Nevertheless, as I walked into the seated lunch on the first day, I was pleasantly surprised to be serenaded by Chinese opera, provided by IMM’s headline sponsor, Visit Suzhou. This was particularly surprising given that China’s borders remain closed to international visitors.

Other Asian destinations represented included Hong Kong and Okinawa (Japan). I also met with representatives of Asia-Europe-straddling Azerbaijan and noted there were a number of representatives of Middle East destinations present.

Among everyone I spoke to, there was an unsurprising push towards outdoor activities, sports, beaches, natural parks and other Covid-safe, open-air experiences.

Suzhou

I sat down with Ashley Norman, of PHG Consulting, who handles destination marketing in the United States and British markets for Visit Suzhou as well as the city of Nanjing in eastern China. She told me that Suzhou was ready to welcome travellers back as soon as China opens its borders.

“Although inbound travel is not possible right now, it is critical for Suzhou to continue its marketing activities so we can stay top-of-mind when borders reopen,” she said.

“We have shifted a considerable amount of focus to inspirational social media and digital marketing campaigns in the last few years, but it is also important for us to have one-on-one discussions with media now.”

Hong Kong

At a time when many tourism boards have outsourced destination management in other markets, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) handles its PR in-house. I met with Jasmine Rushton, PR & marketing manager at HKTB’s London office.

After the event, I spoke by email with Wah Ming Hing, the HKTB’s public affairs manager. He said the board intended to closely monitor the development of the pandemic alongside the pace of travel resumption and other global factors.

“The Hong Kong Tourism Board will continue to observe the principle of prudent use of resources and spend on the necessity,” he said.

Okinawa

Japan remains closed to international leisure tourists, while students and business travellers must currently apply for a visa to enter. However, Laura Boo, the UK representative for the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau, held meetings with 56 writers and influencers and told me that the interest in Japan was positive, with many journalists eager to visit as soon as borders open.

“Iriomote Island in particular, due to its jungle setting and the vast majority of the land mass remaining uninhabited and untouched, generated a lot of interest, as nature breaks and off-the-beaten-track exploration are popular trends – as well as wellness, of course,” she said.

Asia at IMM

IMM was started by a travel journalist who realised there was no space dedicated specifically for journalists and tourism boards to connect.

Now in its 10th year, the first IMMs were held in London and Australia and the concept has since expanded to Asia (the 2019 event took place in Macau), the US, Brazil, Germany and France.

This year’s London event saw 270 media representatives and 65 influencers participate in more than 11,000 meetings with 120 exhibiting brands.

In past years, when I was a regional Asia editor at a major travel publisher, I found that IMM UK tended to be Euro- and US-centric and often did not include exhibitors from the regions of Asia on which I focused (China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea and Central Asia).

I asked Henry Hemming, the UK managing director of TravMedia, IMM’s organising body, about the spread of destinations this year, in particular why there were a large number of French exhibitors (30 per cent) but few from East Asia or the global south.

“We had few Asia exhibitors this year, but maybe it was too early,” said Hemming, referring to the fact most of the continent was still in the early stages of reopening following two years of Covid-19 enforced isolation. “We’re hopeful they will be back in large numbers next year.”

This does not address my prior experience of IMM UK lacking global diversity in its exhibitor list. However, it may speak to a larger problem with the UK and English-language travel media favouring European and North American destinations, as well as to a lack of support for destinations that may not have the marketing budgets to attend an event like IMM.

The travel rebound

With the resumption of IMM and many destinations around the world beginning to reopen their borders and reduce – or even do away with – quarantine periods and mask mandates, it seems hopeful that international travel will, in fact, rebound this year.

However, much of this depends on the status of the pandemic itself, particularly the emergence of any new concerning virus variants.

Britain was one of the earliest to ease travel restrictions, in February, with a number of destinations in Europe following suit.

Similarly, New Zealand – which has had one of the strictest and longest international border closures since the pandemic began – announced plans to move its border reopening forward, allowing vaccinated arrivals from 60 countries starting on May 2.

Mainland China, however, shows no sign of deviating from its “zero Covid” policy, barring entry to international arrivals, including students and business travellers.

The big question within the travel industry is how long China will continue to hold to this policy as the rest of the world cautiously opens.