World Travel Market (WTM), the leading global event for the travel industry, has opened registration for WTM 2011, which will focus on the emerging sector of sports tourism and particularly the Olympics with it being the final WTM before the 2012 London Olympics.

Next summer, the Olympics comes to WTM’s home of east London, with its host venue ExCeL, London, playing a prominent role in hosting the games with boxing, fencing, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling medals all being hotly contested under its roof.

To celebrate, promote, discuss, and debate the role the travel and tourism industry will play in the success of the 2012 Games, World Travel Market will, for the first time, have two headline sessions on sports tourism.

World Travel Market first launched its sports tourism events program in 2009 with a headline session profiling the recent Winter Olympics, 2010 Football World Cup, and the 2012 London Olympics. 2010’s session also highlighted the London Olympics with the event chaired by UK Athletics Chief Executive David Moorcroft.

This year sees the first session take place on Monday, November 7 at 3:00 pm–4:30 pm and the second on Wednesday, November 9 at 2:30 pm–3:30 pm. The sessions are in Platinum Suite 4 and Platinum Suite 3, respectively.

A Meridian Club – the WTM club for the industry’s most senior buyers - Think Tank session this month has already highlighted the issues of a hosting such a large sporting event as the Olympics.

Inbound operators and agents to the UK are so concerned about the availability and price of London hotel rooms next summer, many are considering dropping the UK from their European brochure tours, the Think Tank discovered.

The Sports Tourism program will debate the advantages and disadvantages of hosting the Games and will provide a great insight for future host countries, including Brazil, which is hosting the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “The London Olympics is arguably the biggest promotional opportunity for the UK inbound travel industry in a generation. WTM 2011 will focus on what the industry needs to achieve to maximize this opportunity. The two headline sessions will prove essential viewing for not only all those involved in making the London Olympics a success but those countries hosting similarly high-profile sporting events in the future.”

To pre-register visit: https://www.wtmlondon.com/register .