Visit 180 Countries in One Afternoon and Get Free Drinks
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 11.24.03 | 9:48 PM ET
It’s possible at the World Travel Mart, the annual gathering of representatives from nations, airlines, car rental companies, cruise lines, hotels, railways, regional tourist boards and just about every other travel-related business you can think of. They put the best spin on their “product” for thousands of tour operators, travel agents and, of course, travel writers in search of stories, freebies and potent cocktails—not necessarily in that order. Cleo Paskal of Canada’s National Post traveled to this year’s Mart in Birmingham, England, and found it to be “a surreal event.”
She writes: “Subtle, complex cultures are boiled down to logos.” Paskal chronicles the wackiness involved in the packaging and promotion of travel, but also finds some cultural insights. “There may be a uniform corporate sheen on the room, but there are definite glimmers of real culture here,” she writes. “The Americans are going for the hard sell, grabbing my arm and smiling aggressively as I try to walk between Las Vegas and California. The Scandinavians barely make eye contact, more interested in chatting among themselves. The Mediterranean section (France, Spain, Italy) is markedly better dressed, if a bit shorter. And India is a massive sprawling stand, full of colour, life and business deals.”
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
