www.iltm.net: 2 – 5 December 2013
International
Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) 2013 Opening Forum introduced over 1,000 of
the luxury travel industry’s most influential suppliers and buyers to
the insights and predictions from four dynamic speakers, followed by a
real-time research session. This real-time research identified that 79% of ILTM Participants voted Facebook as the best form of social media for client engagement, discounting
& online discount sites present the biggest challenge for 2014 and
43% of participants are seeing the most growth from the 35-44 age group.
ILTM
Senior Exhibition Director, Alison Gilmore opened the Forum with a tour
of each event in the growing ILTM family, and welcomed its newest
aquisition - Travelweek São
Paulo - the high-end travel exhibition that introduces select
international travel suppliers to premium buyers from across Brazil and
other Latin American countries.
Ms Gilmore commented, “This
year, the ILTM Opening Forum once again highlighted the luxury travel
industry’s successes, challenges and opportunities ahead, introducing a
line-up of iconic influencers to not only inspire the luxury travel
guest list present, but help them drive customer loyalty, and ultimately
retain their clients.”
Customer service and hospitality expert, Holly Stiel kicked off with ‘The Philosophy of Service’, explaining that, “Delivering
world-class service is simple, but not easy. Service is like a turtle –
you stick your neck out, wear a hard shell and respond with care and
kindness.”
Facebook’s Global Head of Travel, Lee McCabe informed the audience that “the
average Facebook reach for a narrowly targeted campaign is 89% - a huge
opportunity for travel businesses, considering Facebook’s infinite
memory, instant communication and processing power.”
Iconic arbiter of style and Founder of LuxuryCulture.com, Yaffa Assouline presented; ‘Luxury - the New Religion’ addressing that, “luxury is looking for a meaning: the path to sense saturation is a salvation for the luxury industry” and advised participants to “live luxury for oneself rather than anyone else, like a designer creates a one-off brand.”
Business
guru and author of ‘Funky Business’, Dr. Kjell Nordström took the stage
for the final presentation of the evening, which explored the current
socio-economic landscape and gave precious glimpses into the future,
including, “The planet is getting richer but 20% of us are getting richer quicker, even though poverty will be gradually eradicated.”
The business of ILTM continues from 3 – 5 December in Cannes. For further information, please see www.iltm.net or follow @iltm_events.