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The second day of World Travel Market London 2025 welcomed the main sessions of this year’s DEAI Summit. It also saw more discussions on AI, sustainability and marketing and touched on how humour can be used to sell travel.
Think beyond ‘Pride Month’
“There is definitely a rollback that is making it more challenging,” said Joanna Reeve, of tour operator Intrepid Travel. But she suggested travel could make us feel connected to other cultures so “there’s less of ‘us and them’ and more ‘us’.”
Edgar Weggelaar of Queer Destinations, which works with governments on LGBTQ+ tourism strategies, asserted the Trump administration’s anti-DEAI messaging ‘had an impact’, pointing to FBI statistics showing a rise in homophobic and racist attacks. He believed it would have a detrimental effect for US tourism because “we come to places where we feel comfortable and desired.”
As for those keen to welcome LGBTQ+ travellers, Weggelaar said he would like to see investment beyond Pride month.
Make ‘Accessibility’ more accessible
Accessibility champion Richard Thompson of Inclu Group, said the pandemic had accelerated the use of technology, including for booking travel, to the exclusion of those unable to use it. “Protocols that were implemented, rightly for covid, have been kept in place and it’s another barrier for disabled people,” he said.
Inclu’s research of 600 luxury hotels around the world found pillow menus and dog-friendly facilities more commonly detailed than information on accessibility. Thompson stressed: “We’re turning disabled people into gamblers. They’re gambling tens of thousands of pounds on a holiday before they leave home because they don’t know what they’re getting.”
He called accessible travel “the last untapped market” and pointed out adaptations and marketing needed to look beyond wheelchairs, which were used by only 6% of disabled people.
In a session covering ‘The Business Case for Inclusion’, Sadia Ramzan of The Muslim Women Travel Group said small changes could have an impact, for instance not welcoming Muslim travellers with sparkling wine but with a mocktail would prompt word of mouth recommendations. She praised Japan for its halal certification and modesty options in spas.
Futureproofing strategist Sita Sahu of FUTURE& said that those destinations not showing themselves to be inclusive were “leaving money on the table”, and she told travel companies: “At the moment DEAI lives within HR and marketing, but we see by 2030 it’s going to live within governance.”
Destinations were also represented at the conference. Thailand’s recent marriage equality law has opened new opportunities for the country which believes it has the only tourism board with a dedicated LGBTQ+ platform.
Meanwhile Malta, a well-established LGBTQ+-Friendly tourism destination, is, with the help of universities, undertaking international tourism studies on further inclusion,
Iceland’s minister responsible for tourism Hanna Katrín Friðriksson referred to the country’s recent Women’s Day Off, a 50th anniversary protest about inequality, which commemorated a landmark 1975 strike. Though there was some backlash to the event she believed it had lessons for wider inclusivity.
Moving to AI debates
Diversification of revenue streams was a theme at the opening session of Wednesday afternoon’s Media & Influencer Forum. Attendees heard how having four to five income streams was now common for content creators, with the need to diversify recognised across all types of publishers.
Need for well researched on-the-ground writing
The panel also touched on the use of artificial intelligence. Weather2Travel’s Colin Carter said AI content could not substitute well researched on-the-ground writing from journalists and warned of the technology’s environmental impacts. But, he added, the site was having to revise existing content to improve its appearance in AI-driven search results.
Meanwhile, Frederic Aouad of Stay22 advised creators: “Optimising affiliate links is a passion of nobody… AI can do that for you.”
Artificial intelligence is not the enemy of travel, according to the result of a lively debate which rounded off the Technology Summit.
Two teams of three argued for and against AI in tourism. Stephen Joyce from Protect Group noted that trips curated by AI “remove the magical human chaos of being somewhere new”. Advocates of AI pointed out that travellers are already using and enjoying AI, despite its mistakes and limitations.
The show of hands was overwhelmingly in favour of the technology. Christian Watts from Magpie joked that it was “a tough day for the humans” but added that the audience response probably reflected “not where AI is today, but where it’s going to be in the future”.
Reframing source markets and sustainability
Among today’s Geo-economics sessions, Shabib Al Maamari from Visit Oman and Mariano Dima from Civititas talked about their ongoing partnership, promoting the sultanate to Civitatis’ Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking customer base.
Addressing the topic of ‘redrawing tourism flows and demand’, Al Maamari said: “We identified the source market we wanted and found the partner who could advise and help us find the best way to attract travellers.”
He admitted there was “an aggressive race to acquire new source markets” and that some destinations were “supercharging their inbound” through acquisition and investment in tourism businesses in their target markets.
As Sustainability Summit sessions continued, panellists discussing ‘cool tripping, slow tourism and the sophisticated traveller’ agreed sustainability is increasingly demanded by customers but needs to be further integrated into mainstream tourism products.
Iain Powell, from Hurtigruten, showcased the Norwegian cruise line’s new ‘open village’ concept offering access to community events, plus hybrid-powered ships and ‘hyperlocal’ food from 70 suppliers at its ports of call.
Tricia Schers, of Planeterra, said her non-profit organisation is partnering with more companies, such as hotel chain Iberostar and mainstream operator easyJet Holidays, and has developed community tourism enterprises ranging from a ‘Women with Wheels’ transfer service in India to Parwa restaurant in Peru.
Jane McFadzean, of Trip.com Group, highlighted the “say-do” gap between travellers’ intention to be sustainable and actually booking sustainable holidays. She said there is a need for “clear, credible and consistent” labels to guide consumers.
The group is seeing more demand for greener travel options such as rail and bike-packing. It has also invested in a Country Retreats programme in the Asia-Pacific which develops high-quality community-run accommodation.
TV stars’ marketing insights
In Wednesday’s continuing Marketing sessions, British TV stars took to the stage to share their tips about marketing travel and holidays.
Comedian Maisie Adam joined the ‘Comedy Sells’ marketing session, then historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes talked about how culture and history can encourage a deeper understanding of destinations.
Adam said: “You don’t have to show off Machu Picchu; you could be at an airport talking about the mundane… Humour is such a special language…and a great tool for connection.”
The panel also discussed a West Midlands Growth Company marketing video featuring Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, a tour guide called William who dresses as Shakespeare, a taxi driver, a chef and a ballet dancer.
Martin Clarke, from the company, said the region welcomed a record number of visitors over the past year, with overseas travellers up 2%.
Later, the session featuring Bettany Hughes in conversation with Wanderlust editor-in-chief George Kipouros heard that her TV shows attracted 450 million global viewers in 2024.
She explained snippets from some of her history documentaries have gone viral, because people were fascinated by artefacts such as a 2,000-year-old Bulgarian perfume bottle and paint pots from Pompeii.
In other marketing sessions, journalist Ash Bhardwaj explored 12 factors which motivate travellers – ranging from curiosity and happiness to mentorship, serendipity and empathy – and food futurist Tony Hunter looked at how Generation Alpha (those born 2010 – 2024) are already redefining travel as the gateway to the wallets of their millennial parents.
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Source: traveldailymedia