In years to come, when we look back at 2020, we will no doubt describe it as a turning point for the luxury travel industry. The ebb and flow of change that was lapping at our industry’s shore has been replaced with something more persistent, and with every passing day, the desire to travel wrestles with the challenges that prevent us from doing so.

Here at ILTM, we’re as much in a state of limbo as anyone else and with our much-loved Cannes event on the horizon and the luxury travel landscape in flux, it seems that the need for transparency and honesty is more important than ever before. Because, as much as 2020 will undoubtedly be remembered as a turning point, it will also be remembered as the year our community showed up with remarkable resilience, connection and friendship. It is these qualities that drive what we do here at ILTM and now with the industry in need of a boost, we want to be there to help carry the load.

To that aim, ILTM Portfolio Director Alison Gilmore visited Cannes recently to meet our partners in the region and find out how they are, 5 months on from the initial break of the pandemic:

There’s no doubt then that we face some challenges ahead. With countries and regions diving in and out of lockdown and quarantine rules becoming increasingly normal, the road back to travelling in a usual fashion may be a long one. However, though the fluctuations continue, so too does our resilience and positivity.

France’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Attractiveness recently announced that, as of September 1st, events and trade shows will be able to resume. Though likely smaller and with heightened safety features in place, France is already making big steps towards recouping what the travel industry has lost thus far.

Closer to home, ILTM has also seen plenty of signs that the travel industry is picking up; with just under 500 registered qualified travel advisors already signed up and ready to join us in Cannes. All this along with data pointing towards a steady climb in traveller confidence is undoubtedly a cause for celebration and we can only hope it’s an upward trajectory that continues.

And this is what ILTM Cannes 2020 is; an event to kick-start the rebuilding of our industry. For those able to join us, we want to recognise the key role that you’re playing in this rebuild, helping to reconnect travellers with the experiences they crave and forging ever stronger bonds in the quest to keep them safe.

How we do this is the next big mountain. Of course, we can’t make predictions about tomorrow. We cannot offer unflinching absolutes in a world that changes daily, but we can recognize that the travel industry not only wants to travel, it needs to. As such, ILTM is committed to providing the industry with the reset it needs this December.

But what would a reset look like? The industry we love has been written and reckoned about for months, with a great many saying it will never be the same again. And they’re right. But change isn’t a synonym for standstill and the changes we predict are far from terrible. They are the heart of what travel has always – and should always – be about. The authentic, intimate and meaningful moments we find when we open our hearts and concentrate on the people and places we love.

At ILTM, we have been riding the waves of many trends and changes but never before have we been so weighed with responsibility and warmth to our industry; with such pride for our community who have shown such grace and robustness in what has been world-turning times.

Whether we’re lucky enough to see you at Cannes this year or whether the circumstances prohibit you, we want everyone to know that you’ll always be among friends with ILTM. As a brand, we’re made up of individuals who are in love with this industry and we want nothing more than to work with it every step of the way to build its future.

Friends, there’s no denying it’s been hard, but we stand now looking out toward Cannes and what comes after with hope and a whole lot of determination. We hope you can join us.

The ILTM Team.

For regular updates please see: www.iltm.com/cannes/latest