As the global tourismmarket continues to boom, the inflight catering and travel retail industries are accordinglythriving. The sector has experienced steady growth in the five years to 2016 and, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), will have a global value of US$10.8trillion by 2018, almost double its present worth.
With onboardcateringincreasingly under the spotlight with a growing focus on Buy on Board options, the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE®) represents a significant opportunity for travel professionals looking to source new products, network and meet new air, rail and cruise professionals.
WTCE brings together over 300 suppliers including leading full service providers such as LSG, gategroup and dnataas well as new brands.No matter what sector of the onboard travel industry you’re interested in, the event provides an insight into the latest trends and innovationsonboard. While aviation takes the lion’s share of passenger travel with an estimated 54% of international tourists travelling by air , improvements in rail travel have seen a boost withgrowth in Western Europe reaching a record high with rail passenger journeys peaking at 1.65 billion in the UK between 2014-2015.
WTCE, which takes place on 4-6 April 2017 at the Hamburg Messe in Germany, is the leading event for the travel catering, onboard retail and passenger comfort industries. The event will highlight how airline buyers and rail operators can improve and differentiate their services by showcasing the latest onboard products and solutions.
Showcasing exhibitor excellence
WTCE will see more than 50 first-time exhibitors housed inThe New Exhibitor Village will encourage innovation and introduce passenger experience professionals to companies that are new to the show and, in some cases, the industry. Companies appearing in this section will include Addo Food Group, Dr Schar AG and the Narumi Corporation.
Addressing one of the key revenue generators for the onboard sector, WTCE will host a newFocus on World Travel Retail feature at the 2017 exhibition. The travel retail sector is currently growing at an 8.4% compound annual growth rate – 2.4% above the 6% average growth rate of the personal luxury goods market over the past 10 years.
WTCE’s Focus on World Travel Retail will boast the Gebr.Heinemann bar where visitors can browse product displays, enjoy happy hours and make the most of the networking opportunities available.Exhibitors including Bottega S.p.a., Fartan Group, gategroup, SSI – Servair Solution Italia and The Belgian Chocolate Group NV, will showcase a selection of innovative productsacross product categories including fragrances and cosmetics, watches & jewellery and confectionery & fine foods.
Also displaying a selection of products aiming to inspire creativity and enable air and rail operators to differentiate their offerings will be the What’s New Onboard Feature,located in front of the VIP Buyers Lounge.
Two sector-specifictrails will help visitors to navigate their way around the exhibition according to their business interests. The Buy on Board Trail – indicated by a handbag icon – helps visitors quickly identify companies specialising in products and services supporting purchase and consumptiononboard. Exhibitors taking part in this include AA Bakeries International, AVID Airline Products, DFMi, Global Inflight Productsand Portfolio Partners Limited. A second innovative trail– The Rail Trail –helps visitors quickly locate companies who supply products suitable for trains.
Providing visitors withinspiration will be the Taste of Travel Theatre. A host of well-known chefs and industry experts will deliver exciting and informative demonstrations, presentations and new product launches, all designed to inspire delegates to review and refresh their onboard offerings. Among the presentations will be:
Adding quality to buy on board: James Strawbridge, development chef consultant, TV presenter and founder of Posh Pasty, will discussand demonstratethe impact and value of serving high quality meals and products on board.
Put some music in your food:Levi Roots, discussing his ventures while popularising the spicy flavours of his Jamaican heritage. His Reggae Reggae range of Caribbean-inspired cooking sauces, ready meals, soft drinks and desserts now retail worldwide.
Looking outside the industry:Chef Ms Trinh Diem Vy, one of Vietnam’s most recognised restauranteurs and chefs whose family recipes have garnered recognition throughout the county, will demonstrate how teaming up with restaurants can improve airline and rail customer satisfaction.
Sensory food tasting:Stathis Kefallonitis of branding.aero in partnership with GateGourmet and Delta will how neuroscience methods can help to understand the passenger and improve the cabin experience.
Pre-order and on-demand meals:Raymond Kollau (trends expert) talks about the changing consumer behaviour and expectations in the wider world (including air and rail travel).
Finally, a new workshop has been added to the Taste of Travel programme this year. Getting a Product Onboard will be run by Lance Hayward of The Hayward Partnership, and will feature open debate between a panel of air and rail suppliers and the audience to discuss brand, communication, procurement, trend monitoring and more.
Expanded education programme
This year’s educational strand will kick off with the Passenger Experience Conference (PEC), which will begin for the first time with the new Airline Forum. Open to any airline representative, it will take place before the conference from 8.00 to 9.00am on Monday 3 April. It will offer airlines a dedicated area to pick up advice and meet and network with their peers.
The one-day conference, which focuses on ‘Defining the future of the passenger experience industry’, will follow with more than 20 sessions. The programme will be divided into three breakout sessions focussing on Generating Revenue, Comfort and Wellbeing and The Connected Journey.
Topics within the Generating Revenuestream will include a focus on designing, curating and crafting ultra-luxury experiences. One session within this stream will be taken by JaapRoukens, CEO of iFleat, where he will take attendees through the company’s app. It is a downloadable app-based service which simply requires passengers to fill in their name and booking number before allowing them to pre-order restaurant food ahead of their flight
Passengers will also be put under the spotlight in the Comfort and Wellbeing stream in a sessionled by Jenny Tsay, Innovation Designer/Inflight Experience Researcher, Zodiac Aeropace. Jenny willhighlight the opportunities to design user-centric services that will help turn negative emotions into positive ones.
The final stream focusing on The Connected Journey will include sessions on how the connected world on the ground is evolving and what this will mean for airlines and the wider travel industry.
Following the close of the conference, delegates will be invited to at the Industry Networking Party, which is free to attend for all conference delegates and VIPs. This offers the perfect occasion to network with other industry professionals in a relaxed environment, whilst enjoying live music, cocktails and Bavarian-themed cuisine.
As part of Passenger Experience Week 2017, WTCE is co-located with Aircraft Interiors Expo, the world’s largest event dedicated to sourcing the latest innovations, technologies and products for the cabin interiors, inflight entertainment and passenger comfort industries.
For more information on the event visit: http://www.worldtravelcateringexpo.com/.
Register in advance and save €50, as well as 20% on the conference, when booking by 10th February.
For further press information please contact Beki McVicker or
Lesley Foottit at Storm Communications
press office on +44 (0) 207 240 2444
or email wtce@stormcom.co.uk.
About Passenger Experience Week
Three leading events – the Passenger Experience Conference, Aircraft Interiors Expo and World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo – one week, one destination. Delivering content, driving innovation and developing connections to transform your business. Showcasing the latest in cabin interiors, inflight entertainment and connectivity, passenger comfort, catering and travel retail to create the ultimate passenger experience. Taking place 3-6 April 2017 in Hamburg, the events attract more than 18,000 visitors including 2,000 buyers and decision makers from major scheduled, regional and charter airlines and rail operators and offers the opportunity to meet face to face with suppliers and manufacturers covering the full spectrum of the industry. https://www.passengerexperienceweek.com
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in 30 countries. In 2015 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 40 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries. https://www.reedexpo.com
