According to final numbers from the The New York Times, its annual Travel Show reached a new record of 30,099 participants—the highest attendance in the Show’s history. The show included a trade only day again with a wide variety of educational breakout sessions and trade show on Friday followed by two days of travel exhibits, cultural performances, and seminars for consumers on Saturday and Sunday.

The numerous breakout sessions, Focus on Cruising pictured above, that I attended on Friday were well attended. Announced attendance included 9,253 travel trade and 20,846 consumer attendees during the three-day event that took place from January 27-29, 2017 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The number of participating exhibitors also hit a new record with 560 companies representing over 170 countries, a 4 percent increase from last year’s Show.

“We are delighted that more and more people are attending The New York Times Travel Show each year since its inception in 2004,” says Laura Sonnenfeld, vice president of advertising for the New York Times. “Our record attendees number this year demonstrates that people continue to consistently rely upon the New York Times to provide exceptional travel offerings and useful information to travellers and travel professionals alike. We look forward to opening up the Show to even more people in 2018.”

The first day of the Travel Show on Friday, January 27 was reserved exclusively for travel industry professionals and members of the media, offering 23 Focus Conferences panels that covered the latest products, services, destination information and trends from travel industry experts. The keyynote address was given by veteran travel journalist and editor James Shillinglaw, in conversation with: CEO of Travel Leaders Group Ninan Chacko; Arnold Donald, President and CEO of Carnival Corporation; Alejandro Zozaya, CEO of Apple Leisure Group; and Brian King, Global Officer for Digital, Distribution, Revenue Management and Global Sales, Marriott International.

South African Tourism, supporter of the Travel Show since 2008, was a gold sponsor of The New York Times Travel Show. Allianz, MSC Cruises and Visit Florida were silver sponsors of the Travel Show. The Greece Tourism Board served as Cultural Stage Sponsor.

The New York Times Travel Show, www.NYTimes.com/TravelShow