Face-to-Face: Lawrence Reinisch and Craig Moyes
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WTM Latin America took place in Sao Paulo last week, and Travel Daily‘s Simon Willmore caught up with exhibition director Lawrence Reinisch, and Craig Moyes, portfolio director of Reed Travel Exhibitions, to talk about the show…
Q) What big changes were made for WTM Latin America 2015?
(LR) Year to year we have been adding new segments; the first year we focused on leisure, the second year we strengthened the MICE area, and now in our third year we are putting more effort on our corporate offering. Now I think we have a fully-established show. However, it’s a complete offering in terms of segments but we still have to grow geographically. For example, penetration in Asia – we still have very few exhibitors from the area and we need to increase this.
WTM Latin America currently has NTOs from Taiwan, India, Korea, Thailand, and exhibitors from Iran, Vietnam and Laos but we want to add more.
Q) What are your key takeaways from this year’s event?
(LR) Besides the [19%] increase in the number of visitors, which has surpassed our expectations, this year also represents a consolidation of the show’s offering. We have full recognition from the Latin America tourism trade and we are showing that WTM Latin America is becoming an essential – it’s not an event that will go away!
Q) What are the plans for next year?
(LR) For me, planning for WTM Latin America 2016 starts on Monday. In fact, we already have floor plans and rebookings. There are areas that we really have to explore more, like Asia – this is my main aim for next year. We want to bring in Philippines and Cambodia, bring back Malaysia and increase Thailand’s presence.
We already have five daily flights between the Middle East and Brazil, including two with Emirates to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and services with Qatar, Etihad and Turkish.
Besides flying just to Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul, these companies are going to other cities across the Asian continent. So now, depending on the city, you can get as little as 25 hours between Asia and Brazil.
People say that it’s a long flight but I say that you’re going to have so much fun in Brazil that you can sleep on the flight and arrive rested – and then you can recover on the way home!
The potential for Brazilians to travel is amazing. Travel to Asia used to be very expensive but it isn’t any more. Brazilians are curious people and they are already used to flying long distance. NTOs from Asia should really be looking at our market – not just Brazil, but Argentina, Chile and other markets in Latin America.
Q) How has the show progressed since its first year?
(CM) This year is our third WTM Latin America and it’s been quite a journey since launching. Every time we have a show we learn something new about how to do business in Brazil, but we’re very lucky in that Reed Travel Exhibitions has a local team.
Reed has local teams for Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, World Travel Market Africa and WTM in London. We work as a portfolio, with international teams and local teams, and that makes a lot of difference to the way we are able to conduct our business in different parts of the world.
Q) Why did you pick this region to establish a new exhibition?
(CM) Three years ago, the economies of Latin America were on the up and there was more travel to and from the area. Brazil was an economic powerhouse and Sao Paulo was the commercial city of the country. It seemed us that our brand would do very well here.
Our show is growing steadily and it’s because of our professionalism, according to our exhibitors. They know that WTM means business and we provide that business, through our 100 hosted buyers or our Buyers’ Club.
As you can tell by walking around the show, there is a lot of business conversation going on. That isn’t to say we’ve lost the culture of Brazil and its party atmosphere but we are known for delivering value to our customers.
Q) What is the next step for WTM Latin America?
(CM) Even though we know the region’s economies aren’t growing as fast as they were, we’re here for the long haul. WTM in London has been going for 35 years and Arabian Travel Market is 25 years old so it’s a long-term business. Overall, the amount of travel going on is still increasing and that bodes well. We’re pretty pleased and we’ll be back here in March 2016!
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