 Planes at the holding point for runway 27R at Heathrow- during the rush hour you can have at least ten planes waiting: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The mornings arrivals at Terminal 3: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Can never get tired of this view on approach to Heathrow: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  BA's Business Class offering on the Bologna-Heathrow route: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
The much anticipated annual World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, generating more than £2.8 billion of business contracts between attendees, opened it's doors to the media and invited guests in London at the London ExCel with a spectacular display of song, dance and plenty of glamour on the morning of the 6th of November. It's the key event for the world's travel and tourism industry, with practically the who's who of the industry coming together to discuss important issues, close important deals and reveal new product and service offerings in a world exclusive. Below are some exclusive snippets I gathered from the action-packed three-day event.
Here is what I had to say about the importance of attending the event:
BBC News anchor Aaron Haslehurst opened the event for the media with an overview of the year for the industry. He summarised that the industry is more optimistic in 2017/8 than last year with over £3 billion in business and is set to grow. He also revealed that Italy and Greece are actually enjoying the high growth of tourism despite Brexit happening, and this trend is set to continue. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Alex Cruz, the CEO of British Airways, gave an inspirational talk on his thoughts and strategy to make the national flag carrier a leading five-star airline while at the same time keep costs down. Despite being a tough year for the airline, Mr. Cruz is optimistic that 2018 will be a fruitful year for British Airways, and that cutting down on certain things, such as free in-flight food & beverages on European and Domestic routes is the correct thing to do because the majority of passengers would prefer that. Aviation experts predict that the introduction of paid services, such as in-flight Wi-Fi could also bring in extra income for airlines. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Cricket legends attend the WTM 2017
One of the greats of the game of cricket, Sir Garfield Sobers, attended the event to promote Barbados as a brand ambassador: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Cricket legends Sir Vivian Richards (right) and Desmond Haynes (left), attended the event to promote Barbados as a brand ambassador: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Sir Garfield Sobers (right), Gordon Greenridge (second-right) and Wes Hall (3rd from right) at the World Travel Market 2017: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
When the world comes to London!
What an entrance from the Dominican Republic: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Promoting Karnataka in India: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
From the Punjab! Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Bolivian pride at the WTM 2017: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Cyprus is also set to see a growth in tourism this year: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
China's economic growth will see a trend in the independent traveller- whereas before it used to be that group travel was popular in the country. Chinese visitors to the UK will also increase in the coming year. A particular reason is the awareness about global tourism generated in China via digital and social media platforms such as WeChat: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Greek breakfast! Greece, along with Italy, is one of the few European countries that are going to see a growth in the number of tourists in 2018, especially from the UK and Brexit is actually good for them! Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Slovenia, one of those countries that deserves more attention than they get. With great food, wine and spectacular views, this is a country that offers a lot for the tourist and is not that expensive either. Foodies delight, Slovenia will be a major hit list in 2018 according to industry experts. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Happiest country in the world...! Rare and exotic, Bhutan is offering something unique to the travel nomad! Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
THY Turkish Airlines had one of the biggest stands I have ever seen displayed by an airline. The award-winning airline has constantly been voted the best in Europe and offers more routes worldwide than any other airline...will they be the next Singapore Airlines? We shall see. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
SAUDIA- Saudi Arabian Airlines unveiled new Business and First Class seats and products during the WTM 2017. They have ambitious plans to operate to over 200 routes by 2020 and maybe even plan more routes to London, a traditional destination for them, and to emerging markets such as India and China. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
 Dress made by paper award-winning British artist and designer by Zoe Bradley on display in the Club Lounge at Heathrow's Terminal 5. For 2017's Milan Fashion Week, Bradley’s latest creation was a full-scale ball gown and headpiece. The commission, from British Airways, furnished Bradley with carte blanche to interpret the brief of “travel, fashion and style”. From first sketch to finishing touches, Bradley’s gown took less than a month to complete. About 700 individual royal-blue ruffles made up the skirt of the dress, while a corset of white petals was accented with a sash of crimson, hand-curled roses. Worth a look. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  QANTAS A380-842 "David Warren", seen arriving from Singapore and on the way to the parking gate at Heathrow. David Warren (20 March 1925 – 19 July 2010) was an Australian scientist, best known for inventing and developing the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (also known as FDR, CVR, and "the black box").  Aircraft on final approach at Heathrow Airport: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular sunset in West London: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Elephant and Castle seen from East Dulwich: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Busy dramatic London sky earlier today. An Airbus A300B4 of DHL on approach to Heathrow's runway 27L (at around 3,000 feet and descending on the ILS glideslope), while a BA Embraer E190 crosses paths at around 2,000 feet on approach to City Airport (they are using runway 09 today). Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Westminster as seen from East Dulwich: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  (L to R) John Pullman, Reuters Global Head of Video and Pictures; Maisie McCabe, Deputy Editor of Campaign; Madhav Chinnappa, Director of Strategic Relations for News and Publishers at Google; Nathalie Malinarich, Mobile Editor, BBC News Online; and Nic Newman, Research Association at Reuters Institute at the Reuters Tomorrow's News 2017 event in London, June 14, 2017. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh It’s been a year of huge change and disruption for the global news landscape. On the evening of 14 June at One Marylebone in London, the Tomorrow’s News 2017 event hosted by Reuters unveiled some of the key news consumption shifts in the last 12 months, what’s influencing news attitudes and behaviours, and what the future holds. Some of the key questions revolved around fake news and to understand what are facts worth and how they are verified. The lively discussion was attended by some of the key influencers in the media industry. On the discussion panel were Nic Newman, Research Association at Reuters Institute; Madhav Chinnappa, Director of Strategic Relations for News and Publishers at Google; Nathalie Malinarich, Mobile Editor, BBC News Online and Maisie McCabe, Deputy Editor of Campaign. The discussion was chaired by John Pullman, Reuters Global Head of Video and Pictures Reuters. The opening and closing speeches were conducted by Jeffery Perkins, Commercial Director, EMEA, Reuters. The discussion revolved around a report published by Reuters, which included a global survey of 1,711 Reuters.com users, and the findings which show that while fake news can be damaging for both news brands and advertisers, brands which advertise on trusted news sites can benefit. Unfortunately, Ben de Pear – Editor of Channel 4 News could not make it to the event because he was busy covering the tragic news of the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London. Some of the findings of the report included:
Some of the highlights of the event included: Chinnappa said that Google is “trying to give the answers that the users are looking for when they search, which is a very specific thing. So, for us, when you look at false news, on some levels, that’s news spam. It’s people trying to game the system. And we’ve been trying to fight that from the beginning of Google. He noted that as a father he understands the need for security and privacy of content on the site, especially when it comes to graphic content- and that Google is working very hard to make sure that brands and individuals are not lined in with the graphic content and are moderating the content that is published. He also mentioned that it is a challenging task. Malinarich noted that brand attribution or recognition on social media is difficult. “If you spend your whole day snacking on Facebook, you know you’ve read things about Trump or whatever it is, but you don’t who wrote them or made the video at the end. …it’s just kind of a jumble in your head and you remember the actual stories and the headlines, but you don’t really remember who provided that.” One of the best things I heard was when she said that the problem with mainstream media is that the majority of the key decisions on stories are made by a select few group of networked people and not the mainstream junior staff and that is challenging to change. Does that mean that stories are biased or that editors tell their staff to write stories to shift the public’s viewpoint of someone in government or create a base for a public debate through influence? Maybe. The way people buy online advertising, McCabe said, was to look for the cheapest way to find people who look like they might be interested in their brand. “That means they don’t pay attention to necessarily where the ad is going to run, so then you have the situation where people are chasing numbers by any means. It’s definitely something advertisers need to be wary of.” On fake news, Newman said “Whose responsibility is it? Is it publishers, is it platforms, is it users? In this world, it’s all of those. Users get the benefits of greater choice, but downside of that is they have to do more work themselves to work out what is true and what isn’t. They are, and they relish that. They see that trade off when you talk to them. From a publisher’s point of you, they need to do more about transparency. From a platform point of view, they need to do more as well to show the value of brands. One of the key trends that nobody spoke about was Big Data and the effect it could have on the publishing and media industries. I mean, for example, if you have one person who has spread fake news then how much of an effort in terms of time, money and human resources would it take to turn that mistrust with the public into a credible and trustworthy piece of news? How much of a help would Big Data have in this, if any? Other main areas of discussion revolved around the following key areas:
 (L to R) Nic Newman, Research Association at Reuters Institute; Jeffery Perkins, Commercial Director, EMEA, Reuters; Madhav Chinnappa, Director of Strategic Relations for News and Publishers at Google; Nathalie Malinarich, Mobile Editor, BBC News Online; Maisie McCabe, Deputy Editor of Campaign; and John Pullman, Reuters Global Head of Video and Pictures at the Reuters Tomorrow's News 2017 event in London, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor  Reuters event in London: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  City of London seen from Dulwich on a fine Sunday evening: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The whole of London's skyline seen from the hill in East Dulwich. Tourists would pay a lot to see this view and are missing on a great view! Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Canary Wharf and Greenwich as seen from East Dulwich. Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Wedding cake and card given by Emirates airline cabin crew on flight to Dubai from London. Great flight...photos on their camera came out better (yes, hard to believe that a PHOTOGRAPHER could not take his own photo!)...never had 12 crew surrounding my seat...what a celebration!: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Champagne to celebrate the upcoming wedding given by Emirates airline cabin crew on flight to Dubai from London: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Colleagues at AVADO Learning all lining up to sign my wedding card- quite touched by the lovely gesture: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh Noodles, green peppers, diced chicken thigh, Chinese spices and voila! Though, I am just a student...chef in the making.  Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Photo Copyright Navjot Singh When your fiancée is flying from London back to her hometown in China for Chinese New Year and in order to prepare for our wedding (which is on Chinese New Year itself!), you want to do something to make her trip extra special. Unfortunately because of logistical and personal reasons, I could not go on the same flight as her, and will be joining her a week later in Yangzhou. So, I passed a kind request to the lovely team in the PR department at British Airways to see if they could do something. I was hoping that the Captain would make an announcement, but the wonderful crew of flight BA169 from London to Shanghai exceeded all expectations. Not only did they upgrade her to Business Class (known as Club World at BA), but she was given a surprise congratulatory announcement in-flight. I could only wish I was there, but what a flight she had. Great stuff. Massive thanks to the Senior Purser, Captain and the whole operating crew of BA169, and of course, the ground staff at BA's head office in London. You guys are amazing. The perfect customer service that one can ever hope for.  Photo Copyright Vicky Kong  The tube strike in London has brought some positive news...had an interesting commute to work on an old London bus this morning- complete with a conductor, who not only collects tickets but provides a full customer service and controls the number of passengers on the bus: "Hold on tight then", "No passengers allowed to stand up on bus"... Last time I took one of these was in the 1980s! Finally, we can all say "Thank god it is over"....I am, of course, referring to seeing the end of 2016. In a year that saw Brexit, the rise of Donald Trump as President-elect of the United States of America, numerous terrorist attacks around the world, terrible natural disasters in Italy, Chile among other places, and the deaths of many famous people, I am sure we would all like to put this year behind us and move forward. For me personally, 2016 has been good because I got engaged to a wonderful woman, and 2017 is going to be an even exciting time as we both prepare to get married in January during Chinese New Year. I have been overwhelmed by a feeling of thankfulness. This year has been perhaps the best year of my life so far. I am grateful for the support and love of my friends and family and above else, I am grateful for an amazing job and a career that many others dream of having- I LOVE my job as a writer. I am grateful for my fiancée, Vicky, for the incredible positive influence she has had on my life and the constant motivation she provides to me. This was my first time to visit the New Year eve's fireworks in London. Usually, every year we stay at home and watch the event on TV. However, given that I was provided two media tickets to cover the event, both Vicky and I enjoyed what must be the best New Year festivities ever. It was also nice to bump into the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who took time out of his busy schedule to come and briefly chat to the media. What a year it has been for him and if there is one piece of great positive news in 2016, then it has to be Sadiq Khan being elected by the people of this great city as their mayor. One piece of advice for anyone who wants to visit the fireworks display next year - try to stay on the Embankment side of the river as that is the place to capture the best views (and avoid the thick smog from the fireworks afterwards!). Here's cheers to a healthy, prosperous, safe and joyful 2017 for all of us.  Millennium Wheel and the Houses of Parliament: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The thousands of peope waiting for the fireworks, some of whom had waited for over five hours in the cold weather: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Navjot with Vicky on Jubilee Bridge (reserved for the media only): Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Can see both the Millennium Wheel (through the camera view!) and the Houses of Parliament - with the BBC1 TV crew: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Crowds making a "London is Open" symbol with the lights from their phones- a gesture to show that London is a city that welcomes everybody: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Looks like an image of a galaxy, millions of light years away: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular fireworks- London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Navjot Singh with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Navjot SIngh in conversation with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Navjot Singh with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  London eye and River Thames: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The crowds just after the NYE fireworks finished: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The London Eye: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  New year's eye fireworks in London 2016: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Vicky taking a photo in front of the London Eye: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh Looking for a nice, quiet and elegant place to have your anniversary dinner? I would highly recommend the Les 110 de Taillevent in Cavendish Square in London- just perfect. The chef may also conjure up a few culinary surprises too!  Les 110 de Taillevent: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Anniversary surprise message from the chef at Les 110 de Taillevent: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Anniversary dinner at Les 110 de Taillevent: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  WILD SEABREAM, Brussels sprouts with maple syrup, poultry jus at Les 110 de Taillevent: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  CHICKEN, consommé, ravioli, vegetables at Les 110 de Taillevent: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  CHOCOLATE BUCHE, coffee icecream at Les 110 de Taillevent: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  On a cold and damp morning, a lone tree stands in the mist at Brockwell Park in south-east London: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  ...a great man in Hammersmith. I know very well from my time while working at the Walt Disney company in Shanghai and Suzhou how much important it is to provide excellent customer service....it could be a smile, a hello, a greeting by addressing your first or second name (The Ritz-Carlton way!) or just a simple genuine gesture or action that speaks volumes and effectively says "Thank you...you're a valued customer and we want you to come back to us." This barista (he was too shy to have his photo taken) at a Starbucks store went one step ahead and asked me for my name and wrote it in a stylish signature. THIS is what customer service is all about. Will be back for sure. Time to go back to Shanghai (via Hong Kong)...def will beat DHL to get my parcel to the British Embassy- as that would have taken 3 days...quickest turnaround...12 hours of running around London getting errands done (including a quickfire shopping trip to Harrods) and 8 hours of bliss sleep thanks to a great book by James (read his book...perfect for long-haul flights and short stopovers!). Ciao London...   Those cold London winters are approaching...Autumn reflections and Winter beginnings...an ode to a new season...  Heathrow Terminal 3 arrivals at 4.45am...Photo Copyright Navjot Singh   Whilst flying from London Heathrow to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific Airways (Boeing 777-300ER): Photo Copyright Navjot Singh |
Get in Touch:LIFE MATTERSHere I share my thoughts
and experiences during my travels, and how some things have affected my life as an expat and world traveller. Travelling is about capturing that moment in life. Every word, view and opinion on this page is that of Navjot Singh - except where indicated. The most recent is at the top. Scroll down to read the archive. Or search using CTRL+F (COMMAND + F) and enter a keyword to search the page. Just some of the stories you never heard before. The NAVJOT-SINGH.COM web blog is separate to this web site....Click blog, which may not be visible in some countries due to local firewall restrictions, so in those cases this weblog may be read. The weblog also includes some of my press trip reports- most of which are not published on the official blog because of copyright issues. The weblog also contains articles that may be associated directly with a PR trip for a country, airline or a hotel. These are PR reviews done in relations with various companies. If you are an investor or a trend watcher then you may find this website useful as investing has a lot to do with personal observations and finding the ideal trend or next big thing. The average human on the street frequently knows far more about the state of the economy than politicians, university professors, subject matter experts, and financial analysts who seldom travel, or if they do so, only from one hotel to another hotel! The pulse and vibrancy of an economy is nowhere more visible than on a country's streets. 
All photos and words are © Navjot Singh unless stated. Photos taken by others or by agencies are appropriately copyrighted under the respective name. No photo or word/s may be taken without the prior written permission by the author (i.e. Navjot Singh). All Rights Reserved. 
Navjot being interviewed by Cecila Lu at GDTV.
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