Exhibitor bookings and media registrations at year-to-date highs | Over 200 entries received for TravMedia Awards in a single month

IMM 2020 is poised to sell out early, following a mass of new exhibitor bookings, as the event moves to a two-day format for the first time.

Parent company TravMedia has reported unprecedented trade demand in the run up to Christmas, with over 110 tourism and travel brands confirmed for the show (QEII Centre London, 9-10 March 2020, www.travmedia.com/immuk).

IMM, the leading global event connecting the travel industry and the media, will additionally feature influencer meetings and professional development sessions on day two, with the show culminating in a gala awards ceremony to reveal winners of the prestigious new TravMedia Awards (www.TravMediaAwards.com).

Both days of the shell-scheme exhibition will offer media meetings, with influencers and content creators invited to attend day two.

Over 500 journalists and influencers are expected to attend the event. TravMedia has launched a major recruitment marketing campaign during 2019 designed to secure unrivalled media and influencer attendance at IMM 2020, and to advance the quality threshold for media registrations even higher. Journalist registrations are already well advanced, running at record year-to-date levels.

IMM 2019 was attended by 300 journalists and over 220 exhibitor delegates. TravMedia also hosted a separate second-day event which attracted 175 influencers. Over 8500 meetings were pre-booked for IMM 2019.

Media already registered represent titles including ABTA Magazine, BBC, Bradt, City AM, Condé Nast Traveller, Country Life, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Fodor's, France Magazine, GQ, Heat Magazine, High Life, Lonely Planet, Mail on Sunday, Metro, Saga Magazine, Sunday Times, The Independent, The Sun, The Telegraph, The Times, Travel Weekly, TTG, Wanderlust, Woman & Home.

Exhibitors attending IMM for the first time in March 2020 will include Banff Sunshine Village, Crans-Montana, Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca, Marketing Manchester, New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau, Orascom, Raffles Singapore, Royal Commission for Al-Ula, Sands Resorts Macao, TAP Air Portugal, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, The Kaleidoscope Collection, The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourist Board of Lake Constance, Travel Nevada, Verbier Promotion, VIA Rail Canada, Viking River Cruises, VISIT FLORIDA, Visit Lake Charles, Visit Okinawa, Visit Portugal, Visit San Antonio, Visit Tampa Bay, Visit Tucson.

Royal Commission for Al-Ula was also announced today as official sponsor of IMM's networking lunch on IMM's second day.

IMM's social engagements also include business breakfasts on both days, an evening cocktail party on day one, and a networking lunch on day two.

The show's second day will also feature five breakout professional development sessions for exhibitors, delivered by top professionals, on topics ranging from crisis management and PR pitching to influencer marketing.

The TravMedia Awards, presented at a gala ceremony during the evening of 10 March, will recognise the achievements of everyone from travel journalists to broadcasters, influencers to PR professionals. TravMedia has already received over 200 entries in the first month since the awards were launched.

The top awards include Travel Journalist of the Year, PR Professional of the Year, and Influencer of the Year. The evening will also feature an Outstanding Contribution Award.

IMM exhibitors will once again benefit from fully-equipped stands with pre-printed graphics and a table from which to enjoy up to 56 pre-booked meetings with top journalists and influencers. Brands taking a two-person stand will benefit from an additional set of appointments for second delegates.

IMM's Meetings Manager platform is being upgraded to include new profiling features that will enable exhibitors and visitors to more easily pinpoint ideal targets for their meetings.  

Said Henry Hemming, Managing Director of TravMedia UK: “We're witnessing unprecedented demand for IMM from exhibitors and media. The decision to move to two days has proved key, coupled with the launch of the TravMedia Awards and the opportunity for influencers to attend day two.

“We're also seeing results from our campaign to recruit even more top-quality media and further improve and streamline the meetings selection and booking process. Of course, we're all eagerly awaiting the announcement of our first 22 award winners!”

Ends

For information on IMM 2020 contact:

Louise Napier

Regional Director, TravMedia

T: +44 (0)20 3440 8915

E: louise.napier@travmedia.com 

IMM 2020 CONFIRMED EXHIBITORS INCLUDE: Alterra Mountain Company, Amelia Island, Arizona Office of Tourism, Atout France, Aurora Expeditions, Austrian National Tourist Office, Banff Sunshine Village, Bavaria Tourism, CaminoWays.com, Canal & River Trust, Choose Chicago, CityPASS, Cotswolds Tourism, Crans-Montana, Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Deep South, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, Destination Canada, DFDS, Discover The Palm Beaches, Düsseldorf Tourist Board, Formento del Turismo Mallorca, Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, G Adventures, Gran Canaria Tourist Board, HF Holidays, I.P.W / The U.S. Travel Association, Inghams, Interrail Pass, Isles of Scilly, KE Adventure Travel, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lanzarote Tourism Office, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Macao Government Tourism Office, Marketing Manchester,  Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, New Orleans & Company, New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau, Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, Orascom, Ottawa Tourism, Philadelphia CVB, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Pure Michigan¸ Raffles Singapore, Rocky Mountaineer, Royal Commission for Al-Ula, Salzburg State Board of Tourism, San Francisco Travel Assocation, Sands Resort Macao, Ski & Summer France, SouthWest Germany Tourist Board, Switzerland Tourism, TAP Air Portugal, Texas Tourism, The AMResorts Collection, The Kaleidoscope Collection, The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourism Nova Scotia, Tourism Western Australia, Tourist Board of Lake Constance, Travel Manitoba, Travel Nevada, Valais/Wallis Promotion, Verbier Promotion, VIA Rail Canada, Viking Cruises, Visit Austin, Visit Baltimore, Visit County Durham, Visit Denmark, Visit England, VISIT FLORIDA, Visit Mesa Arizona, Visit North Carolina, Visit Orlando, Visit San Antonio, Visit Scotland, Visit Tampa Bay, Visit Tucson and Visit Wales.

EDITORS NOTES

The first-ever IMM was held in London in March 2013 and has since expanded to all corners of the earth, with annual events now taking place in countries including the USA, Australia, Germany and France.

The technology used by TravMedia has become an essential tool for journalists and PR professionals in their day-to-day activities, as they connect and share information in their working lives.

TravMedia was originally created by a travel journalist seeking a better way to research and report travel news, and is dedicated to creating thriving online communities of travel journalists and travel PR professionals.

The company currently operates in 11 countries: Australia, Germany, Dubai, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Africa, and has amassed over 50,000 journalist and PR members.

In the UK, TravMedia and Food4Media are part of the family of websites that also includes Homes4Media.com and Property4Media.com, sites that are owned and operated separately by News4Media Ltd.