Expanded Show Introduces Professional Development Sessions, Influencer Meetings and a Prestigious New Awards Ceremony.

IMM is to become a two-day event in 2020, featuring a prestigious new awards ceremony, professional development sessions and influencer meetings, organisers TravMedia UK announced today.

The show (http://www.travmedia.com/immuk/), the leading global event connecting the travel industry and media, returns to London's prestigious QEII Centre from 9-10 March, once again as a shell-scheme event.

Exhibitor booking for the show is now live, with a limited number of stands available at an earlybird rate. Journalist and influencer registration commences on 1 October 2019.

Launching the 2020 show, TravMedia revealed both days will offer media meetings, with influencers and content creators invited to attend day two.

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

IMM will culminate with a new gala awards ceremony 'The TravMedia Awards', recognising the achievements of everyone from travel journalists to broadcasters, influencers to PR professionals.

Awards expected to be amongst the most hotly contested are 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, influencers and content creators. Brands taking a two-person stand will benefit from an additional set of appointments for their second delegate.

IMM's Meetings Manager platform is being upgraded to include new profiling features that will enable exhibitors and visitors to identify perfect meetings matches. 

At IMM 2019 in March over 8500 meetings were booked through the platform. The show was attended by 300 journalists and over 220 exhibitor delegates. TravMedia also hosted a separate second-day event which attracted 175 influencers.

Media titles attending this year's IMM included The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, BBC, The Sun, CNN Travel, Sunday Times Travel Magazine,  Cosmopolitan, Wanderlust, TTG and Travel Weekly. Sponsors included Atout France, Calgary Stampede, CityPASS, Tourism Australia, VisitEngland and Visit Wales.

Exhibitors will enjoy all IMM's networking opportunities, including a seated lunch and evening drinks reception on day one, and a networking lunch and the awards ceremony on day two.

Said Henry Hemming, TravMedia UK's Managing Director: “The world's first ever two-day IMM will provide exhibitors with an exponential return on investment from two productive days of activity. As a relationship-building opportunity for travel brands, IMM is simply unrivalled.

“We are confident over 500 journalists and influencers will attend IMM 2020, so exhibitors can anticipate packed meetings schedules. In addition, the launch of our professional development sessions will deliver significant added value to delegates.

“We're all eagerly awaiting the first-ever TravMedia Awards - which will bring IMM 2020 to a fanfare close – and anticipating a powerful entry from journalists, influencers and PRs.”

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Louise Napier

Regional Director

T: +44 (0)20 3440 8915

E: louise.napier@travmedia.com 

IMM 2019 EXHIBITORS:  African Bush Camps,  Alabama Tourism, Algarve Tourism, Alterra Mountain Company, Amelia Island, AMResorts, Annecy Mountains, Arizona Office of Tourism, Atlantic Canada, Atout France, Aurora Expeditions, Austrian National Tourist Office, Avignon, Axia Hospitality, Bavaria Tourism, Blenheim Palace, Bordeaux and Cité du Vin, Bournemouth & Poole Tourism, Brand USA, Burgundy, Calgary Stampede, CaminoWays, Canal & River Trust, Caribtours, Casa de Campo Resort and Villas, Centre des Monuments Nationaux, Charente-Maritime Tourism, Choose Chicago, CityPASS, Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire, Colorado Tourism Office, Cosmos Tours & Cruises, Cotswolds Tourism, Cultural Heart of Germany, Daytona Beach Area CVB, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, Destination Canada, Destination Gers, Destination St. John's, DFDS, Discover Los Angeles, Discover the Palm Beaches, Düsseldorf Tourist Board, Elephants Hills Luxury Tented Camps, Eurail Group, Europa-Park, Explore!, Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region, Friuli Venezia Giulia Tourism Board, G Adventures, Gran Canaria Tourist Board, Grand American Adventures, Great Rail Journeys, Greek National Tourist Organisation, Grenada Tourism Authority, HalalBooking.com, Hand Picked Hotels, Haritha Villas & Spa, Haute-Garonne Tourisme, HF Holidays, Illinois Office of Tourism, Inghams, Intrepid Travel, IPW / U.S. Travel Association, Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, Italian National Tourist Board, Julian Alps, KE Adventure Travel, Kynren, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Ljubljana Tourism, Loire Valley, Macao Government Tourist Office, Mammoth Lakes, Marseille & Fly Provence, Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, Memphis and Mississippi, Menorca, Montpellier and Nice, Namibia Tourism Board, Nausicaa & Boulogne, New Orleans & Company, Nimes, Normandy, Nova Scotia, Occitanie, One Ocean Expeditions, Original Cottages, Ottawa Tourism, Outrigger Resorts, Palais des Festival Cannes, Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism, Paris, Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, People Make Glasgow, Philadelphia CVB, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Pure Michigan, Puy du Fou, Pyrenées Orientales, Radisson Hotel Group, Raymond Gubbay, Rocky Mountaineer, Romantic Cities, Saddle Skedaddle, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Salzburgerland, San Francisco Travel Association, Savoie Mont Blanc, Scotland's Tay Country, Setouchi Tourism Authority, Ski/Summer France, Slovenian Tourist Board, Sonoma County Tourism, SouthWest Germany Tourism Board, Spain-Holiday.com, St Pete/Clearwater, Switzerland Tourism, Tahiti Tourisme, Tarn Tourisme, Tarn-et-Garonne, Temptation Holidays, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Texas Tourism, The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, The St. Regis Toronto, Toulouse, Tourism Australia, Tourism Vancouver, Tourism Waitaki, Tourism Western Australia, Tourism Whistler, Travel Manitoba, Travel Portland, Trentino (Italy) - Dolomites and Lake Garda, Turismo Lanzarote, Vallee Dordogne, Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, Villages Nature, Virgin Limited Edition, Visit Aberdeenshire, Visit Austin, Visit Baltimore, Visit California, Visit Cornwall, Visit County Durham, Visit Denver, Visit Isles of Scilly, Visit Mesa, Visit North Carolina, Visit Orlando, Visit Pittsburgh, Visit Wales, VisitDenmark, VisitEngland, VisitScotland, WOWAir.

EDITORS NOTES

IMM first launched in London in 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.

Originally created by a travel journalist seeking a better way to research and report travel news, TravMedia 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.

The technology used by the sites 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.