The leading global event connecting the travel industry and the media celebrates its 10th Year with a packed event at London's QEII Centre.

IMM's much-awaited return to its QEII Centre home has proved a stunning success, with the two-day event attracting well over 400 delegates.

Celebrating its 10th year - and its return as an in-person event -  IMM 2022 was attended by 162 PR professionals representing 122 tourism and travel exhibitor brands, and drew a crowd of over 270 journalists checking-in across the two days, with 66 top influencers and content creators visiting on the second day.

Over 11,000 meetings at the event (14-15 March) were pre-booked through IMM's Meetings Manager.

Journalists in attendance represented media titles including The Times, The Telegraph, The Sun, The i, Daily Mail, National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust, JRNY, CNN Travel, France Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, Cruise Adviser, loveEXPLORING, Travel Weekly, TTG, OutThere, Good Housekeeping, Bella, and Aspire.

The leading global event connecting the travel industry and the media (www.travmedia.com/immuk/) enjoyed headline sponsorship from Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism. The world-famous Yangtze River Delta destination promoted its current year of heritage celebration at a memorable lunch, with a speech delivered by Ashley Norman, Executive Director, Marketing Communications at PHG Consulting. The lunch was capped with a traditional Chinese classical music performance which wowed event guests.

The second day's lunch was sponsored by Azerbaijan Tourism Board, whose CEO Florian Sengstschmid flew in to address IMM's media.  VillaHotels and Resorts sponsored the first day's IMM Drinks Reception, while Israel Tourist Office sponsored the IMM Breakfast. Event bag sponsorship came courtesy of Tourism Australia, while Cayman Islands Department of Tourism delivered the water bottle sponsorship. The event's Lanyard & Registration Desk Sponsor was VisitEngland, who delivered a highly impactful brand promotion.

Said Henry Hemming, TravMedia UK's Managing Director: “We were thrilled to be back with our friends and want to thank absolutely everyone who made this such a memorable comeback show. The show came at a time of optimism about the global travel industry's return to improved trading.

“We're grateful to our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and of course the huge number of media and influencers in attendance. We'll always remember this year…!”

Exhibitor highlights include major delegations from France, Australia, USA, and Canada. The new exhibitors for 2022 included Anguilla Tourist Board, Aosta Valley Tourist Board, Away Resorts, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, Capital Region USA, Curaçao Tourist Board, Formentera, Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation, Israel Government Tourist Office,  Jamaica Tourist Board, Latvia Travel, Qatar Tourism, Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, The Brooklyn Travel Group, This is Athens, Tourism Saskatoon, and Visit Northumberland,

Day two of the show saw five Professional Development Sessions delivered to delegates starting with Paul Charles, CEO of The PC Agency, who talked about 'What Travel PR learned from the Pandemic'. Next up were leading travel editors Liz Edwards (Assistant Travel Editor, Times and Sunday Times), Sophie Lam (Travel Editor, i), and Amelia Duggan (Deputy Editor, National Geographic Traveller) who revealed 'What We're Writing About in 2022'.

The Travel Editor Under The Spotlight slot this year went to Mark Palmer of the Daily Mail, who drew a large crowd and in the afternoon, the sessions continued with 'Let's Get Social: The Next Stages in PR's Digital Evolution', delivered by Anneka Roberts, Vice President of Digital at Finn Partners, in conjunction with leading influencer Chloe Gunning (Wanderlust Chloe). The professional development sessions day concluded with 'Inclusivity in PR Storytelling', a talk from Uwern Jong, Experientialist®-in-Chief of OutThere magazine.

Contacts:

IMM Media Contact:

Charlotte Rogers

Marketing Manager, TravMedia

T: +44 (0)7498 467050

IMM Event Enquiries:

Louise Napier

Deputy Managing Director, TravMedia

T: +44 (0)20 3440 8915

E: louise.napier@travmedia.com

Ends

IMM 2022 EXHIBITORS: Aisne, Aix-en-Provence, Alabama Tourism, Amelia Island, Florida, Anguilla Tourist Board, Annecy Mountains, Aosta Valley Tourist Board, Atlantic Canada, Atlantic Loire Valley, Aurora Expeditions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourisme, Away Resorts, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, Bavaria Tourism, BCP Tourism (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole), Blenheim Palace, Bonjour Quebec, Bordeaux Tourism, Cannes, Capital Region USA, Catalonia - Catalan Tourist Board, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Centre des Monuments Nationaux, Cité du Vin, Coco Collection, Corsica Tourist Board, Côte d'Azur France Tourism Board, Cultural Heart of Germany, Curaçao Tourist Board, Destination Canada, Destination Limoges, Destination NSW, Eurail, Explore France, Floriade Expo 2022, Food Drink Devon, Formentera, Fort Myers - Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods, Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation, German National Tourist Office, Gers Gascony Tourism, Greek National Tourism Organisation, Haute Garonne Tourism, Hauts-de-France Tourist Board, Hello Lille, HF Holidays, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Israel Government Tourist Office, Italian National Tourist Board for UK and EIRE, Jamaica Tourist Board, La Bourgogne, La Martinique, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Latvia Travel, Les Villages Nature® Paris, Loire Valley, Louisiana Travel, Marketing Manchester, Marseille Tourist Office, Megève, Memphis & Mississippi, Michigan State (Pure Michigan), New Smyrna Beach, NewcastleGateshead, Nice Côte d'Azur, Normandy Tourism, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Tourism Board, Occitanie Tourism, Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, Orléans Loire Valley, Pas-de-Calais, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pierre & Vacances, Preferred Hotel Group, Qatar Tourism, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), Rocky Mountaineer, Royal Commission for AlUla, SalzburgerLand Tourism, San Francisco Travel Association, Sarthe Tourism, South Australian Tourism Commission, Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, Switzerland Tourism, Tarn Tourism, Tarn & Garonne Tourism, Tennessee Tourism, The Brooklyn Travel Group, The Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, The Northern Territory, This is Athens, This is Durham, Toulouse, Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia, Tourism Gran Canaria, Tourism New Zealand, Tourism Nova Scotia, Tourism Saskatoon, Tourism Western Australia, U.S. Travel Association, Uganda Tourism Board, Universal Parks and Resorts, Vaucluse Provence Tourism, Vendée Tourism, Verbier Tourisme, VIA Rail Canada, Villa Hotels & Resorts, VISIT DENVER, VISIT FLORIDA, Visit Isle of Wight, Visit North Carolina, Visit Northumberland, Visit Orlando, Visit Portugal, Visit Victoria, Visit Wales, VisitDenmark, VisitEngland, VisitScotland and VisitVar.

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.