There’s no better way to close a global travel show than with a standing-room crowd, an Oscar nominee, and the faint smell of ambition and espresso hanging in the air. That’s precisely how World Travel Market London 2025 signed off a blockbuster ending for an industry still finding its balance between progress and preservation.
This year’s finale belonged to the inimitable Richard E. Grant, actor, raconteur, and self-professed wanderer. Interviewed in a lively fireside chat by Sir Chris Bryant MP, the UK’s newly appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy, Grant reminded everyone why travel remains the world’s most intoxicating addiction.
Richard E. Grant steals the show – again.
Born in Swaziland (now Eswatini) and based in London for decades, Grant delighted the audience with his familiar cocktail of charm and chaos. He spoke of filming in draughty stately homes, sampling bull’s testicles on a kibbutz (“texture questionable, experience unforgettable”), and an awkward encounter with the King of Eswatini when a film crew’s permits went missing.
In short, it was pure Grant, candid, self-deprecating and sprinkled with the kind of travel anecdotes that would mortify a publicist and endear a journalist.
“I love it, absolutely love it,” he said of travel. “I like being on an aeroplane, I like getting to a city and just walking, not following Google Maps, not doing the Tripadvisor thing, just finding stuff I’d never have discovered otherwise. I find that very exciting and liberating.”
He admitted to travelling solo, hand luggage only, visiting eight destinations across Africa and Europe this summer. His current obsession? A sticky toffee pudding factory in Bristol is “a national treasure, unlisted but unforgettable.”
There was laughter, of course. But beneath it, Grant struck a chord. In an age when travel is planned by algorithm, here was a man advocating curiosity over convenience, spontaneity over the spreadsheet.
Overtourism: the word no one wants on the brochure
Elsewhere at WTM, the mood turned serious. In a packed session titled “Rethinking Overtourism: Are We Ready for Real Accountability?”, the industry’s conscience came knocking.
Aleix Rodriguez Brunsoms from Skift reminded delegates that the anti-tourism protests sweeping Southern Europe weren’t aimed at travellers but at the tourism model itself. “Europe absorbs nearly a quarter of global tourism,” he noted. “The problem isn’t visitors; it’s the system that funnels them.”
The culprits? Overloaded destinations, seasonal surges, tour operators chasing the same peaks, and marketing that measures clicks rather than capacity.
Intrepid Travel’s Joanna Reeve called for operators to take more responsibility. “It’s about where and when we travel, tackling unsociable behaviour and ensuring the money customers spend stays local,” she said. She offered a sobering figure — just 20% of what tourists spend typically stays in the community.
Malta Tourism Authority’s Tolene van der Merwe had a solution straight from the Mediterranean playbook: focus on quality, not quantity. Her example, the Blue Lagoon, has capped visitor numbers from 12,000 to 4,000 at any one time through a free ticketing system. “It’s about locals understanding the value of tourism, and visitors understanding the value of culture,” she said.
Chris Fair, CEO of Resonance Consultancy, called for a “holistic” rethink: “Tourism has been a target for social and economic discontent. If destinations can show travel contributes to local wellbeing, it deserves a seat at the table in planning discussions.”
Sustainability and aviation’s soaring problem
Back in the conference halls, the conversation shifted to the sky. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has become the darling acronym of climate-conscious travel, but the optimism faded fast when the price tags came out.
Jane Thompson of ICF cut through the fluff. “The problem with SAF scale-up is there isn’t enough of it and the cost,” she said. “It’s three to five times more expensive than fossil fuel. Government support is absolutely vital; it’s a very nascent industry.”
Nico Nicholas of Zeero Group urged action before regulation does it for them: “Everyone in tourism’s chain of supply has a responsibility to invest. Better to act now than wait for fines.”
Ponant’s Anthony Daniels framed it differently: “There’s a race on to create the first zero-emissions ship and that’s a race worth running.”
Hans Rood from Transcend Cruises highlighted the awkward gap between corporate promises and customer wallets. “We’re keen to be sustainable,” he said, “but passengers still buy on price.” Thinkstrawberries’ Munnmunn Marwah echoed his point: “Affordability remains the issue, maybe loyalty programs can bridge that gap.”
It was clear that despite all the green talk, sustainability still comes down to who pays the bill.
AI: travel’s new nervous system – and its headache
Artificial intelligence dominated the tech sessions, though the mood alternated between fascination and fatigue.
Ani Attamian from LEMA Collective addressed the elephant in the room: regulation. “Companies need clear AI guardrails from vendor vetting to data privacy and deletion,” she said. “Without them, you’re inviting chaos in through the firewall.”
A separate panel titled “The Death of Distribution?” debated whether AI will replace the industry’s middlemen. Brian Reeves of Roomangel Foundation was bullish, predicting costs would fall “within the year.” Odyssey Solutions’ Monish Luthra disagreed, pointing to Meta’s billion-dollar hiring sprees: “Mark Zuckerberg’s keeping it expensive.”
Sabre’s Kathy Morgan found the middle ground: “Costs are bumps, not barriers.”
But it was Travel Trends podcast host Dan Christian who stole the room’s attention by declaring, “AI is massively overhyped at the moment.” A dramatic pause later, he added: “But the change coming will be profound. It’s like the early dotcom days.”
He noted that 70% of travellers now use AI tools to plan their holidays, calling it “the new internet.” His advice to marketers? Keep your content fresh “AI prioritises recent, trusted sources.” And his message to PRs was cheerier still: “Earned media beats paid. Authenticity wins.”
His final warning? “In this new AI age, we’re not producers anymore we’re supervisors.”
For once, the audience didn’t scroll their phones.
Live events: where destinations find their rhythm
If you ever doubted the power of pop culture to move tourism, ask Singapore. The city-state, now an events powerhouse, was held up as the model for modern destination marketing.
Kate Irwin from Skift revealed that 68% of travellers begin planning trips based on experiences, not destinations. Kershing Goh from the Singapore Tourism Board confirmed the trend: “Taylor Swift and Formula One aren’t just events they’re national strategy.”
Singapore’s goal, she said, is to reframe the city as a place to “live, work, invest and play.” What advice for other destinations? Think partnerships. “Tourist boards, event organisers and trade players need alternative collaboration models,” Goh said. Translation: stop competing, start collaborating.
The next generation takes the stage.
While industry heavyweights debated policy, the Institute of Travel & Tourism’s Future You event reminded everyone that travel’s next chapter depends on its youngest storytellers.
Kate Irwin is doing double duty this week, offering ten tips for those starting, from “fail loudly” to “use humour.”
The student panel took her advice literally. Gabriella Hayward, now with Sanderson Phillips, said she’d sent 200 job applications before getting a single yes. Harneet Singh Sachdev overcame visa hurdles to secure a spot at Black Diamond. Boris Bijlstra swapped McKinsey’s boardrooms for start-up scrappiness with Hubby eSIM.
Claire Steiner, co-founder of the ITT Future You Foundation, revealed a new partnership with SystemsX using AI to help students practise employability skills, proving that tech isn’t the enemy after all.
TrendFest: colour, flavour and flair
Over at TrendFest, the vibe was lighter. Delegates sipped, sampled and stretched through a smorgasbord of cultural showcases. There were dance troupes from St Lucia and Romania, cooking demos from Peru and Croatia, and massage chairs for those who’d had their fill of PowerPoints.
Sarawak Tourism Board’s Esther Indut Luat promoted her state’s crafts under the banner “Gateway to Borneo”, while London’s Snowman Afternoon Tea Bus served up nostalgia with a side of scones. Sherbet Taxi Media’s Asher Moses discussed the future of mobile advertising, proving that even taxis can tell a story.
It was colourful, noisy, and occasionally chaotic, which, frankly, is how travel should be.
The final boarding call
By the time the lights dimmed on WTM London 2025, one message had taken hold: the travel industry isn’t in crisis, it’s in transition.
Overtourism, sustainable aviation, AI disruption, and event-led strategy are not challenges but invitations to reinvent.
As Richard E. Grant proved, travel’s magic still lives in discovery and delight, not in data dashboards. And if WTM’s closing message could be distilled to one line, it might be this: the world is vast, but responsibility travels with you.
