By Luke Ford

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With 167 countries represented by over 5000 exhibitors, the first open-trade day of the World Travel Market in London was certainly no-holds-barred. Enticing the crowds meant dishing out the tastiest of local cuisines, turning up the volume on some truly local tunes, donning traditional garb and even, in some cases bringing out the celebrities to really raise the temperature (was that Kylie or her sister?). WTM, now in its 30th year, remains the principal event on the travel industry’s calendar and presents a valuable opportunity for all those involved.

whl.travel's Luke Ford (centre) takes a moment at the WTM with Mr Kim (left) and Ms Lee of Holiday Planners, the whl.travel local connection for South Korea

WHL Group, parent company of whl.travel, was also in attendance, sharing the messages of whl.travel, Urban Adventures and WHL Consulting, all of which were received positively. With a growing network around the world in more than 90 countries, whl.travel was there with 15-plus whl.travel local connections.

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Posted under General, responsible travel, responsible travel news, whl.travel newsletter

By Paul Tavner

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Coming to the Fringe RT Network event as first-timer, I genuinely wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d never attended a networking event before and was worried that I’d feel a bit like an outsider with little to offer by way of contribution. I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised to find myself on the receiving end of a very warm reception from a diverse bunch of genuinely friendly and interesting individuals.

A lot of good people with a lot of good things to say at the Fringe RT Network event @ WTM 2009

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Posted under General, responsible organisations, responsible travel, responsible travel news

Although this year whl.travel will not have an official branded booth at the World Travel Market, you can certainly count on us to be there. At last count, 18 local partners will be present at the ExCel centre under their local company banners, as will three whl.travel representatives, although the latter three only on Tuesday 10 November.

For your convenience we have included as much information as we have about who is to be found and how they can be contacted.

Please feel free to track any of them down. They will answer as many questions as possible about whl.travel and its incredible expansion from a regional World Bank project to a global engine bridging the divide between independent, responsible visitors and local, ethical travel hosts.

The three whl.travel representatives, as well as several local partners, will also be present at the Fringe RT Network event on Monday night.

The three whl.travel representatives are:

* Klaudija Janzelj, Executive Director of the Europe-Middle East regional office
* Luke Ford, Project Manager of the Europe-Middle East regional office (faithfully @whltravel on Twitter)
* Stephen Chapman, Manager of Membership Advantage Plus for WHL Consulting (also founder of Make Travel Fair, notably @maketravelfair on Twitter) Read More…

Posted under General, whl.travel news

by Paul Tavner

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As part of the run up to next week’s Fringe Responsible Travel Network event, we’re talking with veteran attendees. I caught up with Stephen Chapman, founder of Make Travel Fair (a media sponsor of the event along with whl.travel), to get his take on past events and to see what he’s looking forward to on Monday 9 November.

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Past Experiences

Stephen Chapman - Founder of Make Travel Fair

It was a great event last year. In fact I travelled into London especially for this event and didn’t attend WTM. For me this may become increasingly what happens as this year even more small events like this are cropping up on the fringes of WTM. There was a great mix of people [at the Fringe RT Network event] last year and the atmosphere was relaxed and perfect for chatting over a few drinks. It’s always great to have opportunities to connect in this sort of setting, particularly these days when we can spend so much time interacting online with people all around the world.

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Posted under General, responsible organisations, responsible travel, responsible travel news

By Paul Tavner

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Monday November 9 marks the beginning of the 2009 World Travel Market, one of the travel industry’s most important annual events. While many people from around the world will be descending throughout the week on London’s ExCeL centre to meet, greet and do business, an increasing number will also be making a beeline to the Fringe RT Network Event – 6:30pm to 11pm in the Pavilion End Bar, close to the heart of the city – to meet, engage and inspire.

The Fringe Responsible Travel Network Event @ WTM, pictured here from a previous year, is a chance to connect and reconnect with people passionate about responsible travel

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Posted under General, responsible organisations, responsible travel, responsible travel news, whl.travel news, whl.travel newsletter

The Old News: In 2002, a Cape Town Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations (held in anticipation of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development) brought together 280 tourism-industry representatives from 20 countries.

They issued a joint declaration defining the role and potential of responsible tourism. The terms they set and the path they began to pave were early steps of a more and more urgent effort to steer worldwide tourism down an ethical and sustainable course.

The New News: Now consumers and host communities are placing more and more pressure on tourism-industry companies and organisations to behave responsibly.

As a demonstration of strides already made to anticipate and meet these demands, the World Travel Mart (WTM) launched, with the support of the UN World Tourism Organization and industry leaders, a World Responsible Tourism Day (WRTD), “the only global day of action of its kind.”

Mark your calendars: November 12, 2008.

“The day is vital -– for business, for profitability and for our planet. It means taking care of a world that we seek to promote. Preserving our heritage and cultures and taking into account the views and needs of local communities,” declares the WTM WRTD Web site. “WTM World Responsible Tourism Day is our chance to speak out as one voice, demonstrating that responsible tourism is the ONLY means of securing our future.”

Four guiding objectives will guide industry practitioners throughout the day:

• spurring change by educating the tourism industry and travelling public about responsible behaviour
• exploring destination-specific sustainability and highlighting best practices
• debating key related environmental issues as a step in propelling the agenda
• harnessing the influence of World Travel Market as a forum through which to advance responsible tourism.

Posted under responsible travel news, whl.travel newsletter