Being the global trend setting company that we are, as well as the fact we happened to already be in London, the YPT management decided to attend Destinations, The Holiday and Travel Show 2026 at the Olympia in London.
Attending such things is a great way for us to network, as well as get some inspiration for future tours we might run.
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What the Destinations, The Holiday and Travel Show 2026?
Destinations, The Holiday and Travel Show is one of the longest running consumer travel shows in the UK, having started life in the mid 1990s. It is run by Clarion Events, a company that specialises in large scale exhibitions across multiple industries, including travel, food, and lifestyle. The event is held annually at Olympia in London and attracts hundreds of exhibitors from around the world, ranging from national tourism boards to specialist tour companies and publishers.
Attendance numbers typically sit in the tens of thousands over the course of the show, with the vast majority being members of the public rather than industry insiders. This is very much a B2C event, aimed at people planning holidays, dreaming of future trips, or looking for inspiration rather than trade deals. Talks, presentations, and destination themed stands dominate the floor, making it far more about selling travel dreams than cutting business contracts. Yeah it is a bit pretentious at times, but there is enough of interest if you are in this universe.
Who Was There?
The crowd at Destinations, The Holiday and Travel Show 2026 was quite an eclectic one, but also very different to that of the ITA event we attended earlier in the year. Mostly it is of the B2C ilk, with a whole heap of companies we know very well, such as G Adventures, Intrepid, and Untamed Borders (https://untamedborders.com/), a company we have partnered with in the past.
There were though many more of which we had not heard of, but which were clearly operating in areas we also work in. Fear not, brochures were taken from all.
Elsewhere on the floor were national tourism boards such as Jamaica, along with regional European destinations pushing city breaks and soft adventure. Wanderlust Magazine had a large presence, pushing subscriptions and talks, while various cruise companies, safari operators, and niche adventure brands filled the rest of the hall. Bradt Guides were also there, with us picking up their Afghanistan and Arctic editions, both of which feature us.
What New Tours Did the Destinations, The Holiday and Travel Show 2026 at the Olympia Inspire?
Amazingly, we met someone from a country who used to live in Nauru. She now lives in another place where we are also looking to plan tours. One of these should be running early next year. Sadly, many of the people who also advertise in Bradt also read our site for inspiration, so we have to be very coy about specifics at this stage.
We also still need to sift through the large amount of literature we picked up to see what is actually useful and what is just glossy nonsense. Expect though a whole heap of new destinations to be added across the world over the next few months.
Oh, and tomorrow we are going to Sheppey.
Click to see our International Tours.
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