The 16th edition of ILTM in Cannes broke all records this year with a total of 66,292 appointments taking place throughout the week, an increase of 9.5 per cent year-on-year.

The luxury travel event featured 1,670 exhibitors - an increase of 3 per cent - and 1,662 buyers from 75 countries - a 10 per cent jump year-on-year. 

There was a significant increase in hosted luxury travel agents from the US (up 15 per cent) this year and 10 per cent more attended from France and Northern Europe. Honouring their commitment to host increasing numbers of new buyers at all ILTM events, 45 per cent of those hosted at ILTM last week were new faces to ILTM in Cannes.

For the buyer attending ILTM, the event is all about finding something new. Amy Furie, director of Leisure New Act Travel LA, said: “I am a veteran of ILTM in Cannes and I come because I meet fantastic new suppliers every year. If I am invited again, I would accept 100 per cent and if I could only go to one show a year it would be this one!"

For exhibitors, ILTM is about building business and business connections.  “The energy created at ILTM Cannes is palpable from the moment you arrive and it carries through the entirety of the event,” said Chris Austin, senior vice president for Global Marketing and Sales at Seabourn. “This was the first year Seabourn has exhibited and the connections we’ve made with buyers and suppliers will be invaluable in the months ahead.”
 
Glenn Carroll, vice-president Commercial Europe at IHG said: “ILTM Cannes is the best show by far for delivering new business, it’s all about introducing new properties, updating clients on changes to existing ones and maintaining the well established booking channels. I would imagine that between some 32 hotels represented here, we will create hundreds of thousands of dollars of business and will do the same when we return in 2018. The ILTM portfolio of shows is one of the most crucial investments we make each year for the brand.”
 
David Solis of Edition Hotels said: “This is our 13th year and we have seen the show grow and go from strength to strength. Buyers are engaging and we’ve seen fresh faces from global luxury markets – ILTM gives us a platform to create opportunities and target regions contributing to our business growth and we look forward to partnering with ILTM throughout 2018.”
 
Alison Gilmore, Director of the ILTM Collection said: “ILTM’s success is the industry’s success. ILTM 2017 has been defined by announcements of many new launches and many growing luxury travel businesses across the world that truly sets the scene for the ILTM Collection in 2018. This includes our two new events ILTM Asia Pacific and ILTM China and our two rebranded events ILTM Latin America and ILTM North America, not forgetting ILTM Arabia and ILTM Africa. It is set to be a busy year for the industry and we look forward to supporting in every way that we can.” - TradeArabia News Service