The World Travel Catering & Onboard Services
Expo (WTCE) returns to Hamburg from 4 – 6 April with a raft of new features to
celebrate its sixth year.
As part of Passenger Experience Week 2017, the
world-class exhibition will bring together professionals from across the globe
with attendees hailing from countries including United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong,
France, China, Germany and the UK. WTCE offers a unique platform for onboard
specialists from across the air, rail and the wider travel industry to meet over
300 industry suppliers, source the latest products, attend a wide range of
networking events and view demonstrations from world-class chefs.
Cohesively hosting three events over four
days, with the Passenger Experience Conference taking place the day before WTCE
and Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), the Week will welcome those at the forefront
of the global passenger experience industry, who are responsible for shaping its
future.
Global international air passenger traffic
growth has remained strong so far in 2016 with year-to-date growth of 6.4%,
according to the September Travel and Tourism Indicator Update report from World
Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Despite the impact of Brexit and the weakened
pound, travel and tourism will grow continue to grow. Global Direct Travel and
Tourism GDP growth in 2016 has been downgraded by 0.2pp compared with a
downgrade of 0.5pp in total GDP growth. Therefore, the WTTC anticipates the
travel and tourism sector to remain resilient and continue to grow faster than
the wider global economy.
The onboard catering and passenger comfort
industries therefore remain vital and WTCE aims to showcase all the latest
developments, as well as offering an unrivalled educational platform for
learning and networking. The hottest topics in the sector include meal
personalisation and electronic ordering, healthy snacks, catering for customers
with allergies, such as gluten intolerance, and innovative packaging. All will
be covered – and more – at WTCE 2017, along with all-important advice regarding
where operators can add value to increase profits and stand out from their
competitors.
New for 2017
Now in its sixth year, WTCE will kick off with
the Passenger Experience Conference, which will begin for the first time with
the Airline Forum. This session is open to any airline representative and will
take place before the conference from 8.30 to 9.30am on Monday 3 April, the day
before the event officially opens. It will offer airlines a dedicated area to
pick up advice and meet and network with their peers.
On the show floor, WTCE will once again
provide an international hub where suppliers will display their full catering
and onboard service ranges and, for the first time, new exhibitors will be
housed within a First Time Exhibitor Village. This will encourage innovation, as
well as introducing passenger experience professionals to companies that are new
to the show and, in some cases, new to the market as a whole.
The Focus on World Travel Retail completes the
trio of new experiences to be introduced at WTCE 2017. This dedicated showcase
area for the onboard travel retail industry will have a networking bar with
happy hours, seminar theatre and suite of private meeting rooms to better enable
face-to-face conversations with potential new suppliers. Reflecting the huge
growth in this sector, this focus area will allow buyers to meet with suppliers
of sale-on-board items and source new companies and products.
Meanwhile, the Taste of Travel Theatre will
return with cutting-edge presentations, live chef demonstrations and new product
launches to innovate and inspire attendees. Admittance to these informative
sessions is free of charge and they will provide new ideas and creative
solutions that will help visitors enhance the onboard experience offered by
their companies. Visitors will be invited to ask questions most relevant to
their businesses in order to leave with greater insights into the trends
affecting the onboard industry.
Also returning to the show will be the What’s
New Onboard feature, which will highlight the newly-launched products and
services in the sector with a spotlight on the best innovations of the past
year. The Buy Onboard & Rail Trails will also be back, with visitors invited to
follow the trails around the show floor, which will lead them to exhibitors
supplying relevant products. Products showcased will range from food and
beverages, linen and tableware to trolleys and packaging solutions.
Following on from the Airline Forum and
kicking off Passenger Experience Week 2017, the highly regarded Passenger
Experience Conference will run from 9.30am to 6pm on Monday 3rd April. Moving
from the Congress Centre to the Hamburg Messe Hall A4 Upper this year, the
conference features three breakout streams that focus on different elements of
the passenger experience: The Connected Journey, Comfort and Wellbeing and
Generating Revenue.
Attendees can learn about the increased use of
smart devices enabling customers to customise their travels at every stage in
The Connected Journey; the issues impacting a passengers’ sense of comfort and
wellbeing through a journey in Comfort and Wellbeing; to how rail and air
operators can better monetise their offer in Generating Revenue.
The conference will lead into an Industry
Networking Party, which is free for all conference delegates, media and VIP to
attend. For those not attending the conference, tickets can be purchased. With
food and drinks on offer, the event is designed to facilitate new relationships
between attending professionals ahead of the show opening the next day.
Once at the show, visitors will be able to
meet with more than 300 exhibitors, all showcasing their latest innovations.
These include major caterers, such as LSG Group and gategroup as well as other
companies like:
- Albéa with the latest in beauty and
personal care packaging innovations as well as passenger comfort products
from amenity kits to pillows and blankets
- Technology startup Yaos ltd with
LimeLight, an enterprise cloud application designed specifically for the
airline industry
- Suominen´s Milk Ltd with its Jymy Organic
Ice Cream that won Best New Organic Food Product & New Organic Brand 2015 in
Scandinavia in 2015.
Fabian Niederer,
Yaos Founder and CFO, said: “Last year the yaos team had an excellent experience
at WTCE and look forward to a repeat in April 2017. Being one of the most
important events on the industry’s calendar, WTCE offers yaos a key opportunity
to connect and learn from the broader inflight catering community and showcase
their latest iteration of the LimeFlight Web- and Mobile inflight catering
solution.”
Syreeta Tranfield,
WTCE Event Manager, said: “We are excited to bring WTCE back to Hamburg for its
sixth edition as a firmly established and highly anticipated part of Passenger
Experience Week. WTCE has become the global meeting place for the travel
catering and onboard services industry and we have acted upon feedback to make
the 2017 instalment the best yet. The show is truly international and provides
visitors and exhibitors with an unrivalled path to meet with peers, discuss
business deals and learn about the latest trends and innovations in the
industry. We look forward to launching the Airline Forum, the Focus on World
Travel Retail and the First Time Exhibitor Village, all of which we think will
significantly add value to visitors and exhibitors alike. We also have a
fantastic line up of top industry speakers providing the very latest thinking in
this growing sector.”
WTCE 2017, which takes place at the Hamburg
Messe from 4-6 April, will provide unmissable insights, innovations and
networking opportunities for those in the onboard catering and passenger comfort
industries. It is co-located with Aircraft Interiors Expo, which features more
than 500 exhibitors and is free for those registered to attend WTCE.
For more information on the event visit:
http://www.worldtravelcateringexpo.com/
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