Press Releases

SURVIVAL EXPERT RAY MEARS AT WORLD TRAVEL MARKET

Ray Mears, one of the world’s leading authorities on bush craft and survival is to speak at the BBC World Lunch marking WTM World Responsible Tourism Day on Wednesday 11 November.

BBC World, sponsors of this year’s WTM World Responsible Tourism Day, will host more than 100 industry professionals at the invitation-only lunch.

Sian Kevill, Director of BBC World News, said: “Ray’s work on television has helped bring remote places and cultures to life for a very wide audience, which makes him an ideal speaker for this event.  The issue of responsible tourism is hugely important for the travel industry and Ray’s insights into the natural world should help shed light on exactly what is at stake.”

He became a household name through his television series: Tracks, World of Survival, The Essential Guide to Rocks, Extreme Survival, Trips Money Can't Buy with Ewan McGregor, The Real Heroes of Telemark, Bushcraft Survival, and more recently, Wild Food.

“These programmes have reached out and touched the hearts of everyone from small child to grandparents,” said a BBC spokesman.

“They are enjoyed by many because of Ray's down to earth approach, his obvious love for his subject and the empathy and respect he shows for indigenous peoples and their cultures.

“It is obvious to some, and a surprise to others to discover that Ray has spent his life learning these skills and is truly a master of the subject he calls Wilderness Bushcraft.”

Ray grew up in southern England on the North Downs, where he discovered a countryside abundant with wildlife.

Developing a unique attunement to his local environment, he learned to track foxes into the forest, never realising that he was embarking on a journey that would become his life's mission. Wanting to be able to sleep out on the trail yet unable to afford camping equipment, he resorted to a more Robinson Crusoe approach to solving the problem.

BBC World is sponsoring a topical, hard hitting and interactive programme for WTM World Responsible Tourism day, including the official opening, presentations, panel debates and seminars. Key events will be hosted by Stephen Sackur, presenter of BBC’s flagship news and current affairs programme HARDtalk.

WTM World Responsible Tourism Day, in association with the UNWTO is aimed at bringing the industry together in one universal movement, inspiring and educating companies, destinations and individuals to commit to year-round responsible tourism activity.

           Applicants to use the 2010 WTM World Responsible Tourism Day logo should log on to www.wtmwrtd.com for further information and to complete the application form.  Co-ordinator Araminta Sugden on the WRTD hotline telephone +44 (0) 1892 535943 is also available for help and advice.

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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.

Almost 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on London’s ExCeL Centre every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.

WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a portfolio of other travel industry events including Arabian Travel Market and International Luxury Travel Market.

RE holds more than 500 events in 38 countries throughout Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific covering 47 industry sectors including aerospace & aviation, healthcare, manufacturing and sport & recreation.

In 2008 RE, part of the Reed Elsevier group, brought together more than six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.