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My inspiration 

My name is Sakile Graham and I’m a third-year BA (Hons) Business Management student studying at Buckinghamshire New University. I have always been interested in the world of travel and hospitality. Having completed an extended diploma in travel & tourism & working in the hospitality industry for several years. This was the main motivator as to why I wanted to attend the World Travel Market, which took place from Monday 6^th November to Wednesday 8^th November 2023. This networking event takes place once a year at Excel London. The World Travel Market is the most influential travel and tourism event in the world. 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and July 2023; this is a 43% increase compared to 2022. The growth of the tourism industry is why the world travel market (WTM) is becoming increasingly popular. I have been inspired to create my dissertation around poorly managed tourism and how this is affecting ecological landmarks and the tourism industry in Jamaica. 

This year, there has been a 69.2% increase in UK tourist arrivals to Jamaica in comparison to 2021. Jamaica is at risk from extreme hurricanes, severe droughts, and rising sea levels. My heritage is Jamaican and having personally experienced the effects of a hurricane in Jamaica. My research will help the Jamaican tourist board and other environmental projects/initiatives to increase sustainable tourism.  The world travel market states that “Travel has the power to change the world and you have the power to change travel” I hope that doing my part will be able to change the Jamaican tourism industry for the better.

The Power of Networking

Networking has shaped the way we communicate, connect, and build meaningful relationships. The WTM offers the opportunity to transform your network, resolve issues and create plans to build business relationships. For this year’s WTM, a campaign was created to encourage the tourism community to inspire others to change the world through travel. Which was why this was the first year that networking events were curated specifically to build business. The networking party allows everyone to form bonds and opportunities to build careers. In addition, the community hub allowed visitors to socialise and build powerful connections in an informal way which provides a great opportunity to connect with people. This is one of the reasons why I attended this year. Over the course of 3 days, there were conference programmes taking place such as diversity and inclusion in travel to empowering women to change travel in supportive and sustainable ways. 

Not only were there conference programmes but nearly every single country in the world had its own exhibition. Each country had its own stage where they could promote their hoteliers, airlines, and travel agencies. I spoke with the Caribbean airlines committee who were founded in 2006 with their headquarters based in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. They are currently working on changing their flight paths to reduce their greenhouse gases which is amazing! As this was the first time I had attended a networking event on such a large scale, I was positively overwhelmed by the friendliness and kindness of fellow networkers. The Jamaican exhibition was immersive and welcoming which allowed me to gain valuable insight about the destruction of mangroves due to an increase in mass tourism. This year, there has been a 69.2% increase in UK tourist arrivals to Jamaica in comparison to 2021. The 2024 statistics will be released soon which is very exciting!

An Audience with Louis Theroux 

I also attended Louis Theroux’s TED talk; this was the last conference to round off WTM, so it was a pleasure to attend. The main points covered in the talk were Louis’s childhood and how he felt like “the odd one out” which motivated him to create unorthodox documentaries. Talks based around how travel influencers can engage with young people using social media platforms were discussed and the importance of how travelling can positively impact your wellbeing and mental health. At the end of the TED talk, Louis stated some final words which I have taken with me and will do throughout my personal life and professional career which is, 

“I’d rather fail my own plan than succeed with someone else’s.” I will definitely be attending WTM next year!