Get Guardian on GoogleExcel London again hosted the flagship World Travel Market (WTM) this year, bringing together global travel industry leaders, international destinations, business leaders, travel tech innovators and tourism boards under one space to provide insight and solution to common challenges around international travel.
For five decades, WTM has served as the world most influential travel and tourism event and the just concluded 2026 edition built on this legacy with the introduction of standout experiences for the hundreds of countries in attendance.
Experience is an integral part of tourism and WTM provides the hub through the three-day event which took place from November 3-5, revolving around the thematic preoccupation of “Resilience, Rebound and Reinvention: The Next Era of Global Travel”
WTM 2026 emphasised on emerging technologies, AI, and cultural tourism trends while featuring flagship sessions which includes the annual WTM Ministers Summit and the release of the WTM Global Travel Report.
The event also featured thousands of exhibitors from across the globe.
Nigeria on WTM 2026 Stage Showcase
Nigeria did not miss out in showcasing its rich tourism endowments, attractions, and investment opportunities at the 2026 WTM, as everyone key travel, tourism and hospitality stakeholder who should be there was there to sell destination Nigeria including the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) who spearheaded the participation of the country in partnership with the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN). NANTA was also fully represented at the event, proudly showcasing its presence at Nigeria’s beautifully decorated stand.
The NTDA Director-General, Mr Olayiwola Awakan GrPr, said the global platform provides an opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, natural attractions and emerging tourism products while positioning the country for greater international visibility and investment.
Through strategic engagements with international tour operators, airlines, investors and destination management companies, NTDA is advancing partnerships, expanding market access and creating new opportunities for Nigeria’s tourism industry.
With private-sector participation through FTAN, Nigeria’s presence at WTM 2026 reinforces the drive to attract investment, increase visitor arrivals, create jobs and strengthen tourism’s contribution to economic diversification under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Global Travel Issues
The Managing Director, EMEA, Tourism Economics Dave Goodger who revealed that erosion of consumer spending power has become an issue in international travels noted that travellers are reallocating resources and looking to save where they can.
For Head of Travel Research at Tourism Economics, Sean Morgan, 60% of travellers surveyed for the report wanted “luxury” holidays, where experiences are priorities.
Travel researcher, Chase Gray from Skift Advisory said luxury is one of the values that its research identified as being relevant for the traveller of the future, specifically, 2036.
From Gray’s analysis, luxury will be about access not excess. He highlighted three categories of travellers as Prestige Travellers; Enrichment Travellers and Connection Travellers.
Experiential Tourism
During the Passion Tourism – ‘cultural events, sports and music’ debate session which explored experiential tourism and how it drives business and revenues long after the experience is over, one of the panelists, Luiza Fortuna from Superstruct Entertainment shared insight about an annual techno festival in the Netherlands through data. “The audience was a 50-50 split of Dutch and international visitors. From the international audience, 80% of them said that they wouldn’t go to the Netherlands if it was not for the festival”.
The Global Trends Report found that 58% of international travellers have undertaken a trip abroad specifically to attend an event in the past two years.
Cruise lines are also seeing an uptick in experience-led tourism which explains why China-based luxury river cruise brand ‘Century Cruises’ outline its plans for expansion in Europe and North Africa at the event. It introduced a Rhine-Danube ship this year, with another due in 2027 and Nile cruises will be added in 2028. Its plans include enhanced culinary experiences, frequent onboard cultural celebration evenings and exclusive onshore events, such as private opera recitals in Vienna.
Explaining the dynamics, President and CEO for the Americas for Century Cruises, David Fredericks said: “If we were a hotel brand, we would fashion ourselves after Mandarin Oriental or Shangri La. Century Cruises, which typically hosts Asian, European and American travellers.
Tech-Dedicated Future Stage
On the tech-dedicated Future Stage, Ani Attamian, reinforced that having “correct, connected and clear data” is essential for companies looking to use AI in both internal operations and external customer experiences.
According to her, there has been a 3,500% year-on-year increase in gen-AI traffic to US travel sites (July 2025), confirming its rapid adoption by mainstream travelers.
She described how Ikea retrained and shifted 8,500 customer service workers into new remote interior design and high-value advisory roles, rather than laying them off after introducing its AI chatbot Billie.
