Travel Weekly and TravelAge West's sixth-annual Global Travel Marketplace (GTM) event connected highly successful travel advisors and a diverse array of global suppliers for a two-and-a-half day appointment-based event July 12-14, 2018 at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"GTM is designed to facilitate business relationships between travel advisors and suppliers resulting in increased business for both sides of the table," said Alicia Evanko-Lewis, Senior Vice President of Events, Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group. "This year, that success and increased business came during the event with amazing speed and professionalism. While onsite, our advisors were sharing their meetings on social media and posts were quickly turning into inquiries for new suppliers and new destinations. Newfound partners were completing quotes overnight and new group itineraries were growing as the event progressed. The return for our advisor and supplier attendees is both immediate and long-lasting, due to GTM's vetting and match-making processes.

"Suppliers who were new to GTM said the vetting process paid off. "We had heard a lot of positive things about GTM, and had really high expectations," said Dan Adams, Vice President of Rico Tours. "It's important for Rico Tours to know that we're getting quality agents, and meeting with advisors who are serious about their business. GTM delivered exactly that.

"A record 129 travel advisors from the United States and Canada attended the event, along with 133 supplier companies, representing destinations, tour operators, river and ocean cruise lines, hotels and resorts, and professional services from all around the globe. Participants engaged through one-on-one pre-scheduled appointments, exclusive Boardroom presentations and networking events. GTM has become a career goal for many attendees. Nick Pena, owner of a Cruise Planners franchise, had the event on his radar. "I've been in the business for four years and have seen a lot of buzz about GTM," he said. "It's something that I aspired to attend and being accepted this year was a huge accomplishment."

In addition to first-time attendees, GTM welcomed back its Ambassadors, a select group of advisors who saw business growth after attending the previous year's event. Kristi Huss, owner of Travel Savvi, was one of those Ambassadors. "My business has grown a lot since attending in 2017. I was able to meet suppliers that filled specific niches. I'm no longer turning away business because I have the right connections, thanks to GTM," she said.

Tourism Australia participates in the event year after year because of the opportunity to educate advisors on their destination. "GTM is the perfect forum to talk to top-level advisors about what Australia offers," said Glen Davis, Distribution Development Manager, Tourism Australia. "We take it one step further and sign up for Boardroom Presentations so we have time to focus on key messages, show video content and explain what there is to do in our country. It's incredibly valuable."

GTM returns to The Diplomat Beach Resort July 26-28, 2019. Sister event, GTM West, will be held May 9-11, 2019 at The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, in Henderson, Nevada. Travel advisor applications open in January 2019. Qualifying travel advisors must have a minimum of $1 million in annual sales for GTM, and $800,000 in annual sales for GTM West, reside in the U.S. or Canada, have a global book of business and provide supplier references. For more information, please visit www.globaltravelmarketplace.com . For supplier inquiries, please contact Emmy Morales at [email protected] or 201-902-1951.

ABOUT TRAVEL WEEKLY:

Travel Weekly is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace. In addition to a weekly print publication, TravelWeekly.com-updated several times daily-is the most-visited industry website. Travel Weekly is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

ABOUT TRAVELAGE WEST:

For more than 45 years, TravelAge West has been the trusted voice of the travel industry in the Western U.S. With award-winning writing and design, the publication brings the best of travel to life for readers. The magazine's first-hand, on-site reports and fresh destination coverage is a valued resource for travel advisors. TravelAge West is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

About Northstar Travel Group

Northstar Travel Group is the leading information services, event, data, and marketing solutions company serving the global travel industry. Northstar’s extensive audience covers all segments of travel, including leisure, business, meetings, sports, incentives, hospitality, and travel technology. Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading e-commerce software, marketing cloud, and business intelligence company serving the mountain destination, golf, activities, and hospitality markets. Based in Rutherford, NJ, the company has five offices across the U.S., UK, and Singapore. For more information about Northstar’s solutions, audiences, and brands, visit www.northstartravelgroup.com. Northstar Travel Group is owned by funds managed by EagleTree Capital.