Registration opens for the World Youth and Student Travel Conference – WYSTC 2015 – in Cape Town, South Africa

MEDIA RELEASE

Registration opens for the World Youth and Student Travel Conference – WYSTC 2015 – in Cape Town, South Africa
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 13 May 2015 

The World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation has opened registration for this year’s World Youth and Student Travel Conference – WYSTC 2015.

Now in its 24th year, WYSTC is the must attend business-to-business gathering for the global youth, student and educational travel industry, a sector that generated USD 230 billion in tourism receipts in 2013 and accounted for 227 million international arrivals in 2014.

From Tuesday, 22 – Friday, 25 September 2015, WYSTC 2015 will welcome over 600 travel professionals to the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa for:

• Trading through pre-scheduled business appointments: Delegates can connect and trade with buyer organisations from across the globe through up to 45 pre-scheduled business appointments, each lasting 20-minutes.
• Seminar and workshop programme: Leading industry speakers will be presenting a range of seminars and workshops covering current topics and trends within the youth, student and educational travel sector.
• Networking with industry peers: A programme of evening social events including the Global Youth Travel Awards 2015.

Over 5,000 business appointments took place during WYSTC 2014, while organisations at the event reported generating new business worth an average of EUR 77,000 each as a result of attending.

WYSE Travel Confederation’s Director General, David Chapman, said: “We are looking forward to bringing the youth, student and educational travel industry together in Cape Town for our first event on the African continent.

“As the only global event dedicated to developing this thriving industry, delegates will have the opportunity to connect with up to 600 industry professionals from across the world under one roof. They will also be able to update their knowledge with the latest research and insights from leading industry speakers.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank our sponsors Else Globe and Emirates Airline for supporting this year’s event. I look forward to meeting many of you in Cape Town this September.”

A range of exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are available for organisations looking to showcase their brand within the youth, student and educational travel industry.

Early bird rates are available on registration and exhibitor stands for those booking by Friday, 5 June 2015. To find out more and register, visit www.wystc.org.

For media enquiries:

WYSE Travel Confederation

Tel: +31 (0)20 421 2800

Email: communications@wysetc.org

ABOUT WYSTC

• The World Youth and Student Travel Conference – known as WYSTC – is the industry’s leading global youth travel event.
• WYSTC combines the chance to connect and trade with over 600 delegates with the opportunity to learn from industry experts and discuss critical government policy issues through a comprehensive programme of meetings, workshops and presentations.
• With travel professionals gathering from more than 450 businesses and 120 countries for trading, seminars, networking and industry think tanks, the annual conference is considered a must for any business already operating in or looking to enter this booming market worth USD 230 billion.
• In addition to nightly networking events, the Global Youth Travel Awards are traditionally hosted on the final evening to honour the outstanding performers serving the youth, student and educational travel industry.

About WYSE Travel Confederation

• The World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation is a global not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated to promoting and developing opportunities for the youth, student and educational travel industry.
• Founded in 2006 and created from the merger of the Federation of International Youth Travel organisations (FIYTO) and the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC) – both formed after World War II to inspire young people through international travel and to help remove cultural barriers – the confederation brings together 60 years of youth travel expertise.
• Providing international travel experiences to over 10 million youth and students each year, WYSE Travel Confederation’s global community of over 800 members spans more than 120 countries from a diverse range of sectors.
• From adventure tour operators to au pair agencies, cultural exchange programmes to language schools, hop-on-hop-off buses to student insurance and youth hostels to volunteer programmes, WYSE Travel Confederation is the world’s most powerful network of youth and student travel professionals, connecting key industry players with decision makers and government officials.
• The Confederation is committed to understanding the ever-changing characteristics, motivations and needs of young travellers. By gathering, analysing and sharing important market intelligence with members, academics and government decision-makers, the unique fast-changing needs of the youth market is at the forefront of its activities as it seeks to accelerate the development of youth travel.

For more information, visit www.wysetc.org or follow the organisation on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.