Taking place on 8-10 April at Hamburg Messe, World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) has been growing in popularity among cruise lines who are eager to meet with F&B suppliers and learn about evolving hospitality trends. Jack Carter catches up with event manager Shona Thompson to find out why the event should be on cruise lines’ radars
What is the WTCE?
World Travel Catering & Onboard Services expo has been going on for many years, and when it first started it used to be very specific to airline catering. However, as the acronym developed, the event has expanded to cover various kinds of world travel catering and onboard services.
Today, the event welcomes independent food and beverage brands as well as full-service caterers. We’ve also got amenity kit suppliers, toys, entertainment, hygiene and technology brands, which is why we’ve seen companies from beyond the airline industry attend the event.
In recent years we’ve seen an increase in the number of cruise buyers attending the show. Catering requirements are very different across rail, air and cruise and we have many different suppliers at the show who are relevant to all the sort of onboard experiences across those industries.
We’re clearly doing something right for the cruise industry because we are seeing more and more delegates over the past few years attend our show.
What kinds of exhibitors are attending this year’s show?
We have a lot of snack providers and drinks brands that cater for the cruise industry, for example Whittards of Chelsea and Nairn’s Oat Cakes, as well as a lot of vegan and vegetarian food suppliers.
Why should cruise professionals attend WTCE?
WTCE is dedicated to the onboard experience across multiple industries, so it’s a great opportunity for cruise professionals to see what other companies are doing, especially through our seminar programme.
Cruise lines might have existing suppliers at the show who they can meet up with, but we’ve also got independent food, drink and buy-onboard brands they can meet with.
We’re actively looking to engage with the cruise industry to understand what they’re looking for as well.
How has this area of cruise catering evolved in recent years?
We’re seeing more cruise lines seek to improve their gluten-free and celiac offering which is interesting. There are a lot of crossovers between how rail, air and cruise are evolving and addressing food allergies, and this is now a big area of focus.
We work with ambassadors such as Julianne Ponan, founder and CEO of allergen-free food brand Creative Nature, who suffers from anaphylaxis, to ensure we’re bringing in the right suppliers who can cater for passengers with similar dietary needs.
The key is to be able to offer as many options as possible. On the cruise side, we’ve seen lines announce partnerships with chefs to offer new dining options to give guests more choice and flexibility. On air and rail, it’s all about having freedom of choice for passengers, which is where we’re all heading.
Is there anything innovative happening in the airline and rail industries that cruise could learn from?
The issues surrounding sustainability and waste are really interesting. One of our partners is the Aviation Sustainability Forum who’s set up a cabin waste composition audit programme, where they audit airlines and measure the amount of waste that’s occurring onboard to help them become more sustainable.
Cruise industry bodies like CLIA have lots of information to help cruise lines on their net-zero ambitions, but having greater oversight on waste management and understanding where waste is coming from will be a big focus for these industries in the near future.
One of the interesting things about airlines is they know exactly what’s taken on and what’ taken off their planes because it’s so regulated. Perhaps the cruise industry could learn a little bit more about their waste through better auditing.
What can attendees expect from this year’s show?
It’s a large show, occupying two exhibition halls, so it’s an explorative experience. We have enormous exhibition stands from mainstream suppliers all the way down to smaller stands for independent brands.
It’s important to highlight the distinct areas of the show to help the visitors find what they’re looking for and we do that through something called focus trails. So, if you’re looking specifically for companies that are pioneering sustainability initiatives, technology or wellbeing, it’s clearly highlighted across the trade show floor.
We also have our Taste of Travel theatre, which offers a series of seminar sessions, with topics covering consumer experience and loyalty, allergies and nutrition, which is very high on our attendees’ agendas, sustainability workshops.
We also hear from experts on how they’re innovating things like textiles, packaging and technology. Then we have speakers who look at how hospitality trends will evolve in the future.
For Cruise Trade News readers who are interested in attending WTCE this year, where would you signpost them to first?
First off, go to our website have a look at what’s happening. Our exhibitor list is broken down so you can see easily see which ones supply for cruise. You can also browse through our product categories, so if you’re interested in amenities and passenger comfort, you can see which of this year’s suppliers are specific to that area.
You can also filter through our list of exhibitors to see which ones are specifically offering gluten-free or dairy-free options or that are addressing things like nut allergies.
Secondly, have a look at the seminar programme and see what you might be able to learn from these other industries.
One of the other great things about our show are the networking opportunities. Cruise operators will be able to attend as a VIP, which gives them access to our new connect platform, launching this year.
There, delegates can pre-arrange and manage meetings with our exhibitors which ensures that they have a productive visit, rather than turning up and seeing what’s going on on the day. Our exhibitors are looking to meet with cruise operators and if they’re networking in advance they can prepare better information specifically for them.