WTE Miami 2024 Bigger and Better

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life
Video Credit: WTE Miami 2024

MIAMI BEACH_ The second edition of the World Travel Expo opened here this week at the Miami Beach Convention Center, hosting over 2,000 attendees and over a hundred exhibitors from around the world.
Activities kicked off with a welcome reception at the National Hotel on South Beach, where guests enjoyed drinks, food and music in the hotel's tropical pool area beside a large sign that spelled "Relax" in lights -- definitely the theme for the evening.

Miami-Dade officials, including representatives from the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Miami International Airport and Miami Mayor Daniella Cava, were among those delivering opening remarks. Lisa Lufoff-Perlo, CEO and president of the Miami Host Committee for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and former president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, delivered the keynote address.

On the exhibit floor, Columbia -- WTE Guest Country -- had a large contingent on hand to talk about how Columbia is rapidly emerging as a favorite destination for American travelers. Underscoring that point, AmaWaterways was there to talk about its upcoming river cruises on Columbia's Magdalena River -- the first of its kind. Kristin Karst, co-founder and executive vice-president of AmaWaterways, said the AmaMagdalena's first cruise will be March, 2025 and offer guests an immersion into the area's culture.

Kateryna Naumenko, sales manager USA, East for Frenchbee, a French low-cost airline based at Paris Orly Airport and operating flights worldwide, including Miami, said a new route, Paris to Montreal, would debut in the summer of 2025.

In the afternoon, a panel of speakers, including Ms. Karst,  discussed "Women in Travel," and how women like Ms. Lutoff-Perlo, who authored a book about the topic, "Making Waves," have overcome challenges as
they make their marks in the travel industry.

WTE Miami 2024 concludes Oct. 23.

Photos by North Palm Beach Life