’ll love our conferences at WTM where we cover a variety of topics from Responsible Tourism to Aviation to Social Media, including a session with MTV dedicated to the impact of Music Tourism! Register as a visitor here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to make sure you’re up to date on what’s been happening in the travel world! -
As we strive for a more inclusive and diverse society, is that being reflected in how we meet the needs of travellers? Improved accessibility is something that the majority of us will require at some point in our lives, and for people living with disabilities, this need is far more urgent.
With the introduction of new technology such as touch screens, our guest speaker Amar Latif has seen travel accessibility move backwards instead of forwards. Amar is blind and is CEO and Founder of Traveleyes; a company that pairs sighted with non-sighted travellers for incredible trips around the world. He is joined by the wonderful Clare Jenkinson, Senior Destinations and Sustainability Manager at ABTA to discuss their perspectives on how the travel industry needs to improve its customer care and adapt to facilitate everyone. Not only is it a human right but, with the purple pound worth £250 million, it also makes great business sense. We talk about practical ways to improve how your business deals with accessibility and what we can do as a community to give more people the opportunity to travel.
If you're interested in hearing more about accessibility in travel, check out our blog post https://news.wtm.com/accessible-tourism-matters-for-everyone-not-just-the-wealthy/ written by Responsible Tourism Expert, Harold Goodwin. Let us know what you think! -
With around 3.5 billion people actively engaged in social media, it has become integral to the success of a business, particularly within the travel and tourism sector- but how can brands harness that power? Our host, Lisa Nand, speaks to CEO & Co-Founder of Traverse, Michael Ball, and blogger Julie Falconer, from A Lady in London (www.aladyinlondon.com), about how working with an influencer and content creator can grow your reach exponentially whilst providing customers with an authentic product review. As Michael says, “are you more likely to book a holiday based on an advertising campaign or a recommendation from a friend?” and that is precisely the trusted dynamic you tap into when you utilise influencer marketing.
Found this helpful? Then you'll love our blog post about the necessity of #ad and #spon and the impact they've had on content creators. Check it out here: https://news.wtm.com/instagram-embraces-the-age-of-spon-and-ad-with-branded-creator-content/ Interested in finding out more? BorderlessLive, taking place at Tobacco Docks 6th & 7th September, is a global event providing a platform for influencers, brands and the travel community to come together to create and inspire. Tickets are in high demand- but we are giving away 2 for free! All you have to do is screenshot yourself listening to this episode, then post the picture on your Instagram story tagging @borderlesslive with the hashtag #WTMinsights for your chance to win. We will pick a user at random and announce the lucky winner on Monday 19th August. Good luck and we’ll see you there!https://www.borderlesslive.com/ -
In a competitive industry like travel and tourism, how can companies ensure that they appeal to all demographics? This month’s Pride celebrations have been particularly poignant, marking the 50th anniversary of the transformative Stonewall riots in Manhattan. In a fascinating interview with Out Now’s founder and CEO Ian Johnson, we discuss how the LGBT+ tourism sector has grown exponentially over the past decade and what companies can do to ensure that their rainbow flag is flying 365 days a year. Reed exhibitions is vocal in its support of the LGBT+ community with our successful NYC exhibition PROUD Experiences.
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The rise of podcasting into the mainstream has been significant and more and more businesses are seeing audio on demand as a valuable way of getting their message out - whether that's making podcasts themselves, appearing on other people's podcasts or sponsoring and advertising on podcasts. WTM Insights Podcast host Lisa Francesca Nand from The Big Travel Podcast present this panel from WTM London and we discover how podcasting can help strengthen your brand.
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Branded content in the travel sector means telling memorable stories, but how can you be sure you’re delivering your brand story with impact and efficiency? In this fascinating session with the BBC at WTM London we hear from Dr Hamish McPharlin Head of Insight at BBC Global News about their latest research into the science of memory, including what creates strength and emotion in memory and how we can harness this to create powerful, memorable branded content.
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TV presenter and campaigner June Sarpong came to the WTM to host a panel on the issue of gender equality in travel called '100 Years of Suffragettes: International Perspectives for the Travel Industry'. At the start of this conference she gave an inspirational speech about diversity including the research she unearthed for her best-selling book Diversify. We managed to catch up with June in the busy backstage area before her speech to ask her about her thoughts on diversity in the travel industry. On this episode we then hear June's speech in which she emphasises how, because travel is about bringing people together and about connecting people from different backgrounds and different ethnicities, the travel industry really needs to ask itself ‘is everyone in the room’?
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Destinations and travel businesses around the world are making great efforts to attract a larger share of China's outbound travellers, but connecting to the Chinese market isn’t always easy – it can require time, effort and money and is particularly difficult for small those on a limited budget. In this unmissable session from digital marketing and solutions agency Dragon Trail Interactive from the WTM, we learn the basics of Chinese digital marketing for SMEs as well as how tourism boards can support SMEs to connect to Chinese travellers and the Chinese travel trade.
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2018 marked the 100th anniversary of British women gaining the right to vote and WTM London held a special travel-focused debate to mark this. The need for greater diversity, gender balance and visibility of women in the travel industry is still a key issue and our panel investigate what the travel industry might be able to do to accelerate the pace at which the pay gap is closing and what lessons and best practice can be shared and learnt from other sectors.
The panel is moderated by Alessandra Alonso of Women in Travel, a long-standing, passionate advocate and supporter of women in the travel & tourism industry and social entrepreneur and includes a stellar line-up of women from media, politics and of course travel
. -Eliza Reid – First Lady of Iceland & Special Ambassador for Tourism (World Tourism Organisation)
-Zina Bencheikh, PEAK Destination Management Company
-June Sarpong MBE, Co-Founder, WIE Network & DNA Summit
-Jo Phillips, VP Talent & Culture, Carnival UK
-How if we don’t have women at the table we’re losing 50% of the chance for success
-Iceland’s ranking as the number one country in the world to be a woman
-how the travel and tourism industry can make women’s voices heard and become more empowered
-how the Suffragette’s made their voice heard by taking huge risks
-women doing well at mid-level but not rising to senior management
-companies realising that amplifying the female voice matters
-how senior female representation is the key
-the Iceland women’s strikes
-the commercial case for having women in senior positions in the industry
-the power of a diversity of voice and using our voices together whatever gender
-celebrating the gains that have been made
-how mean and women at the top must champion women working their way up
-the importance of mentoring and role modeling
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Johan Lundgren took over as CEO of easyJet in December 2017 and, since joining the airline, has set out a significant increase in investment in easyJet Holidays, showcased a series of initiatives to increase business passengers and revealed plans to introduce a new loyalty programme. In an exclusive one-to-one conversation, lead by industry expert John Strickland at WTM London, the new easyJet boss talks about his plans to harness the power of data to improve customer proposition, reduce costs and increase revenue, reaffirms the company’s commitment to increase the proportion of female pilots and also addresses how the company are planning to deal with challenges such as Brexit.
On this episode we explore:
-How in EasyJet – ‘what you see on the outside is also what you get on the inside’
-Why he joined EasyJet How easyJet has changed the way people travel Second biggest airline in Europe but with only 10% of the market
-Over 300 aircraft – big scale operation but an easy to understand model
Building on EasyJet’s strengths
How the head office in ‘the hangar’ is actually in a hangar! How easyJet has evolved over the years The ‘fantastic individuals’ he works with
-How easyJet has always focused on value
The good year-end financial results-The changes in the competitive landscape in the current climate
-The demise of Monarch Changing market capacity
-The Air Berlin acquisition – game-changing their position in Germany
-Focusing on four core markets UK, France, Germany and Italy
-Addressing the potential impact of Brexit.
Their 29 bases around Europe Lufthansa disappointing end of year results Using resources and energy to ensure Berlin went very well operationally-Brandenburg Airport opening
-Being in a strong position in Berlin
-Alitalia’s problems and whether any acquisition would make sense
-Focusing on short haul and primary airports
Milan being one of their biggest bases-The challenge of strikes and Air Traffic Control strikes
The impact of EU261 and strike compensation-Not disputing people’s right to strike
-Protecting overflying in France and giving sufficient notification on strikes
-Paying to Euro Control for something that is not being delivery
-How Single European Skies would help
-How investment in data and technology could mitigate some consequences
-The airline group A4E and lack of protection for airlines
-The European Aviation Summit Delays would be eradicated if the European airspace issue were solved How flying around an extra 5% is ‘nonsense’
The unknown impact of Brexit
easyJet’s base in Austria to reduce impact of Brexit
-How there are no winners with Brexit
-Open Skies of Europe flying in second and third countries to their market
How politicians will not be forgiven if airlines are halted after Brexit-Punctuality challenges
-Focusing far more on data in their business
Billions of data points in the industry The unconstrained data that is available-How the industry needs meaningful relationships with customers 90 million individuals on their database predicting demands before they happen
-How they can simulate different scheduling throughout the day – congestion points, collecting competitor data
-How they used data to help them cut down on fresh food waste by 20% - 800,000 fewer wasted sandwiches a year!
-Upgrading their sales with small changes – more G&T with Fever Tree. Tonic
-Future investment in aircraft – upsizing airplanes How larger planes allow them to grow within existing slots
-Evolving in a changing landscape How Ryanair is growing more quickly – bigger aircraft too Not being a big fan of ‘irresponsible growth’
easyJet expect to grow about 10% in the coming year-Competing successfully with Ryanair, Whizz and other models
-How the slots at key airports are tremendous assets Having a high level of brand recognition
-Having a crystal clear value proposition
-How good years are there to prepare for a downturn
-How the European market is no where near as consolidation as USA In 2015 there were 25 airlines making up about 80% of the market but by 2016 there were 11 airlines
-Whether or not easyJet will go long haul
Focusing on strengths and increasing the 10% share of current market-Key priorities for the company – even greater focus on business travellers Already have 13 million business passengers
Looking at business bundles – fast track, guaranteeing hand luggage on board and more Aiming to greater fulfil business passengers’ needs-How easyJet is really about creating additional value
-Harnessing the power of data to offer a more personal experience
-Developing easyJet holidays Encouraging accommodation booking
-Creating new partnerships with hotels Electric and hybrid aircraft
-The ambitious target of seeing electric aircraft by 2030
-Encouraging more gender balance in pilots Wanting to become known for attracting top talent
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On this episode, direct from WTM London, five industry leaders from Euromontor International, TUI, Easyjet, Travel Counsellors and Hilton discuss what we can expect for 2019 including consumer confidence, which destinations are doing well and why, the relationships with overseas partners both for outbound and inbound, currency values and of course Brexit. Hosted by Ben Ross Deputy Travel Editor of the Telegraph with:
• Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel Research Euromonitor International
• Andrew Flintham, Managing Director TUI UK & Ireland
• Chris Browne OBE, Chief Operating Officer, easyJet
• Steve Byrne, Chief Executive Officer, Travel Counsellors
• Steve Cassidy, Senior Vice President & Managing Director UK & Ireland, Hilton
On this episode we cover:
Caroline Bremnar, Head of Travel Research:
World travel and tourism arrivals – a record year of 7% growth last year 1.4 billion people travelling in 2019
Additional 1 billion in 2030 – growth driven by Asia
Average spending from trip slowly coming down over last two decades Issue of over tourism
-A shift towards value driven low impact tourism
Leading destinations worldwide – still France.-By 2030 – China will take over as most popular leading source markets
– China a leader in future outbound tourism plus USA, UK and more Regional performance in inbound receipts
– Asia strongest performing but Africa and Middle East have huge potential
Recovery in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia North American outperforming the economy in that region China, Thailand, US, Hong Kong and France – strong increased in demand-Weaker growth in Denmark and some Caribbean nations
-Europe – impacted by terrorism as Egypt and Turkey but now on the rebound UK has performed very well considering challenges of terrorism
-Consumer confidence index – not ideal Brexit scenarios
– travel forecast model Inbound market: Most probable outcome is that there will be a delayed free trade agreement
-If we continue to have access to Open Skies expect 39 million arrivals rising to 49 million in 2030
-A no deal Brexit would have a good impact on arrivals as the pound would diminish by 10%
The pound is depreciating overall Outbound market: 85 million arrivals to 110 by 2030-No deal Brexit worst outcome for UK consumers Spain hit of 2 billion pounds, US, France, Portugal all taking hit in no deal Brexit
-Ageing population will bring more challenges
-Young people will have less money than parents – opposite in Asia Growing inequality in the UK
-Bottom heavy income levels means the industry will suffer as a whole due to price competitiveness
The panel discuss their respective performances over 2018, preparations for Brexit and beyond including:-Easyjet’s stellar performance in 2018, carrying 2000 flights a day and 90m customers overall
How Travel Counsellors has grown about 16% every year-Hilton’s 100 year anniversary, Hilton’s innovations and expansion
How a weak pound means UK hotels do well-The reversal of East to West Demand coming back to Egypt and Turkey
Development on the Adriatic coast and new markets there-People still love exotic long-haul destinations Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam popular
-The bounce-back after terrorists attacks
Customers’ affinity to destinations such as Tunisia and Egypt-Easyjet’s new destinations in Jordan, Denmark, Poland and Finland
An increase in an desire to make a trip different or memorable that might seem to be a small way to a provider but means a lot to the customer
Hilton being focused on what is going to make people travel Personalisation agendas
-The development of electric planes
Business travel is down into the UK but leisure travel is up-Businesses are feeling the uncertainty due to Brexit
-3 in 5 people have said that Brexit will not change their holiday plans
14% of people will spend more time in the UK-How if we don’t get an agreement like Open Skies flights stop flying on the 1st April.
Preparations from all panellists for Brexit. -
Instagram has now passed the billion-user threshold and in this hugely popular keynote Instagram and Facebook travel marketer Neasa Bannon tells us how travel is one of the most engaging topics on Insta, how travel brands are using it, the top four trends in travel and how we can all get the best from instagram.
On this episode we cover:
-How travel and Instagram are great partners More than a billion active monthly users grown from 800 million just a year ago
How travel and instagram are made for each other 160 million posts tagged #travel across the globe in just one month.
Moved from postcards that say wish you were here to photos that say we’re glad you’re here Instant reaction is very powerful
How people are inspired by other people’s photos
50% of people follow non reciprocal relationships on Instagram
-people are in discovery mode
Photos v stories Opens our appetite for adventure
Making memories to share but also to keep for a lifetime
-Passion for travel unites people and business on instagram
Unprecedented growth - 550m active on a daily basis
80% of accounts are out of the US
-400m people use Instagram stories every day - shift in user behaviour
Travel on Instagram:
-Travel on Instagram is among the most active and engaged audiences on Insatgram
-Travel fans watch 3 x more accounts than the global average
-7/10 acccounts are following brands
-two times more likely to watch video content than other audiences
-1m travel related hashtags are searched for every week on instagram
-290,000 #hiddengems
-56% share photos and videos on Instagram
-80% of people follow business 75% of these are willing to take action (swipe up, click etc)
-1/3 of stories viewed on instagram are from businesses
-4 key trends that are really important to the instagram audience :
1 Inspiring Inspiration
2 Making memories
3 Tips for travel
4 Uncovering gems travel
-‘Instagram is where travel adventures begin’
Where new users come from
Finding friends by logging in with Facebook
-2018 has been the year of Stories – unprecedented growth, doubled in six months and showing no signs of slowing down
How people are using less filters #nofilter is on the rise-The casual side of stories has counteracted the filter trend - self correcting, people are coming back to more ‘normal’ pictures
How influencers use Instagram and #ad-The platform is evolving all the time
How transparency is really important to them with branded content
How they handle negative images on Instagram
#swipeupforsmalls
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Direct from the shop floor on the first day of the 3 day World Travel Market event in London’s Excel, with Global Consumer Trends; Opportunities for the Travel with Paul Davies and Mintel Research. We learn about the 6 key consumer trends affecting the travel industry right now and how brands can adapt and take advantage of these. An exciting start to WTM 2018.
On this episode we cover:
-The six consumer trends having the biggest Impact on the travel industry
-One constant theme – rising demand for experiences - the experience economy. Doing things that are different from the norm
-Young consumers wanting ‘more’ from a trip away -Experience is all – shift from owning goods to owning experiences
-The digital dilemma – loving tech but becoming more aware of the need to escape
-Make it Mine – the rising demands for personalised products and services -50% UK consumers would rather spend money on luxury holidays rather than luxury goods
-the huge rise and demand for experiences compared to product dominant areas which only see single digit growth -the holiday market continues to prosper -consumers demanding experiences like never had before
– trying something new, a bit unconventional -Social media – instagram playing bigger part in determining choice of holiday
-People going to quirkier destinations -Brands already tapping into this
-Culture Trip - a travel blogging website launching online travel agency
-Looking to millennials to try more unusual activities -Airbnb and other accommodation tapping into this demand -Encouraging people to book activities via the same platform
-Moving away from museums and cathedrals to more secret locations
-Going against the norm in terms of where they stay – looing for nature lodges, traditional Japanese inns, yurts etc -
Transformative travel – the rise of this
-People looking to go away to discover a new side to themselves, a new connection to nature, to travel more responsibly, to volunteer
-50% of US travels saying they want to travel like a local less touristy landmarks -Fly, flop and shop
– hotels partnering with local retail and leisure centres
-Consumers prioritising experiences over products
-Brands that offer unconventional activities
-Experience doesn’t have to be too radical – it’s not all yoga and yurts – just getting them out of the hotel for the day
-The digital dilemma -On one hand consumers are attached to their smartphones 24/7 but on the flip side more and more consumers are becoming more aware of the dangers of too much social media
-The positive side of digital - Consumers really recognising the emotional benefits of social
– bring them closer to others
-The rise of gamification in travel use augmented reality to explore cities and destinations
-Travel helping with the more mundane side of travel – apps to guide through airports
-Thomas Cook’s end of towel wars –reserving sunbeds -But also - the rise of the analogue experience.
-People escaping technology altogether.
-Consumers are recognising the desire to disconnect temporarily
-Growing awareness of detrimental of overuse of technology
-Apple screen time launched -58% of UK consumers say they like to get away from technology on holiday
-Live Like a Nomad
- nomadic tourism on the rise
-Opportunities for travel brands
-Mobile apps that make travel easier
-Promoting more analogue experiences
-Instead of banning tech – help consumers
-Make it Nice – embracing customisation
-The rise of personalised products and services
-Privacy conscious - 52% of UK travellers are not confident in knowing what info they’re sharing online but at the same time want personalised products and services
-How the hotel sector is embracing customisation
– Thomas Cook new tailor made service
-Luxury travel brands play on tailor made
– Kuoni at the forefront of this
-Hotels using smart technology to top into this personalised trends – Accor pumping different aromas into your room, Virgin Hotels launching ‘The Know’ to personalise minibar and more.
-Package holidays looking to do more of this – consumers getting greater say 59% of millennial would prefer package holidays tailored to their tastes
-Growth forecast for the package market and even stronger growth for personalisation
-Life hacking trend – computer overwhelmed by information and looking for short cuts
-Cashing in – the sharing economy but consumers wanting to monetise their time in new ways
-Return to the experts – the rise of digital services encouraging people to seek out human advice – the travel agent still playing a dominant role
-Growth of luxury specialists
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WTM Insights Podcast is THE podcast to listen to for global travel trends, analysis and updates from us throughout the year and also from the events themselves starting with WTM London on the 5th, 6th and 7th November. Joining host, travel journalist Lisa Francesca Nand, on this episode is Simon Press Senior Exhibition Director to tell us more about the event, the podcast and how this year’s WTM London will wow us all.
